This article explains how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch modify the access time in file system attributes, applicable to various file types such as docx, xlsx, pptx, txt, md, json, and xml. The article combines before-and-after effect screenshots and the software operation interface to illustrate the complete workflow from selecting the function, importing files, setting the access time, to starting the process, helping users reduce the repetitive operation of opening file properties to modify time information individually.
When organizing project materials, archiving deliverables, testing sample files, or unifying file metadata, many users encounter a very specific yet time-consuming problem: inconsistent file system attribute times, especially the "access time" that needs to be adjusted uniformly. For example, if a folder contains Word documents (docx), Excel spreadsheets (xlsx), PowerPoint presentations (pptx), txt text files, md documents, json configuration files, xml files, etc., right-clicking each to view properties and processing them one by one is not only inefficient but also prone to missing files.
What this article aims to solve is the problem of "batch modifying the access time in file system attributes." Using office software like HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , multiple files can be imported into a single processing task at once, allowing you to set the access time uniformly—for example, changing the access time of all files to 2026-07-01 00:00:00. For office scenarios requiring batch file organization, reducing repetitive work, and maintaining consistent file attributes, this type of functionality is very practical.
Below, with accompanying screenshots, we will sequentially explain the pre-processing effect, post-processing effect, and how to perform batch access time modification within the software.
Applicable Scenarios: When Do You Need to Batch Modify File Access Time?
The time information in file system attributes typically includes creation time, modification time, and access time. This article focuses on the access time, which is the "Accessed" time displayed in the Windows file properties window. In some file management, data archiving, and testing scenarios, the access time may affect file sorting, record verification, or the consistency of sample data.
Common applicable scenarios include:
- Project Material Archiving: Multiple files come from different computers or time periods, and you want a unified access time to keep archive records consistent.
- Batch Organizing Office Documents: A folder contains various formats like doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, txt, md, requiring unified processing of file system attributes.
- Test Data Preparation: During software testing, script testing, or system demonstrations, a batch of files with the same access time needs to be created.
- Correcting Attributes After File Migration: After file copying, syncing, or compression/extraction, some attribute times may change and need to be reset in batch.
- Reducing Repetitive Manual Work: When dealing with dozens, hundreds, or even more files, manual individual processing is very time-consuming; batch processing tools can significantly improve efficiency.
HeSoft Doc Batch Tool is positioned as office software, with its core value being the batch processing of files to reduce repetitive labor. It is not a single-file editor but a batch toolbox for various office processing tasks like file organization, Word tools, Excel tools, PowerPoint tools, PDF tools, text tools, and image tools. For the requirement in this article—"unifying file access time modification"—using a batch processing method is more stable and time-saving than manual operations.
Effect Preview: What the Access Time Looks Like Before Processing
Before processing, we can first check the properties of a file to confirm its current access time. The screenshot uses 2.docx as an example. In the "General" tab of the Windows file properties window, you can see the file's creation time, modification time, and access time. The access time is highlighted with a red box, currently displaying as September 6, 2016, 3:01:45.
This means that before batch processing, the access time for this Word document (docx) is still the old time. If the folder also contains multiple files like txt, md, xlsx, json, xml, pptx, each file may have a different access time. Manually modifying them one by one at this point is not only repetitive but also makes it very difficult to ensure all files are set to the exact same time.
This pre-processing screenshot clarifies the goal of this article's process: not to modify the Word document content or the file name, but to modify the "Access time" in the file system attributes. This type of time attribute is file metadata and is suitable for processing with specialized batch file processing tools.
Effect Preview: Access Time Uniformly Updated After Processing
After completing the batch processing, open the properties window of the same file 2.docx again. You can see the access time has changed to July 1, 2026, 0:00:00. This indicates that the software has successfully updated the file's access time to our set fixed time.
As you can see from the screenshot, the post-processing window is still on the "General" page of Windows file properties, and the position marked with a red box is still the "Accessed" time. This helps users confirm that the batch modification result is ultimately reflected in the system properties, not just displayed within the software.
It is important to note that access time, creation time, and modification time are three different fields. This article demonstrates adjusting only the access time, while the creation time and modification time can remain unchanged. This allows for a unified access time while preserving the file's original creation and modification records, suitable for more refined file management needs.
Operational Steps: Using Office Software to Batch Modify Access Time in File System Attributes
Following the order of screenshots, the steps to complete the batch access time modification in HeSoft Doc Batch Tool are explained below. The entire process can be understood in four stages: select function, import files, set processing options, start processing and verify results.
Step 1: Enter "File Organization" and select "Modify Time in File System Attributes"
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , select File Organization in the left navigation pane. In the right function card area, you will see multiple batch functions related to file organization, such as classifying by file name, classifying by extension, and batch creating new folders based on existing ones.
For this task, we use the 4th function card: Modify Time in File System Attributes. As the interface prompt indicates, this function is used for batch modifying the creation time, modification time, and access time in the operating system properties of any file. Since the goal of this article is the access time, entering this function is the way to go.
The purpose of this step is to find the correct entry point for batch processing. Many users might look for a time modification function within Word tools, Excel tools, or text tools, but file access time is a file system attribute and is not limited to a specific document format. Therefore, it should be accessed from the "File Organization" category.
Expected result: After clicking this function, the software enters the "Modify Time in File System Attributes" task page, where files to be processed can be added subsequently.
Step 2: Add Files or Import from a Folder
After entering the function page, you can see buttons like Add Files, Import Files from Folder, Clear, More at the top. According to the screenshot, 10 files have been imported, and the file list includes:
- Text files like 1.txt, 9.txt;
- Word documents like 2.docx, 10.docx;
- Markdown files like 3.md, 4.md;
- Excel spreadsheets like 5.xlsx;
- Structured text files like 6.json, 7.xml;
- PowerPoint files like 8.pptx.
The file list shows the sequence number, name, path, extension, creation time, modification time, and an action column. The path example is D:\test\2.docx, indicating these files come from the same test folder. The record count displayed at the bottom is 10, making it easy to confirm how many files are in this batch task.
The purpose of this step is to add the files needing access time modification to the pending list. If only a few files need processing, you can click "Add Files"; if processing an entire folder is necessary, use "Import Files from Folder." After importing, check the file count and paths to avoid adding unwanted files to the task.
Expected result: Pending files are completely displayed in the table, and you can see the current creation time and modification time for each file. Although the list in the screenshot primarily shows creation and modification times, the subsequent settings page can separately enable modification of the access time.
Step 3: Enter Processing Options and Enable Only "Access Time"
After confirming the file list is correct, click Next at the bottom to enter "Set Processing Options." On this page, you will see three time toggles: Creation Time, Modification Time, Access Time.
Since this article only needs to batch modify the access time, you should only enable the "Access Time" toggle, keeping the Creation Time and Modification Time toggles off. In the screenshot, the "Access Time" switch is enabled, and the creation and modification times are not, precisely meeting the requirement of modifying only the access time.
Below the access time setting area, you can see the "Type" option, including Fixed Time and Random Time. The screenshot shows Fixed Time is selected, and the time input box is set to 2026-07-01 00:00:00. This means all selected files will be set to the same access time.
The purpose of this step is to specify which time attribute to modify and what time to set it to. For scenarios requiring a unified archiving time, selecting a fixed time is recommended. If your workflow requires different access times for different files, you can choose the appropriate type based on the options provided in the interface, but this article's demonstration uses a fixed time.
Expected result: The Access Time toggle is enabled, the target time is displayed in the time input box, and the creation and modification times are not involved in this processing.
Step 4: Proceed to Next Step and Start Processing
After setting the access time, continue by clicking Next at the bottom of the page. From the interface flow, you can see the task wizard includes stages like "Select records to process", "Set processing options", "Set save location", and "Start processing". After continuing to confirm according to the wizard, you can enter the start processing phase.
Since this function modifies file system attributes, it is recommended to confirm that files are not being used by other programs before processing. For example, ensure Word documents (docx) are not open for editing, and Excel files (xlsx) are not being occupied by spreadsheet software. If a file is in use, it may affect attribute writing.
After starting the process, the software will batch execute the access time modification on the files in the pending list. Compared to manually right-clicking each file to view properties, the batch method can process files of multiple formats in one go, without needing to open Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or text editors separately.
Step 5: Verify Access Time in System Properties
After processing is complete, it is advisable to spot-check the properties of one or more files. You can right-click a file in Windows File Explorer, open the properties window, and view the access time on the "General" page. In this article's example, the access time for 2.docx has been updated from the pre-processing September 6, 2016, 3:01:45 to the post-processing July 1, 2026, 0:00:00.
If you processed multiple files in a folder, you can spot-check files with different extensions, such as txt, docx, xlsx, pptx, md, json, xml, to confirm whether the access time has been updated as expected.
Common Questions and Considerations
1. What is the difference between access time and modification time?
Access time typically indicates the time a file was accessed or read; modification time typically indicates the last time the file content was modified; creation time indicates when the file was created. This article demonstrates the access time, which is not the same as modifying document content and does not mean the file content was edited.
2. Why might the system prompt that access time may not be updated in real-time?
On the settings page, you can see a prompt: Because the operating system does not update file access time in real-time, and may be affected by antivirus or other application software, modification might fail; please refer to the actual effect. This is a very important note. Meaning, access time is a file attribute at the operating system level, and certain system policies, security software, or file usage statuses can affect the final displayed result.
3. Can creation time, modification time, and access time be modified simultaneously?
From the interface, this function provides three toggles for creation time, modification time, and access time. During operation, you can select the time fields to enable based on your needs. To avoid affecting creation and modification times, this article only enabled the access time. If your task requires unifying all three time fields, you can enable the corresponding options after thorough confirmation.
4. What file formats are supported?
Since it modifies file system attributes rather than the document body content, it is not limited to a specific office format. The screenshots already include files like txt, docx, md, xlsx, json, xml, pptx. For common Word documents (doc, docx), Excel spreadsheets (xls, xlsx), PowerPoint files (ppt, pptx), and text-based files, they can all be added to the task following the file attribute processing approach.
5. Is a backup needed before batch processing?
It is recommended to back up important files before formal processing, or test with a small number of sample files first. Although this article modifies file attribute times, not the body content, a batch operation, once executed, affects multiple files simultaneously. For official archives, deliverables, or files requiring auditing, backing up beforehand is a safer practice.
Summary: Reduce Repetitive Work with Batch Processing
Batch modifying the access time in file system attributes may seem like a minor requirement, but it is very common in file organization, data archiving, test data preparation, and office document management. Manual individual processing is not only time-consuming but also prone to overlooking files; using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can import multiple files at once, uniformly enable the access time setting, and batch update them to a specified time.
If you need to unify the access time for files like docx, xlsx, pptx, txt, md, json, xml, it is recommended to follow the steps in this article: first enter "Modify Time in File System Attributes" under "File Organization", then add files, subsequently enable only "Access Time", set a fixed time, and finally follow the wizard to start processing and spot-check for verification. This can significantly reduce repetitive labor, making file organization work more efficient and controllable.