When a folder contains multiple files such as docx, xlsx, pptx, txt, md, and json, inconsistent creation dates can affect sorting, archiving, and delivery. This article uses HeSoft Doc Batch Tool as an example to explain how to batch unify creation dates using the "Modify File System Attributes Time" feature, and through before-and-after screenshots, outlines the complete process of importing files, verifying records, setting a fixed creation time, and validating results.
Many office documents are not in a single format, but rather a mix of Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint files, text files, and configuration files. For example, a project folder might contain a docx report, an xlsx list, a pptx presentation, txt notes, md documents, and json or xml data files at the same time. After organizing the content, users often find that the creation dates displayed for these files in Windows are completely inconsistent: some are from a few years ago, some were generated from recent copies, and others are historical files sent by others.
This situation can affect the file management experience. When sorted by creation date, files from the same project can become scattered in different locations; during archiving, the directory does not look like it contains materials from the same batch; when delivered to others, it can easily raise the question of "whether the files are from different versions." The solution introduced in this article is to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch modify the creation time in file system properties, unifying the creation date for various file formats.
Applicable Scenario: Unifying Creation Dates for Multi-format Office Files
If you are only handling a single Word document, you can view or adjust properties through some single-file methods; but in office scenarios, batch files are more common. For example, a data package might contain files like 1.txt, 2.docx, 3.md, 5.xlsx, 8.pptx, 10.docx, with different formats but all belonging to the same batch of materials. In this case, you need file-by-file batch processing, rather than seeking separate tools for Word, Excel, and PPT.
HeSoft Doc Batch Tool is positioned as office software, with its core value being batch file processing and reducing repetitive labor. In this example, it deals not with the main body content of documents, but with the time fields in Windows file system properties. That is, regardless of whether the file extension is doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, txt, md, json, or xml, as long as the files are imported into a list, they can be uniformly set according to the time property options provided by the interface.
Typical applicable scenarios include: unifying file creation dates before project archiving; organizing file times before department data transfer; correcting folder times after downloading from network drives; re-standardizing times after extracting compressed packages; and unifying archiving times after collecting data submitted by multiple colleagues. For directories with a large number of files, this type of batch processing can significantly improve efficiency.
Effect Preview: Before Processing, Different Files Show Different Creation Dates
A screenshot before processing shows 10 files listed in File Explorer, named from 1.txt to 10.docx, covering file types like text, Word, Markdown, Excel, JSON, XML, PowerPoint, etc. The "Date created" column on the right is highlighted, showing significant differences in the creation date for each file, such as 2016/9/6, 2021/12/10, 2024/5/29, 2025/4/13, etc.
If these files belong to the same delivery batch, such a time distribution is not intuitive. Especially when sorting by creation date, the files will not be grouped together but will be scattered according to historical times. For office directories requiring standardized management, unifying the creation time is a simple but effective organizing action.
Effect Preview: After Processing, the Creation Time Becomes Uniform
In the screenshot after processing, the same 10 files retain their original names and formats, but the "Date created" has all been changed to 2026/6/1 15:25. This result shows that files with different extensions can have their creation times uniformly modified in a single task, without the need to separately operate on docx, xlsx, pptx, or txt files.
A special note here: The "Date created" in File Explorer is a system property, which is different from information like "Creator," "Last saved by," "Revision history," etc., inside the document. This article demonstrates unifying the creation time at the file system level, suitable for folder management, sorting, and archiving.
Operation Step 1: Find the Time Property Modification Entry in the Software
After starting HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , first enter "File Management" from the left function category. As seen in the screenshot, the "File Management" category has multiple functions related to file management, among which "Modify Time in File System Properties" is used for batch modifying creation time, modification time, and access time. Our requirement is to unify the creation date, so choose this function.
The key to this step is selecting the correct function entry. Do not enter Word tools or Excel tools, because we are not batch editing document content or converting formats, but modifying file time attributes at the operating system level. After selecting the right entry, the subsequent interface will present options for creation time, modification time, access time, etc.
Operation Step 2: Import the docx, xlsx, pptx and Other Files to be Processed
After entering the "Modify Time in File System Properties" page, the top of the interface offers "Add Files" and "Import Files from Folder." If all target files are in the same folder, using "Import Files from Folder" is usually more efficient; if you only want to process some of them, you can use "Add Files" to select specific files.
After importing, the table will display fields like file sequence number, name, path, extension, creation time, and modification time. The screenshot shows a record count of 10, with extensions including txt, docx, md, xlsx, json, xml, pptx. This list is very important, as it serves as a confirmation list for the batch task. Before starting processing, you should check for any mistakenly selected files, especially duplicate names, old versions, or files whose time you do not need to modify.
If you find the file list too long, you can use the "Filter" and "Sort" options in the interface for easier viewing; if an import is wrong, you can remove a record using the delete operation on the right, or reselect using "Clear." After confirming the list is correct, click "Next" at the bottom of the page.
Operation Step 3: Only Enable "Creation Time" to Avoid Mistakenly Changing Modification and Access Times
After entering the page for setting processing options, you can see three time items that can be toggled on or off: Creation Time, Modification Time, Access Time. Since the goal of this article is to batch modify file creation time, you should enable "Creation Time" while keeping "Modification Time" and "Access Time" disabled. The advantage of this is a clear processing scope, changing only the system property needed for this unification.
In the creation time setting, the screenshot shows "Fixed Time" selected, with 2026-06-01 15:25:05 entered. Fixed time is suitable for setting all imported files to the same creation date and is the most common method for archiving, delivering, and organizing materials. The interface also shows a "Random Time" option, but this tutorial does not expand on random time, as the goal of the screenshot example is to unify the creation time.
When setting a fixed time, it is recommended to follow one principle: determine the business meaning first, then fill in the time. For example, project archiving can be set to the day of archiving, data delivery can be set to the time when the delivery was uniformly organized, and historical data correction can be set to an agreed-upon base date. After confirming everything is correct, click "Next" to continue with the subsequent steps for saving location and starting processing.
Operation Step 4: Check File Explorer After Processing is Complete
After the batch task is finished, go back to the directory where the files are located and check the "Date created" column. In the example processing result, all files display as 2026/6/1 15:25, indicating that the creation time has been unified. Since the Windows list view might not display seconds, it is normal for the 15:25:05 set in the software to appear as 15:25 in File Explorer.
If you do not see the "Date created" column, you can adjust the column display in the details view of File Explorer; if the file list has not refreshed, you can try pressing F5 to refresh the directory. For important folders, it is advisable to randomly spot-check several files of different formats, such as docx, xlsx, pptx, txt, to confirm their creation times match expectations.
Common Questions and Precautions
1. Will batch modifying the creation time affect the file content? It will not change the body content. It modifies file system attributes and is not equivalent to editing internal data in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files. However, it is always recommended to back up important data before any batch operation.
2. Can docx and doc, xlsx and xls all be processed together? The screenshots in this article show formats like docx, xlsx, pptx. As this function processes file system attributes, the focus in practice is on whether the files are correctly imported, not which office format the document belongs to. It is still recommended to test with a few files before processing.
3. Do I need to modify the "Modification time" at the same time? If your requirement is only to unify the creation date, do not enable modification time. Modification time typically represents the last time the file content was changed, and whether it needs to be adjusted should be determined by business requirements.
4. Why does the creation time include seconds in the table but not in File Explorer? The software list and system properties may display a more complete time, while the File Explorer column usually simplifies it to minutes. A difference in display precision does not mean the processing failed.
5. What if the folder has many subfolders? The screenshot shows forming a processing list by adding files or importing files from a folder. Whether subdirectory files are included should be based on the actual imported list. Be sure to verify the record count and paths before processing to avoid omissions or accidental processing.
Summary: Unifying Creation Dates for Multi-format Files is More Reliable with a Batch Tool
When files like docx, xlsx, pptx, txt, md, json, xml are mixed in a single directory, manually processing their creation dates one by one is not only slow but also prone to missing files. HeSoft Doc Batch Tool provides a batch processing workflow designed for office scenarios: first select "Modify Time in File System Properties," then import files, verify the list, enable creation time, set a fixed time, and finally execute the processing and return to File Explorer to verify the result.
If you are preparing archival materials or a delivery file package, you can follow the steps in this article to process a test directory first, confirm the effect, and then apply it to the official folder. This way, you can unify file creation dates, reduce repetitive operations, and make the file organizing process more standardized and efficient.