Before archiving files, transferring materials, or delivering projects, it is often necessary to adjust the system creation time of a batch of files to a uniform date. This article starts from practical office scenarios and explains how to use HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch modify the creation time in file system properties, including before-and-after effect comparison, function entry selection, file import verification, fixed time setting, and post-processing verification methods, helping users reduce repetitive work.
In file archiving, one of the most overlooked details that often affects management experience is the creation time in file system attributes. A project folder may undergo multiple rounds of copying, downloading, merging, and organizing, ultimately containing Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PPT presentations, text notes, and structured data files. Although they belong to the same batch of archived materials, the creation dates displayed in Windows might differ by years.
If you are only viewing them temporarily, inconsistent creation times may not be a major issue; but when materials need to be submitted to clients, handed over to other departments, entered into archive catalogs, or filtered by date, confusing creation dates increase communication costs. This article introduces a more efficient method: using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to batch correct the creation time in file system attributes to a specified time, avoiding processing files one by one.
Applicable Scenarios: Time Standardization Before Archiving, Handover, and Delivery
Batch correcting creation time is suitable for various office scenarios. First, project archiving. After a project ends, materials may come from different phases, with file creation dates ranging from early to late. To make the archive directory reflect a unified organizing time, the creation time can be set to the archiving date.
Second, material handover. When transferring materials between departments, if the creation times of files like docx, xlsx, pptx, txt, md, json, xml within a folder vary too greatly, it becomes difficult for the recipient to determine which files belong to the same batch when sorting by date. Unifying the creation time helps improve the consistency of the material package.
Third, historical file organization. After many old materials are copied, decompressed, or downloaded, the time information may not comply with current management rules. In this case, there is no need to regenerate files or open documents individually; you only need to batch process the creation time in file system attributes.
HeSoft Doc Batch Tool is an office software focused on batch processing files to reduce repetitive work. Compared to manually checking properties one by one in File Explorer, using a batch tool is more suitable for handling files that are numerous, have mixed formats, and are located in concentrated paths.
Result Preview: Mixed Creation Dates Before Archiving
From the pre-processing screenshot, you can see a folder containing 10 files, named 1.txt, 2.docx, 3.md, 4.md, 5.xlsx, 6.json, 7.xml, 8.pptx, 9.txt, 10.docx. The "Date Created" column on the right shows that the creation times of these files are not uniform; the earliest is from 2016, and more recent ones are from 2025.
This situation is very common before archiving: different file sources, editing cycles, and copying methods can all lead to scattered system creation dates. If you later need to sort by creation time, the file order will be disrupted; if you need to present them as a uniformly organized batch, it is not intuitive enough.
Result Preview: Unified Creation Date Display After Archiving
In the post-processing screenshot, the "Date Created" for all files has been changed to 2026/6/1 15:25. The file names and types remain unchanged, but the creation date in system attributes has been unified. For an archive directory, such a result is more conducive to viewing, sorting, and delivery.
Note that the time in the screenshot is displayed down to the minute, while the software's settings page allows input down to the second. The display precision in File Explorer relates to the system interface and does not affect the judgment of this batch creation time correction.
Step 1: Select "Modify Time in File System Attributes"
Open HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , and select "File Organization" in the left feature category. In the screenshot, the currently highlighted item is the File Organization category, and the main area lists related function cards, among which the fourth item is "Modify Time in File System Attributes". The mouse tooltip indicates that this function can batch modify the creation time, modification time, and access time in file operating system attributes.
The purpose of this step is to enter the function specifically for processing system time attributes, rather than entering document content editing, format conversion, or file renaming features. Since this article only deals with "Creation Time", only the creation time option will be enabled in subsequent settings.
Step 2: Import Archived Files and Confirm Processing Scope
After entering the function page, you can select single or multiple files via "Add Files", or batch import files from a directory via "Import Files from Folder". For archiving scenarios, it is generally recommended to first gather the files to be processed into one folder and then import from the folder, which makes it easier to verify the scope.
After importing, the software generates a pending processing list. The table in the screenshot lists information like serial number, name, path, extension, creation time, modification time, etc., with a total record count of 10. Do not rush to the next step here; first, verify whether all files belong to this archiving batch. Pay special attention to the path column to avoid mistakenly adding files from other directories to the task; also, check the extension column to confirm if files like txt, docx, xlsx, pptx, json, xml are all within the expected scope.
If files that do not need processing appear in the list, you can use the delete action on the right to remove them; if the imported scope is clearly wrong, you can click "Clear" and reselect. For a larger number of files, the "Filter" and "Sort" features in the interface can help users quickly check records. After confirming the processing scope is correct, click "Next" at the bottom.
Step 3: Set the Required Fixed Creation Time for Archiving
On the processing options page, you can see three time attribute areas: Creation Time, Modification Time, Access Time. When correcting the creation date before archiving, typically only "Creation Time" needs to be enabled. In the screenshot, the "Creation Time" switch is enabled, while "Modification Time" and "Access Time" are off, thus avoiding unnecessary changes to other time attributes.
The creation time supports type selection. In the screenshot, "Fixed Time" is selected, and the time input box is filled with 2026-06-01 15:25:05. The meaning of fixed time is: all files imported this time will be set to the same creation time. For scenarios like archiving, handover, and delivery, this is usually the clearest processing method.
Before setting the time, it is advisable to clarify internal rules. For example, archived files can be set to the final organization time; delivered files can be set to the delivery preparation completion time; historical data organization can be set to a unified baseline date. Do not fill in the time arbitrarily to avoid misunderstandings during later retrieval by date. After confirming the time is correct, click "Next" and follow the software's subsequent steps to confirm the save location and start processing.
Step 4: Verify if the Creation Time was Corrected Successfully
After processing is complete, return to File Explorer to view the results. Switch the folder to Details view, find the "Date Created" column, and compare the changes before and after. In the example, the creation dates originally scattered between 2016 and 2025 have been unified to 2026/6/1 15:25.
If you are processing official archived files, it is recommended to perform at least three types of checks: first, check if the file count matches the pre-processing count; second, spot-check if the creation dates are consistent for files with different extensions, such as docx, xlsx, pptx, txt; third, confirm that the files can be opened normally to ensure this operation has not affected material usability. Although this feature mainly modifies system attributes, developing a habit of verification within the archiving workflow is more prudent.
Frequently Asked Questions and Considerations
1. What is the difference between Creation Time, Modification Time, and Access Time? Creation time typically indicates the generation time of the file in the current file system; modification time usually indicates the last time the file content was changed; access time is generally related to when the file was read. This article only demonstrates creation time, as archiving scenarios often need to unify the creation date of files in the directory.
2. Why is it not recommended to enable multiple time items simultaneously? Unless explicitly required by business needs, it is recommended to modify only the necessary attribute. For example, if you only want to unify the creation date, keep modification time and access time off, making the processing result more controllable.
3. Does it support mixed-format files? As seen in the screenshots, the example processes files like txt, docx, md, xlsx, json, xml, pptx simultaneously. Since this function processes file system attributes, it is suitable for organizing multiple file formats together.
4. Should a backup copy be made before processing? It is recommended to back up important archive materials first. Batch operations are highly efficient, but once a time setting error occurs, it will simultaneously affect multiple file records. Making a backup or testing with a few files first can reduce the risk.
5. What if I don't see the Date Created column? You can switch to Details view in Windows File Explorer and add or display the "Date Created" column. The method for setting columns may vary slightly across different system versions, but the verification concept remains the same.
Summary: Unify Creation Time Before Archiving for Clearer File Management
The goal of file archiving is not only to place materials into one folder but also to make file information as standardized, searchable, and sortable as possible. Chaotic creation times can affect directory viewing and subsequent management, while modifying them one by one is time-consuming and laborious. With HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , you can streamline import, verification, setting, processing, and validation into a clear workflow, quickly completing the batch correction of creation times in file system attributes.
If you are organizing project materials, preparing for a department handover, or creating a delivery file package, you can first test by importing a small batch of files following the steps in this article. Once you confirm the creation time display meets expectations, then process the complete directory. This ensures the file archiving results are neat and consistent, while also fully leveraging the efficiency advantages of office software for batch file processing.