ARCHIVE WORKFLOW
Organize photos by date without gambling on one timestamp.
A clean year-and-month archive is useful only if you can explain how each file got there. Use a backup-first process, distinguish strong evidence from fallback clues, and verify the copies before changing anything else.
Last updated: August 16, 2026
Recommended structure
Simple folders, traceable filenames
- Folders
- YYYY/MM, based on the reviewed proposed date.
- Filenames
- YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS_original-name.ext, with a numeric suffix when needed to avoid collisions.
- Audit record
- CSV and JSON manifests containing the source filename, proposed date, evidence source, status, and proposed destination.
- Media bytes
- Copied unchanged in current v1. Embedded EXIF is not rewritten.
Before you begin
Define what “by date” means for your archive
A camera capture time, a scan date, a Google Photos account timestamp, and a file's last modified time answer different questions. TrueTaken applies a consistent evidence priority, but you still decide whether the proposed date makes sense for your collection.
Capture date may be most useful
Supported embedded dates are considered first, but a wrong camera clock or later metadata edit can still make them inaccurate.
Embedded date may describe scanning
A scan's file date often does not reveal when the original print was taken. Historical dating may require family knowledge and manual notes.
Account metadata can add context
A matched Google Takeout sidecar can supply a useful timestamp, but it must be paired with the right media item.
Modified time is especially weak
Downloads and copies can receive a new file-system timestamp unrelated to capture.
Step by step
A conservative archive process
- 01
Verify a backup outside the working folder
Open several files from the backup and make sure it is complete enough to recover from mistakes or hardware failure.
- 02
Gather related sidecars without flattening folders
For Google Takeout, extract all archive parts and preserve the exported tree. Keep JSON files near the media they describe.
- 03
Run the local audit
Scanning is free. Review the evidence source, proposed date, status, and destination before creating anything.
- 04
Resolve or exclude uncertain items
Pay particular attention to fallback dates, strong-source conflicts, unknown dates, edited copies, and duplicated names.
- 05
Export to a new empty destination
Current v1 creates new copies in year/month folders. Keep the source archive and audit manifests separate.
- 06
Verify before adopting the result
Compare counts, open a sample across years and formats, inspect collision suffixes, and check how your destination photo app sorts the files.
After export
Keep the evidence with the archive
- Store the CSV or JSON manifest beside your archive documentation, not as the only backup.
- Record any manual date decisions separately; current v1 does not write those changes into EXIF.
- Retain the source archive until the organized copy has been checked and independently backed up.
- Remember that a photo-library app may ignore filenames and folders in favor of embedded dates or its own database.