Solved Printing directory contents - File dates displayed wrong

[sverku]

Hello,
I have been using Directory List & Print (and Karen's Directory Print) for several years, to print lists of files in various directories (especially media). In order to keep track of all my media files, which are scattered amond numerous drives and many different folders, I create shortcuts for each file, then paste them into a single "master list" folder. This way, I have one place I can quickly turn to for up to date info. Directory List & Print (free version) works quite well for sending the current list of files (actually - list of shortcuts) in the "master folder" to MS Word, for printing and formatting. I just recently tried to sort my file list by date, in order to resolve a problem I was having with keeping track of when certain files were created. When I tried to sort the Directory List & Print order by "date", all files in the master folder were shown as the same date (the current date = 10-20-15), even though each file in the directory shows the actual date the file was originally created. I cannot figure out why this app (Dir ListPrint) assigns the current date to each file, instead of the correct date. I have tried several other third party directory print progams and the result is the same with each. I have also tried the DOS command to create a txt list within the master folder - same result. I want the printed list to show the filename and the correct date. What am I doing wrong? Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading this lengthy request.
Steve

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Hmmm............

The Everything search engine will find all files matching your stated search string and then allow you to sort them by creation date.

Below is a screen shot of a bunch of Frank Sinatra mp3s from various folders as searched for in Everything. I then sorted them by "creation time", newest to oldest.

You can also export the search results as a text file.

Or highlight some or all of the results and paste them to some folder--which would copy the actual files, not just their names.

It's a great tool that you might be able to adapt to your purposes.

Free at voidtools.com.

 

[sverku]

ignatzatsonic,
Thank you for the quick reply. I have tried Everything (a great search utility) but it doesn't quite do what I want. Directory List + Print will allow me to copy directly to Word (or to clipboard which I can then paste into Word). It also lets me continue to copy directory contents into the same Word document so that I will eventually have one complete list from all 12 directories (media files). Since I always relied on just an alphabetical listing (to avoid purchasing duplicate CDs and movies), this process has been simple and reliable. Now, however, I need to be able to sort this combined list by actual creation date in order to identify glitches in my backups. Even though my lists of shortcut files show the correct creation date, any sorting by date ends up with all of them displaying the same (current) date. I know it is due to conflicts between the creation date of the real file and the creation date of the shortcut (a windows problem), but it seems there should be some third party app or method that would retain the original file creation date along with the shortcut file. Thank you for your thoughtful suggestions. I am probably at a dead end on this. Steve

 

[sverku]

Best solution

I think I found an excellent solution to this problem. I purchased the Pro version of Directory Print + List but it still didn't allow me to sort lists by actual creation dates. Then, I found a fantastic program (totally free!) called Filelist Creator (German company but has an English version <http://www.sttmedia.com/filelistcreator>). By going to each directory (with actual files - not shortcuts) and adding any files I wish, I can cumulatively create a list that can be sorted by apha or by actual creation date. This list can then be copied to clipboard and pasted into Word, etc. I love this program and will make a donation to the author. It is superb.

Thank you again, ignatzatsonic, for your help and the time spent outlining specific steps. Much appreciated. Hopefully, this discovery of a helpful piece of software may aid someone else.

Sincerely, Steve