After certain operations, Custom Copy updates the dates on files and folders when it shouldn't have, based on the behavior of the native implementation of copy and move in Windows. I've attached a table highlighting the differences I found. I'm running XYplorer 23.10 on Windows 11, and using only NTFS volumes, and I have secure overwrite enabled and preserve dates disabled. Enabling preserve dates does not address this issue, because it creates a different set of inconsistencies with the way Windows does things.
Here's my summary. Folder merges retain the date created from the receiving folder, but the date modified is updated when the contents change. I didn't notice any problem with that case in Custom Copy, so I didn't include folder collisions in the table. For the rest, including operations with files and folders done within a parent folder as part of a merge of the parent:
- When you move a file or folder, Custom Copy should not change either date, even if you moved to another volume
- When you make a copy of a folder, Custom Copy should not update the modified date on the copy or its children
- When you copy over a file on another volume, Custom Copy should carry over the date created from the replaced file
I think it's important for Custom Copy to be consistent with the native implementation on these details in its default configuration because the way users reason about file dates is informed by the native implementation. Date modified is "the time when the contents of this file or folder last changed", and date created is "the time when this file or folder was first stored on this PC" (or when you made the copy, for a copy).