Backdating pictures / Setting a creation date

[morningstar]

Sorry if this is in the wrong place/repeat of a previous topic. I've looked and looked and looked all over the forums and in the docs and have not been able to find anything about this topic. Also, CPG-contrib.org is down, so if there's anything there about this, then I haven't been able to read it.

Does Coppermine support image backdating or the ability to specify a creation date, either naively or thorough a plugin or hack? I have a lot of material dating back several years that I'd like to post, displaying from newest first to oldest last. Being able to backdate or otherwise sort by some kind of creation date would make uploading and managing all of these pictures so much easier, especially if I run across old work in the future and decide to post it.

I'm using CPG 1.4.25 that's been bridged successfully with phpBB3.0.2.

Thanks

[onthepike]

I believe this is very possible via phpMyAdmin (or equivalent), though I haven't tried it or sought an option to do so within Coppermine. I'm sure if there's a way to do so via CPG, someone will chime in with a better suggestion.

Meanwhile, I believe you can accomplish this via accessing phpMyAdmin, selecting your Coppermine database, selecting cpg_pictures, click browse in the upper tab, then manually edit the mtime entry. I believe that the ctime entry will change automatically as the image is updated, but I'm not 100% sure. If not, or if ctime needs also be changed, you'll need a Unix time converter. You can find one here: http://www.onlineconversion.com/unix_time.htm

I don't advise "tinkering" with the database unless you're sure you know what you're doing. Merely a suggestion here. But if you do decide to edit the database, please make a backup first. And be sure the backup isn't corrupt. If you download a copy of your database, and open it to find an error or warning message, I would first seek guidance for that issue before proceeding. Best to be safe before anything else.

Hope this helps some. Lately, my help hasn't been very good

[Pascal YAP]

via PhpMyAdmin, go to Tables about your files (cpgxxx_pictures) and modify Ctime parameter.

Try this URL to obtain a new Ctime code =>
http://www.4webhelp.net/us/timestamp.php

[morningstar]

I just went into the database and checked what you mentioned, and this backdating would totally be possible by manually editing the mtime and possibly ctime if it doesn't auto correct. Unfortunately it seems like having to manually edit both the ctime and mtime would be really labor intensive, especially for large numbers of pictures (200+). So, possible in theory but not really practical in execution. Thanks for posting about it, though. I'm still green when it comes to stuff like this, but I'm glad to learn more about how the database functions.

Unfortunately, this seems like it would have the negative side effect of messing up the most recently posted filmstrip if both the mtime and ctime are changed.

I'm thinking a plugin would have to add an extra field within _pictures where the user can manually enter a creation date on upload, and then it would also have to add an option in the display dropdown menu to make Coppermine sort by date in this new field while still allowing it to index new uploads based on the ctime/mtime. I think. I'm just guessing.

I'm hoping this kind of plugin already exists.