Datewell™
Date Taken FixerEvery scan, back on its real date.
Scanned photos all claim they were taken the day you scanned them. Datewell reads the date you already wrote in each file name and sets it as the photo's real Date Taken, so every picture lands in the right place on the timeline.
What Datewell does
Scans named 1987-07-04 Lake Tahoe.jpg, phone pictures named IMG_20190312_142310.jpg and prints named July 1965 Christmas.tif all get the right date, so they sort correctly in Lightroom Classic, Windows, Apple Photos, Google Photos and every other program that reads photo dates.
Datewell can also read the orange date stamp a film camera printed in the corner of the picture, or the month and year a lab printed on a print's white border, and you choose which comes first: the file name or the picture. It never guesses: a photo it can't date is left alone, with the reason.
It comes two ways, with one license for both: the Datewell app for Windows and Mac, which needs no Lightroom, and the Lightroom Classic plug-in. Nothing changes until you have seen a preview and clicked Write dates, and every run can be undone.
Datewell in 79 seconds
On screen
Features
Dates in many shapes
1987-07-04, 20040704_142310, July 4 1987, 4 Jul 1987, July 1987, Summer 1971, Christmas 1965, phone, WhatsApp and screenshot names, and month names in German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian.
Camera date stamps
The orange or red digits film cameras printed in the corner, such as ’97 12 20, including dot-matrix stamps made of orange dots, read digit by digit, either way up. Faint quartz date backs are read too, and a hidden digit can be filled in from the photos beside it.
Dates printed on the border
Many prints from the 1950s to the 1970s carry the month and year they were developed on their border, such as JUNE 1956. Datewell reads them on all four sides, and reads a whole date printed under a portrait or on a border, such as June 12, 2008, with its day.
Read dates in file names, or not
Read dates in file names is on by default. Turn it off to date photos only from the picture itself: the camera's orange date stamp or the date printed on the border.
Which date comes first
You choose whether the file name or the picture (a camera date stamp, then a border date) wins. By default a date stamp beats a file name dated this year, which is usually the scan date, and a scanner's own names, such as Kodak's 20260105144811_00034A, are never taken as the date the photo was taken.
Dates from Google, Apple and Facebook downloads
Photos from a Google Takeout, Apple Photos, iCloud or Facebook download get their real date taken from the files the download keeps beside them. A camera's own Date taken is kept unless you tick Their date replaces a camera's own Date taken.
It never guesses
A name with no date, two different dates, a date that doesn't exist or one in the future is left alone, and the preview says why. US or day-first order is your choice when a date could be read either way.
Preview first, undo any run
Every photo is listed with the date found and the date it has now, with a close-up of any stamp or border date it read. Undo puts the old dates back, in the app or in Lightroom.
Folder names and your own patterns
No date in the name? Use the folder's name instead. Unusual names can be read with a custom pattern such as Roll * DD-MM-YY.
Prints in an order you choose
No date anywhere? In Lightroom Classic, sort the prints by hand (Custom Order), type their date, and each gets that date with a time that follows its place: 12:01 PM, 12:02 PM and so on. Two Rename Photos templates then put the date in front of their names.
Numbered photos stay in order
Photos with the same date get times that follow their numbers, starting from noon (-0001 gets 12:01 PM, -0002 12:02 PM), so sorting by name or by Date taken gives the same order. A time already in the name is kept.
Keys and Stream Deck
Every action has a key: press ? to see them, with Shift for anything that writes. A Stream Deck or other macro pad can run them too, including Datewell's Lightroom commands. Ready-made buttons come with Datewell, one profile for the app and one for Lightroom: press ? and click Add Stream Deck buttons. In Lightroom you can give Datewell's commands your own keys: click Keyboard shortcuts beside User Guide. The same window can give a key to another plug-in's menu item, such as Negative Lab Pro, by its name.
Hard stamps online, if you like
For stamps your computer can't read, Datewell can ask Claude, OpenAI or Google Gemini with your own API key. Only the photo's bottom right corner is sent, never the whole photo.
How it works
In the app
- Choose a folder (with the folders inside it if you like) or some photos.
- Click Preview the dates and check the list. Untick any photo you want left alone.
- Click Write dates. Changed your mind? Undo this run, now or later.
In Lightroom Classic
- Select the photos and choose Library > Plug-in Extras > Set Date Taken…, then click Preview.
- Check the preview and click Write dates. Datewell first has Lightroom save its own changes to the files, so crops, keywords and captions you haven't saved are kept.
- Datewell writes the dates, then has Lightroom read them back from the files.
Step by step for every job: the Datewell User Guide.
Requirements
- Windows
- Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). Nothing else to install: Python and the image libraries come with it.
- Mac
- A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 13 or later. Intel Macs aren't supported.
- Lightroom Classic
- For the plug-in only. The app needs no Lightroom, just a current web browser (Edge, Chrome, Safari or Firefox).
- Files
- JPEG, TIFF, DNG, HEIC, PNG, WebP and PSD get the date inside the file. Camera raw files get an .xmp sidecar beside them, as Lightroom and Bridge make, or the date in the raw file itself if you choose. Date stamps and border dates are read on JPEG, TIFF, PNG, DNG and camera raw files (NEF, CR2, ARW and others).
Price and free trial
- Every feature works free for 21 days on each computer, with no watermark and no account. After that, Datewell keeps working for 7 more days with a reminder; then the preview still works, and writing dates needs a license key.
- One license is for one person on up to 2 computers, covers both the app and the Lightroom Classic plug-in, and includes complimentary updates within the major version (a version 1 key works for every 1.x release).
- Your key arrives by email. It is checked on your computer: no account or internet connection is needed to use Datewell.
- Moving to a new computer? Click “Remove license from this computer” on the old one and enter your key on the new one.
- Also in The Well Tools Bundle: Squarewell™, Spoolwell™, Pivotwell™, Datewell™ and Labelwell™ on one license key for $149.
Windows may show “Windows protected your PC” the first time: click More info, then Run anyway. The Mac download is signed and checked by Apple: open it and double-click the Install app.
Lost your key? · License terms · Refund policy · Questions: info@thepictureorg.com
Questions
My antivirus or Windows blocked the download. Is it safe, and what do I do?
Datewell is signed by The Picture Org LLC and is safe. Some antivirus programs (Norton, for example) flag any new download that few people have run yet, even a signed one, and the block goes away as more people install it. Windows SmartScreen (“Windows protected your PC”): click More info, then Run anyway. Norton: open Norton, go to Security > History, choose the entry for the download, and click Restore & exclude this file, then run it again. Microsoft Defender: open Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Protection history, choose the entry, and click Actions > Allow on device. Other antivirus programs have a similar Restore or Allow choice in their quarantine or history. If you would rather not change a setting, email info@thepictureorg.com and we will send you a zip you can install by hand. We report every false alarm to the antivirus maker so it is cleared for everyone.
Why do my scans show the wrong date?
A scanner writes the day of the scan as the photo's date, so a 1965 picture sorts as if it were taken this year. Datewell replaces that date with the one in the file name, a date stamp or the print's border.
What if the name only has a year or a month?
The photo gets the first of that month (or January 1) as its Date Taken, because that field needs a full date, and the XMP “Date Created” field keeps exactly what the name said, so programs that understand partial dates show it as 1987 or July 1987.
What time does it use?
Dates without a time get 12:00 noon, so a time zone change can't move them to the day before. Numbered photos with the same date get a minute apart in number order (12:01 PM, 12:02 PM), and you can choose another time.
My photos came from Google Takeout. Can Datewell help?
Yes. A Google Takeout, Apple Photos, iCloud or Facebook download often loses each photo's date taken, and keeps it in a separate file beside the photo. Datewell reads those files and puts the real date back into each photo, so they sort correctly again.
Will it change my pictures?
No. Only the date fields are written. The picture itself is never opened or saved again, so there is no loss of quality, and keywords and captions stay as they are. Each photo is read back to check the new date is there.
Does it work on a NAS or network drive?
Yes. Before writing, Datewell checks that each folder can be written to. A read-only folder (for example a locked or archived folder on a NAS) is left alone and its photos are listed as Not written with the reason, while the other folders are dated as usual. Searches skip the snapshot and recycle-bin folders a NAS keeps.
Why are there extra steps in Lightroom?
Lightroom doesn't let plug-ins change the capture time in its catalog, so Datewell writes the dates into the files and has Lightroom read them back. Datewell has Lightroom save its own changes to the files first, so crops, keywords and captions you haven't saved yet are kept.
Does anything get sent online?
No, unless you turn on reading hard date stamps online with your own API key. Then only the bottom right corner of a photo is sent, and the cost goes on your own account, well under a dollar per thousand photos with the usual models. A key you saved in Labelwell or Sortwell works in Datewell too.
Is anything sent from my computer?
Only a check for a newer version when Datewell opens, which fetches a small version list and sends nothing about your computer, your photos or your license key. You can turn it off. If something goes wrong, Create an error log can send a report to us, but only after you have seen exactly what it holds and clicked Send. Online reading, if you turn it on, sends only what is described above, with your own API key.
How do updates work?
Datewell tells you when a new version is out. Install now downloads it, checks that it carries The Picture Org's signature, and installs it, putting everything back if anything goes wrong. Installing it in the app or in Lightroom updates both. Updates within the major version are complimentary.
Does it work with Lightroom (the cloud version)?
No. Adobe lets plug-ins run only in Lightroom Classic. If you use the Lightroom app, use the Datewell app on your photo folders instead.
Does it run on an Intel Mac?
No. Datewell needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later).
More answers in the Datewell User Guide, or email info@thepictureorg.com.
What's new
Version 1.7.1 12 November 2026
- Datewell sticks to dates: it no longer adds a download’s captions and GPS locations to your photos. Captions and places that 1.7.0 added stay on your photos, and undoing a 1.7.0 run still takes them off.
- Reads Facebook downloads in HTML, Facebook’s default format, as well as JSON.