Datewell™ User Guide

What Datewell is

Datewell sets each photo's Date taken from the date written in its file name. Scans named 1987-07-04 Lake Tahoe.jpg, phone pictures named IMG_20190312_142310.jpg, or prints named July 1965 Christmas.tif all get the right date, so they sort into the right place in Lightroom Classic, Windows, Apple Photos, Google Photos and every other program that reads photo dates.

Datewell comes two ways, with one license for both:

• The Datewell app, for Windows and Mac. It opens in your web browser and doesn't need Lightroom.
• The Lightroom Classic plug-in: Library > Plug-in Extras > Set Date taken from file names, and Date photos in their Lightroom order for photos you sorted by hand.

Nothing is changed until you have seen a preview and clicked Write dates, and every run can be undone.

Quick start

1. Install: run the Setup program on Windows, or Install Datewell on a Mac, and choose the app, the Lightroom Classic plug-in or both (see Install).

In the app

1. Open Datewell from the Start menu, or from Applications > ThePictureOrg on a Mac. It opens in your web browser.
2. Click Choose a folder and pick a folder of photos.
3. Click Preview the dates. Each photo shows the date found in its name and the date it has now.
4. Untick any photo you want left alone, then click Write dates.

Changed your mind? Click Undo this run.

In Lightroom Classic

1. Select the photos in the Library and choose Metadata > Save Metadata to Files (Ctrl+S on Windows, Cmd+S on a Mac).
2. Choose Library > Plug-in Extras > Set Date taken from file names, and click Preview.
3. Check the dates, then click Write dates. Datewell has Lightroom read the new dates from the files.

To put the old dates back: Library > Plug-in Extras > Undo a Datewell run.

Next: Date photos from their file names, Date prints from a camera's date stamp, Date prints from the date on their border, Date prints in an order you choose.

Date photos from their file names

Datewell never guesses. It leaves a photo alone, and says why, when:

• the name has no date (IMG_0042.jpg), or a picture number that only looks like a year (IMG_1987.jpg, DSC_2004.JPG);
• the name has two different dates (2004-07-04 copy of 2003-01-01.jpg) or a range (1987-1989 album.jpg);
• the date doesn't exist (2004-02-30) or is in the future.

Dates without a time get 12:00 noon, so a time zone change can't move them to the day before. You can choose another time under More.

Numbered photos with the same date (on by default): when the name has no time and other photos in the same folder have the same date, each one's time follows its number, starting from noon: 2004-12-01_December-0001.jpg gets 12:01:00 PM, -0002 gets 12:02:00 PM, -0010 gets 12:10:00 PM. Sorting by file name or by Date taken then gives the same order. A copy such as -0003 (2) gets a second after -0003, and a raw file and its JPEG with the same name get the same time. A time already in the name (IMG_20190312_142310.jpg) is always kept. Turn it off under More ("No time in the name: photos with the same date follow their numbers") to give them all noon.

Year-only and month-only names get January 1 or the first of the month as their Date taken, because the EXIF Date taken needs a full date. The XMP "Date Created" field keeps exactly what the name said (1987 or 1987-07), so programs that understand partial dates show them as such.

Try a name: type any file name in the app's "Try a name" box to see what Datewell reads from it, without touching any photos.

Date prints from a camera's date stamp

Many film cameras from the 1980s to the 2000s could print the date into the picture: orange or red digits in the bottom right corner, such as 91 1 27, 30 10 '97 or 7 3 '00. When a photo's name has no date, or only a year, Datewell looks for such a stamp in the picture's corner (either way up, and for photos scanned on their side) and reads it digit by digit. The preview shows these photos as "camera date stamp", with the digits it read. A stamp sets the full date. When the name has a year, the stamp must be from that same year, so a camera whose clock was set wrong can't move a photo to another year; if one digit of the year is hard to read, the name's year is used when the other digit matches.

The year is the field after the apostrophe ('97), or the first one when there is none (97 12 20). When the other two could be month-day or day-month, the "Dates like 07-04-2004" setting decides. This works for JPEG, TIFF and PNG files and takes a few seconds a photo. A stamp crossed by something bright red, or printed on a bright orange background, may not be read; the photo then keeps the name's year. Turn it off with "read a camera's orange date stamp" in the settings.

Thin, faint stamps from quartz date backs are read too: Datewell zooms in on the corner and looks for the digits' orange light, even over a busy background.

When part of a stamp is hidden (a bright shirt or a white box behind the digits), Datewell compares what it can see, such as 6 '97, with the stamps of the photos next to it in the same folder. If exactly one of their dates fits, the photo gets that date and the note says so. These photos are flagged too, so you can check them; in the preview their date is shown in orange.

When Datewell sees a stamp but can't read all of it, it flags the photo so you can check it by hand. The note says what it could read, and the close-up shows the stamp so you can read it yourself. In the app, the "Date stamp not read" filter lists those photos. In Lightroom Classic, they get the keyword Datewell > Check date stamp: click it in the Keyword List to see them all. Like all keywords our plug-ins add, it is never exported with your photos. When Datewell can't have Lightroom read the new dates for you, read them first (Metadata > Read Metadata from Files) and then run Datewell again on those photos, because reading metadata from the files replaces the keywords Lightroom has.

Reading hard stamps online (optional)

For stamps this computer can't read, Datewell can also ask an online service: Claude (Anthropic), OpenAI or Google Gemini. It uses your own API key, so what it costs goes on your own account; with the usual models that's well under a dollar per thousand photos. It is off until you turn it on: in Lightroom Classic, File > Plug-in Manager > Datewell > Reading hard date stamps online. Choose the service, then click Enter API key... (a key you saved in Labelwell works too). In the standalone app, click Read hard stamps online... under the date stamp setting, choose the service, paste your key and click Save key. The app and the plug-in share the same settings and key.

Only the bottom right corner of a photo is sent, never the whole photo. By default it's sent only when Datewell sees a stamp it can't read; choose "Every photo with no date in its name" to send the corner of those too. If the online reading and what Datewell could see on this computer disagree, the photo is dated but flagged with Datewell > Check date stamp. A chat subscription (such as ChatGPT Plus or Claude Pro) doesn't include an API key: get one from the service's developer site, as described below. On Google's free tier, Google may use what is sent to improve its products; on a paid key it does not.

Getting an API key

An API key is a long password that lets Datewell use your account with the service. A chat subscription such as Claude Pro or ChatGPT Plus does not include one: the key comes from the service's developer site, which has its own sign-in and its own pay-as-you-go billing. You only need one key, from one service, and if you already saved one in Labelwell, Datewell uses it too. The sites change their menus from time to time, so a button may be worded a little differently from what is written here.

Which one to choose

• Claude (Anthropic) is the one we use in our own studio. It reads hard stamps well, costs well under a dollar per thousand photos, and what you send on a paid account is not used to train its models.
• Google Gemini has a free key with no card needed, which is a good way to try reading online. On the free key, Google may use what you send to improve its products, and people at Google may look at it, so don't use the free key on photos you'd want kept private. With billing turned on, Google doesn't use what you send.
• OpenAI works the same way as Claude: a paid account with credit added first.

Claude (Anthropic)

1. Go to console.anthropic.com and sign up (or sign in) with your email or Google account. This is a separate account from a claude.ai chat subscription, though it can use the same email.
2. Open Settings > Billing and click Buy credits. Add a small amount; $5 is the least you can add and lasts a long time for reading date stamps. Reading online won't work until the account has credit.
3. Open Settings > API keys and click Create key. Give it a name you'll recognize, such as Datewell.
4. Click Copy and paste the key into Datewell straight away (it starts with sk-ant-). The site shows the key only once; if you lose it, delete it there and create a new one.

Google Gemini

1. Go to aistudio.google.com and sign in with your Google account. The first time, accept the terms. A work or school Google account may not be allowed to make keys; a personal Gmail account works.
2. Click Get API key (or go straight to aistudio.google.com/apikey), then Create API key. If it asks about a project, choose to create it in a new project.
3. Copy the key (it starts with AIza) and paste it into Datewell.
4. The free key has daily limits, about a thousand or so readings a day, which is plenty for most jobs. To lift the limits and keep your photos out of Google's product improvement, turn on billing for the key's project in AI Studio.

OpenAI

1. Go to platform.openai.com and sign up (or sign in). This is separate from a ChatGPT subscription.
2. Open Settings > Billing and add credit; $5 is the usual least amount.
3. Open API keys (platform.openai.com/api-keys) and click Create new secret key. Give it a name such as Datewell.
4. Copy the key (it starts with sk-) and paste it into Datewell straight away; it is shown only once.

Keeping your key safe

Treat the key like a password: don't email it, post it or put it in a screenshot. Datewell keeps it on this computer only. If you think someone else has seen it, delete it on the service's site, create a new one, and paste the new one into Datewell. The service's own billing page shows what you have spent, and you can set a spending limit there.

Date prints from the date on their border

Many prints from the 1950s to the 1970s have the month and year they were developed printed on their white border, such as JUNE 1956, MAR. 1957 or JUL · 57. When a photo's name has no date, or only a year, Datewell looks for such a date along all four sides of the border, either way up. It works on a scan of the print alone and on a print photographed on a dark background. The preview shows these photos as "printed on the border", with the text it read. A border date sets the month and year. When the name has a year, the border date is only used if it's from that same year.

This works for JPEG, TIFF and PNG files. Most photos take a fraction of a second; one with a hard-to-read border can take about ten seconds. Turn it off with "read a date printed on the print's border" in the settings. The lab printed the date it developed the film, which is usually a few weeks after the pictures were taken.

Date prints in an order you choose

For prints with no date anywhere, put them in order by hand and Datewell dates them in that order. In Lightroom, open the folder or collection, choose View > Sort > Custom Order and drag the photos into order. Select them and choose Library > Plug-in Extras > Date photos in their Lightroom order.

1. Type their date (YYYY-MM-DD, for example 2004-12-01). Each photo gets that date and a time that follows its place, starting from noon: the first 12:01 PM, the second 12:02 PM, and so on. With more than 719 photos, they are a second apart instead.

2. The preview lists every photo in order with its new date and time. Nothing is written until you click Write dates.

3. Datewell writes the dates and Lightroom reads them back, as with Set Date taken.

4. Ticked by default: Lightroom's own Rename Photos then opens for the same photos. Datewell has put two templates in Lightroom's File Naming list:

   • Datewell date first puts the date in front of each name: December-0001.jpg becomes 2004-12-01_December-0001.jpg. Use it when the names already end in their number, in the same order.
   • Datewell date first sequence also adds a number in your order: IMG_0042.jpg becomes 2004-12-01_IMG_0042-0001.jpg, the next one -0002, and so on.

   Choose one and click OK. Lightroom renames the files itself, so nothing in the catalog is lost, and sorting by name, by Date taken, or by your custom order gives the same order.

If the templates aren't in the list (for example when Lightroom keeps its presets with the catalog), make Datewell date first once: in Rename Photos choose File Naming > Edit..., put in Date (YYYY), a hyphen, Date (MM), a hyphen, Date (DD), an underscore and Filename, then choose Preset > Save Current Settings as New Preset and call it Datewell date first. For the sequence one, add a hyphen and Sequence # (0001) after Filename.

Settings

Dates like 07-04-2004: Month first (US: July 4) or Day first (7 April). When one part is over 12 the order is clear and this setting isn't needed. Until you choose, Datewell uses your computer's region: Day first in Europe and most other countries, Month first in the US and Canada.

Two-digit years like 07-04-87: the same order as above, Year first (for video capture names such as clip.04-07-04_14-23.10), or don't read them. Two-digit years below 30 are 20xx, the rest 19xx (changeable under More).

Read names with only a year or a month and year: on by default. Turn it off when your names carry numbers like 1987 that aren't years.

No date in the name: use the folder's name: for photos such as 1987-07 Lake Tahoe/IMG_0001.jpg.

Camera date stamps and dates printed on the border: on by default; see the sections above. The stamp is looked for first.

Custom pattern: for unusual names. Write the pattern with YYYY or YY (year), MM or M (month), DD or D (day), hh mm ss (time), MON (a month name) and * for anything. For example Roll * DD-MM-YY reads Roll 12 25-12-65. The custom pattern is tried first.

Photos that already have a Date taken: Replace it (the default: a scanner usually writes the day of the scan) or Keep it. The preview shows both dates, and points out photos whose current date is years away from the name's.

Camera raw files: Datewell writes a .xmp sidecar file beside each raw file (IMG_0001.xmp for IMG_0001.CR2), as Lightroom and Bridge do; a sidecar that is already there is updated, keeping everything else in it. Tick "write into the raw file itself" to change the raw file instead. JPEG, TIFF, DNG, HEIC, PNG, WebP and PSD files always get the date inside the file.

Under More: also set the file's own Date modified (and Date created on Windows), also set the EXIF Modify Date, keep a copy of each photo as it was (name.jpg_original), and a time zone (for example -08:00) when you know where the photos were taken.

What Datewell writes

All to the same date and time:

• EXIF DateTimeOriginal (what Windows calls "Date taken" and Lightroom "Capture Time") and CreateDate
• XMP exif:DateTimeOriginal, xmp:CreateDate and photoshop:DateCreated
• IPTC Date Created and Time Created, when the photo already has IPTC information

Only these date fields change. The picture itself is never opened or saved again, so there is no loss of quality, and the file's other information (keywords, captions, camera settings) stays as it is. Each photo is read back after writing to make sure the new date is there.

Network folders and NAS drives. 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: its photos are listed as Not written with the reason, and the other folders are dated as usual. Some drives don't store a file's Date created; when you ask Datewell to set it and it doesn't stick, the photo says "Date created not kept" (its Date taken is still set). The app never looks through the snapshot and recycle-bin folders a NAS keeps, such as #snapshot, #recycle and @eaDir.

The app in detail

1. Click Choose a folder (tick "Include the folders inside it" for a whole tree) or Choose photos. You can also paste or type a folder's path in the box under them and press Enter. On Windows, the folder dialog has an address bar and a Folder box you can type into. On a Mac, press Cmd-Shift-G in the dialog to type a path.
2. Click Preview the dates. A bar shows how far along it is, which photo it's on and about how long is left. The list shows every photo: the date found (highlighted in the name), the date it has now, and what will happen. The tabs show the photos that will be dated, those with no date found, those left alone, and those with a date stamp Datewell couldn't read.
3. Check the dates. Drag the Thumbnails slider to make the pictures bigger. For dates read from a camera's date stamp or a print's border, the part of the photo that Datewell read is shown beside the date. Click a picture to see it large: click it again (or press Space) to see it at full size, use the arrow keys for the next or previous photo, and press Esc to close it.
4. Untick any photo you want left alone, then click Write dates.
5. Changed your mind? Click Undo this run right away, or later choose Menu > Undo an earlier run.

The Lightroom Classic plug-in in detail

1. Select the photos in the Library.
2. First save Lightroom's own changes to the files: Metadata > Save Metadata to Files (Ctrl+S on Windows, Cmd+S on a Mac). See the note below.
3. Library > Plug-in Extras > Set Date taken from file names. Choose the settings and click Preview.
4. Check the preview, then click Write dates. The Pictures tab shows each photo with the date Datewell found, and for a date stamp or a border date, a close-up of the part it read. Click Larger or Smaller to change the size of the pictures. The List tab has one line for every photo.
5. When the dates are written, Datewell selects the dated photos and has Lightroom read the new dates from the files (Metadata > Read Metadata from Files). Lightroom's progress bar at the top left shows it working.

Why the extra steps? Lightroom keeps its own copy of each photo's information in its catalog, and doesn't let plug-ins change the capture time there. Datewell therefore writes the dates into the files, and Lightroom then reads them back, as with other capture-time plug-ins. Reading the files back replaces what the catalog has with what is in the files, so any keywords, ratings or captions you added in Lightroom but haven't saved to the files yet would be lost: that's why step 2 comes first.

On a Mac, the first time, macOS asks whether Lightroom may control your computer. That permission lets Datewell choose the menu command for you. Allow it under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility, by turning on Adobe Lightroom Classic. Until then, and whenever the automatic step can't be done, Datewell leaves the dated photos selected and asks you to choose Metadata > Read Metadata from Files yourself. The automatic step needs Lightroom's menus in English. You can turn it off in the settings ("Then have Lightroom read the new dates from the files").

To put the old dates back: Library > Plug-in Extras > Undo a Datewell run. Lightroom reads the old dates back the same way.

Undo

Every run keeps a small undo file with each photo's old date fields (in your PictureOrg folder, "Datewell-undo"). Undo writes the old values back and removes any sidecar Datewell made. Runs made in the app and in Lightroom are listed in both.

Install

There are three downloads. The installers ask what to install: the Lightroom Classic plug-in, the standalone app (no Lightroom needed), or both. One license covers both, and you can run the installer again later to add the other.

Windows: the Setup program (ThePictureOrg-Datewell-Setup-<version>.exe)

1. If you are installing the plug-in, close Lightroom Classic.
2. Double-click the Setup program. If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway.
3. Accept the license, tick what to install and click Install.
4. The app is in the Start menu as Datewell. For the plug-in, start Lightroom Classic. Select photos, then Library > Plug-in Extras > Set Date taken from file names.

Mac: the Install Datewell app (ThePictureOrg-Datewell-Mac-<version>.zip)

1. Double-click the zip to unzip it. If you are installing the plug-in, quit Lightroom Classic.
2. Double-click Install Datewell, and click Open when macOS asks. It is signed and checked by Apple.
3. Choose what to install and click Install.
4. The app is in Applications > ThePictureOrg. For the plug-in, start Lightroom Classic. Select photos, then Library > Plug-in Extras > Set Date taken from file names.

On a Mac with an Intel processor, Datewell uses the Mac's own Python 3. If the Mac has none, the installer says so: install Python 3 from python.org.

Updating and removing: run the installer from the new download the same way, or click Install now when Datewell offers an update (see Updates). Your settings and license key are kept. To remove Datewell, use Uninstall Datewell in the Start menu on Windows, or the Uninstall Datewell app in the Mac download.

Installing the plug-in by hand: on Windows, right-click ThePictureOrg-Datewell-Win-<version>.zip, choose Properties, tick Unblock, and unzip it. On a Mac, right-click Install Datewell, choose Show Package Contents and open Contents > Resources. Move the PictureOrgDatewell.lrplugin folder somewhere permanent, then in Lightroom Classic choose File > Plug-in Manager > Add and pick it. Use one way or the other, not both, or the menu appears twice.

Where it goes: the installers put the plug-in in Lightroom's own plug-in folder for your user account, where Lightroom finds it by itself (%APPDATA%\Adobe\Lightroom\Modules\PictureOrgDatewell.lrplugin on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom/Modules/PictureOrgDatewell.lrplugin on a Mac). No administrator password is needed. If the Mac installer has a problem, it keeps a log for support in ~/Library/Logs/PictureOrg/Datewell-install.log.

License and free trial

• Free trial: every feature works for 21 days on each computer. The Plug-in Manager panel and the app show how many days are left, for example "Free trial: 14 days left".
• After the trial: for 7 more days Datewell still works, with a reminder. After that, the preview still works, and writing dates needs a license key. When a license key is needed, Datewell says "the free trial has ended" and offers Buy a license and Enter key....
• Buying: click Buy a license in the License section of File > Plug-in Manager (select Datewell), or on the license line at the top of the app, or go to thepictureorg.com/tools. One license is for one person on up to 2 computers, covers the app and the Lightroom plug-in, and includes complimentary updates within the major version (a version 1 key works for every 1.x release).
• Entering your key: paste the whole key from your order email into the License key box in the Plug-in Manager and click Enter key, or click the license line at the top of the app. Spaces and line breaks don't matter. It then says "Licensed to" and your name. The key is checked on this computer: nothing is sent anywhere, and no internet connection is needed.
• Plug-in and app: one license, one free trial. The plug-in and the app share the key and the 21-day count on each computer, so a key entered in either unlocks both.
• Bundle key: the Well Tools Bundle key covers Spoolwell, Squarewell, Pivotwell, Datewell and Labelwell. Entered in any one of them, it unlocks all of them on that computer.
• New computer: click Remove license from this computer on the old one (it asks first; a bundle key is removed from every app in the bundle on that computer), then enter the key on the new one.
• Where the key is kept: in your user account, not in the program's folder, so it stays through updates and reinstalling: %LOCALAPPDATA%\PictureOrg on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/PictureOrg on a Mac.

Updates

• Automatic check: every time Lightroom starts, and once a day while it stays open, Datewell looks up the current version number on thepictureorg.com's download service, in the background. Only that small version list is fetched: nothing about your computer, your photos or your license key is sent.
• When a new version is out: the next time you run Datewell, a message says so once per Lightroom session: Install now (or Download), Not now (asks again next time you start Lightroom) and Skip this version (stays quiet until a later version comes out). Nothing is downloaded or installed until you click.
• Install now: Datewell downloads the update, checks that it arrived whole and unchanged, that it carries The Picture Org's release signature and that it is newer than the version you have, and installs it into its own folder and the standalone app's (when you have both), with a progress bar. Then quit and restart Lightroom Classic to start using it. If anything goes wrong, every file is put back as it was.
• Download: opens the installer download in your browser; close Lightroom Classic and run the new Setup program (Windows) or Install Datewell (Mac). Your settings and license key are kept either way.
• Plug-in Manager > Updates: shows your version and whether a newer one is out, with Check now, Install update, Download installer and What's new. Untick Check for updates automatically to turn the automatic check off; Check now still works. When an update can't be installed from inside your version, the panel says to use Download installer for that one.
• The app checks every time it opens, and Check for updates checks at any time. When a new version is out, a bar at the top lets you install it (the app installs it into its own folder, then restarts itself), download the installer, see what's new, leave it for now, or skip that version. Installing an update in either one updates both: the plug-in in Lightroom and the app. Restart Lightroom Classic afterwards if it was open.

Updates within the major version are complimentary.

Help

• Check my setup (in the app's menu, or in File > Plug-in Manager with Datewell selected) checks that everything Datewell needs works on this computer, and shows the result as text you can copy or save.
• Create an error log (in the app's menu, or Library > Plug-in Extras > Datewell: Create an error log) saves a text file on your Desktop with what Datewell did. Email it to The Picture Org with a few words about what went wrong. File names are in it; your photos aren't, and nothing is sent by itself.

Appendix: What's new

• 0.9.27: the app checks for a newer version every time it opens, and Lightroom every time it starts; one update now updates both the app and the Lightroom plug-in.
• 0.9.26: read-only network folders are reported before anything is written, and "Date created not kept" is shown when a drive doesn't store it (see What Datewell writes).
• 0.9.25: on Windows, Setup and uninstall close a running Datewell first, so updates no longer fail on files in use.
• 0.9.24: this guide starts with what Datewell is and a Quick start; the Plug-in Manager buttons sit on two rows.
• 0.9.23: writing dates and Undo now say how long it took ("Took 2 min 14 s"), and an Other -well tools button joins the Plug-in Manager and the app's Menu.
• 0.9.22: a User Guide button in the Plug-in Manager and the app's Menu opens this guide on thepictureorg.com.
• 0.9.20: Date photos in their Lightroom order dates prints you have sorted by hand (see Date prints in an order you choose).

Earlier versions: see CHANGELOG.txt.

Appendix: License and credits

© 2026 The Picture Org LLC · thepictureorg.com. Datewell uses ExifTool by Phil Harvey to read and write dates. See NOTICE.txt.