TIME

[MGBJAY]

Is there a place that IMATCH requires, or allows for a local time to be set as a USER parameter, thereby anchoring IMATCH to a local current time?

For example: I am using IMATCH right now, and the time displayed in the upper left corner of "this" page under my name shows 11 MAR 2019 @ 12:54:08 HOURS. I am in Eastern DST in Ohio, and it is currently 07:54:08 Hours. Is there a way to sync the times so that my actual time is the same as the software time?


Something related to the time zone that a user actually lives in. As an example, I "should" be located in GMT -5, which is I think, Eastern Standard/Daylight Standard, depending on the season. We just went back to DST this weekend.

Just wondering if there may be something that would localize this information in current real time, particularly with respect to the EXIF data and images that were taken in years past and in different parts of the country.

In reviewing a few of the image folders from years past, it seems that the times reflected in the images may be, at least occasionally erroneous, only due to the fact that some of these images show a time of 0300 HOURS, and in fact that cannot be true because the image is clearly shot in the middle of the day.

Thanks.

MGBJAY

[Mario]

Please don't use ALL UPPER CASE when writing subject lines. This is considered as SHOUTING and not welcome in this community.

What is the "this page" ?

EXIF data has no time zone.
Legacy IPTC can, but it is optional.
XMP can, but it is optional.

IMatch, when needed, uses the date and time of your local computer, date and time in the time-zone recorded in that date (IPTC and XMP timestamps) and otherwise.
Please provide details of what you mean with your posting.

If the EXIF date and time in your images is wrong, IMatch has features to correct it. For example, just type in the correct date and time into the date and time fields in the Metadata Panel.

See also

How IMatch uses Date and Time Information
The Metadata Panel
Modify EXIF Date and Time

[MGBJAY]

Perhaps I was not clear regarding my question about the time ...

As you can see in the image that I have attached, the time displayed in the upper left corner of this page is NOT the time that it is here in Cleveland as I write this message. The actual time here is 11:45 HOURS.

My question was actually asking if there is a way to co-ordinate the time displayed in the upper left under Hello MGBJAY on this page.

The purpose for this is to discover whether it might be possible to co-ordinate the IMATCH software with the local time as well ... and this is the reason for that:

As I said ... a number of my images  in IMATCH have times associated with the original photograph that are in no way the time that the original image was taken. I know where I was at the time the image was taken, and I have never taken an image at 0300 HOURS (3 o'clock in the morning) when the sun was shining brightly in the sky. Therefore, the time displayed in the image header IS wrong. So ... IMATCH may be reading the available information for that image(s) incorrectly.

I was thinking if there was located somewhere in IMATCH a place where the end user could enter the local GMT and have the software settle on that time as a base point for all other time references in IMATCH, that could potentially remedy the issue I am trying to describe.

I was thinking that perhaps there is already built-in some sort of localizing time-fix that I have missed up to this point, and all that I would have to do is go there and enter the local time and this would all be managed. If it is not, perhaps it could be at some time in the not-too-distant future. Like a request, I suppose.

I hope that I have clarified my question to the point of having it be clear. I apologize if I did a poor job of writing this up in the first effort.

p.s. I am including the screen shots from the last e-mail that I apparently didn't attach properly.


Thanks,

MGBJAY

[Mario]

Ah, you mean the time displayed on the community page. There is indeed a time display...Never gave that a second thought.
Just set your time zone in the community settings, where you set all your other preferences. Click on the "Profile" link for start. See https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?action=help has

The purpose for this is to discover whether it might be possible to co-ordinate the IMATCH software with the local time as well ... and this is the reason for that:

IMatch has no time display. The only dates and times it displays are the timestamps contained in your image files (XMP, EXIF and IPTC date and time information).
IMatch converts metadata timestamps into local time (or handy short codes like "Today" or "Yesterday") in the Metadata Panel. See the links provided in my last reply. This is based on the "user time" returned by Windows. So, if your Windows clock and time zone settings are correct, they will also be correct in IMatch.

The date and time presented in File Windows (the contents of the IMatch standard File.DateTime attribute) is based on the metadata extracted from your files. IMatch does not perform any calculations with that to convert the metadata time into your local time zone or anything. It shows exactly what's in the file.This is the intended behavior. This data s the base for many feature sin IMatch, from the Timeline to the {File.DateTime} variable.

Here is the link again: How IMatch uses Date and Time Information

If you really need to convert the metadata date recorded in your images into your local time zone, either update it accordingly in the Metadata (via the Metadata Panel or the Modify EXIF Date and Time command) or use a variable with a format instead of the default DateTime attribute in your File Window layouts. But this is a bit advanced and not something a new user should care for during the first couple of weeks. File Window Layouts

IMatch Variables: Time-zone Adjustments

[Aubrey]

I learned something again this evening! I'm in Cyprus GMT+2 and always noted that the time of the community was one hour different.

I assumed that the time was based on the "location" of the board, I assumed Germany, and lived with it.

ExifToolforum is even worse some 6 hours behind my time zone again assumed based on where Phil Harvey is located.

Now I know how to sort all this out.
Thanks,
Aubrey.

[MGBJAY]

I learned something again this evening! I'm in Cyprus GMT+2 and always noted that the time of the community was one hour different.

I assumed that the time was based on the "location" of the board, I assumed Germany, and lived with it.

ExifToolforum is even worse some 6 hours behind my time zone again assumed based on where Phil Harvey is located.

Now I know how to sort all this out.
Thanks,
Aubrey.

I think this is what I was trying to describe to Mario. But I must ask what it is you mean by this.

I have been consistently finding discrepancies between times I know for a fact "should" be attached to an image of mine, and the time that IMATCH "says" the image was shot.

I made a trip across the states a few years ago, and I never shot any images in the hours between midnight and 0600 A.M., yet I have quite a few images in the IMATCH database that argue with that certainty.

Since you suggested that you "now know how to sort that all out" I would like to know what you mean by that, and perhaps exzplain how you intend to go about fixing it.

MGBJAY

[Mario]

Show us a sample file. Or run the ExifTool Command Processor on one of your problem files with the "List Metadata" preset. Then attach the results.
This will show us the time recorded in the EXIF, IPTC and XMP in your files.

IMatch and ExifTool have strict rules for how they import date and time from your images. EXIF and IPTC are imported as-is. The XMP created and subject created dates are produced from EXIF or legacy IPTC or XMP in the file based on the rules and recommendations of the Metadata Working group. IMatch does not make up dates and times.

The last time we had a similar problem report, it was (as usually) caused by metadata mess (embedded XMP record which had different dates than EXIF.

See this long thread: https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=8827.0