A Better Finder Attributes 7.53 — macOS

A Better Finder Attributes 7.50 runs on Macs with macOS 14.6 or later, supporting both Apple Silicon and Intel 64-bit hardware. It’s available in English, German, and French.

Adjusting JPEG, CR2, CRW, and ARF date and time data in batch

• Adjusting JPEG, CR2, CRW, and ARF date and time data in batch.
• Writing shooting dates back into Photoshop files, a feature version 7.50 restored.
• Applying GPS coordinate changes with support for more coordinate formats than before.
• Fixing a one-hour daylight saving time error that could show up when writing QuickTime dates.

Version 7.50 adds an info button to see what you're working with

• This is a utility for changing file and photo dates and attributes—it does not manage folders or rename files.
• Version 7.50 adds an info button to the title bar, giving you a quick way to see what you’re working with.
• Work on a copy first if you’re unsure about batch changes to date metadata.

Putting it to use: fixing a folder of travel photos

Imagine you come back from a trip, copy photos from two cameras onto your Mac, and the dates are all wrong. One camera had its clock set to UTC, the other was off by a day. Importing into Photos or Lightroom gives you a timeline that’s a mess. Here’s how you’d sort it out with A Better Finder Attributes 7.50.

1. Launch the app from Applications. The main window shows a file browser. Navigate to the folder with your travel photos.
2. Select the files you need — maybe all the JPEGs from one camera. You can cmd-click individual files or select the whole folder and filter later.
3. Choose the date action. For the camera that was on UTC, you’ll want to shift the shooting date by a specific number of hours. The app lets you add or subtract time from the existing date. Set the offset for that camera’s batch.
4. Check the EXIF sync. Version 7.50 keeps IPTC Date Created and EXIF time zone offsets in sync when you set embedded dates. That means one adjustment updates both the file system date and the metadata inside the photo. No double work.
5. Preview before applying. The app shows you the old and new dates side by side. Look through a few thumbnails to make sure the shift is correct.
6. Apply the change. Click the button and let it process. With a couple hundred photos, it finishes quickly.
7. Repeat for the second camera. Now select the other batch and shift those dates by the day offset. Same workflow, different values.
8. Synchronize final dates. If you want the file’s modification date to match the shooting date — so your Mac’s Finder sorts them correctly — use the sync option. The app sets the file’s modified date to match the EXIF capture time.

After that, your photo timeline in any app that reads EXIF dates will show the trip in order. No more guessing which folder holds the beach shots from Tuesday.

A ten to fifteen minute cleanup task from the Applications folder

I keep A Better Finder Attributes in the Applications folder, not pinned to the dock, because I don’t use it daily. When I do reach for it, it’s usually for a specific cleanup task that takes ten to fifteen minutes.

A recent example: I had a batch of NEF files from a family event, about 150 raw photos. The camera’s clock was correct, but I’d copied them to a new drive and the file creation dates had changed. The Mac showed every file as “today” instead of the actual event date. That’s no use when you’re browsing by date.

I opened the app, navigated to the NEF folder, and selected all files. The “set date from EXIF” option does exactly what it says — it reads the shooting date from the raw file’s metadata and writes it as the file’s creation date. One click, and the Finder suddenly showed the correct timeline. The whole operation took maybe two minutes, most of it waiting for the file list to populate.

Another time, I needed to correct a batch of video files. Unlike photos, movies lack EXIF data; however, the Apple QuickTime creation date is written by version 7.50. That means Photos and Final Cut Pro can use the correct content creation dates for your clips. I selected the mp4 files, set a custom date based on when they were actually shot, and applied. No more clips floating at the top of the timeline because they lacked metadata.

These sessions are not dramatic. They’re the kind of quiet fix that makes your library usable again. The app sits there until you need it, and then it does one thing well.

Photographers shooting raw who need to align camera clocks

Photographers who shoot raw — especially those working with CR2, NEF, ARF, or CRW files — are the obvious audience. If you import photos from multiple cameras and need to align their clocks, this tool saves you from opening each file in a raw editor just to fix a timestamp. The batch approach is the point.

People who manage large media libraries will also find it useful. If you’ve ever had a folder where file dates don’t match the content dates — because you copied files, restored from backup, or moved between drives — A Better Finder Attributes lets you correct that in one pass. After that, your Mac’s sorting and search behavior matches what you actually shot.

Video editors who work with QuickTime files benefit from the 7.50 update that writes the Apple QuickTime creation date. If you pull clips from phones, drones, or multiple cameras, having the correct creation date means Final Cut Pro and Photos sort them properly. No more manually tagging dates in your editing software.

Archivists and file managers who need to keep metadata clean across folders will appreciate the IPTC and EXIF sync. When you adjust dates, the app keeps the embedded metadata consistent with the file system dates. That matters if you’re handing files off to someone else or importing into a database that reads both sources.

For the casual user who just takes iPhone photos and never sorts them, this tool is overkill. But if you care about your file dates reflecting reality — because you organize by date, because you search by date, because you hand photos to clients — then it’s a tool you’ll reach for every few months, and it’ll do the job without fuss.

• macOS 14.6 or later
• 64-bit Intel or Apple Silicon processor