Number of images mismatch between Media & Folders vs Timeline

[fisketjon]

I have gone through a folder with images from 1996 and set Create Date + Date Subject Created to dates in 1996 for all images in the folder. I have verified it by sorting the file window by Capture time (which I assume is the same) and the first and last image have both dates in 1996.

In timeline I have 22 fewer images for 1996 than I have in the 1996 folder. A higher count could easily be explained by having a 1996 date in one of the other folders, but I fail to see how I can have fewer. If Capture is something else than Create Date, I would expected an option to sort the file window by Create Date.

[Mario]

Try Database menu > Tools > Rebuilt Timeline.
If this does not help, isolate the files which should show but don't and tell us more about them. For example, which date and time they show in the Metadata Panel. Could be a time-zone-related issue perhaps?

So far, there is virtually no information available to work with: for one user, some files don't show up in the time line at the expected time slot...

[fisketjon]

It was indeed time-zone related. When I entered, for instance, 1996-03-01 without a time, the image is place on the timeline for February that year. It would have been better if the default time where the middle of the day; 12:00 instead of 00:00.

Images with 1996-01-01, 1996-02-01 or 1996-03-01 were placed on the previous month, while images with 1996-04-01 and 1996-07-01 were placed on April and July respectively. Is that because April and July is using Daylight Saving Time?

[Mario]

I recommend to always enter a complete timestamp, with date and time and time-zone offset.
Use the commands in the drop-down menu available for each date & time tag for efficient and complete input:

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[fisketjon]

For scanned images there is no capture time available (no date either for that matter) and it's much faster to type a date into the date field than using the mouse to select a date and time.

[fisketjon]

Would I risk future trouble if I set the time zone to 0 for scanned images rather than using the default local time zone?

[Mario]

For scanned images there is no capture time available (no date either for that matter) and it's much faster to type a date into the date field than using the mouse to select a date and time.

When I enter 2025:08.:18 in the Metadata Panel and press <Tab> or click elsewhere, IMatch sets the time to 00:00:00 and to my local time zone. Cannot be faster than that I believe.

Would I risk future trouble if I set the time zone to 0 for scanned images rather than using the default local time zone?

IMatch is agnostic to the time zone. Use whatever works for you.
A time-zone offset of 00:00 means that the timestamp is in UTC. If this matches what you expect, good. But if you scanned the image in your time zone and set the date according to your time zone, you should use the correct time-zone offset to include this vital detail.

IMatch offers several modes to deal with time zones and to automatically apply time-zone offsets for incoming images.
See File.DateTime Mapping Mode and User-defined time zone offset and especially File.DateTime Mapping Mode (User-defined Time Zone Offsets) in the How IMatch uses Date and Time Information topic. This is important information.

Read it, then make a decision for how you want to work with date and time in IMatch. Use an approach that works both for images with a proper timestamp set by the device and for your scanned images. 

Note that for scanned images the meaning of "Create Date" and "Date Subject Created" is important. Usually they will differ a lot for scanned images.

[hluxem]

Would I risk future trouble if I set the time zone to 0 for scanned images rather than using the default local time zone?

You can change the time zone to whatever you like. However, if your goal is to move the files to the correct date in the timeline, I would recommend setting the correct time zone and add 12 hours to the time. Select all files and run the time wizard. There you select shift time by 12 hours and change time zone. Check "keep original time", otherwise the time zone offset, and the selected offset will be applied to the file. Check the before and after time before you hit apply.

As far as typing the complete date and time in the time fields, I usually use copy and paste and then only change day and or month if required. 

Heiner

[Mario]

Also keep in mind that you can set the timestamps for any number of files at once. Just select all files from a day and enter the date and time.