Copying photos scrambles file dates. Elegant File Explorer reads the EXIF, the real capture date and camera model stored inside the photo, and organizes your library into Photos/year/month, renaming with the true date.
Copying from a card stamps today onto every file. The recipes read the EXIF written inside the photo and build the destination — Photos/year/month — from what's true, not from the file's timestamp.
Turn on a photo recipe or teach a rule once — and it tidies the library on its own, always with a simulation first. All read from EXIF, whenever the metadata exists.
One-click fixes for the real library — always with a simulation first and undo after.
Reads the EXIF — capture date and camera model — to build Photos/year/month. It only matches when the metadata is there; it never guesses.
Sends .CR2, .NEF and .ARW to their own folder by file type — your originals never mix in with the JPGs.
Recognizes IMG_, PXL_ and DSC_ names on import and renames them by capture date, with a live preview.
PNGs without EXIF don't join the timeline: they go to Screenshots, so they never clutter the library.
The same recipes run by hand over folders holding years of old imports. A dry run shows where each file will land before it moves, and undo puts everything back if you need it.
The photo pack ships with the whole file manager.
Capture date, camera model, orientation and megapixels come from the metadata written into the photo. Conditions only match when the data is there.
The {camera} placeholder fans the library out by device: the phone in one folder, the Canon in another, the drone in its own.
A live preview turns IMG_4029 into 2019-06-14_beach before it applies across thousands of photos.
Finds identical copies by SHA-256, even under different names. Always reviewed first.
See the photo right there, without opening another app, before you decide what to do with it.
Any tag you set stays attached after the file is moved or renamed.
| Elegant File Explorer | Windows Explorer sort by date | Manual sorting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uses the real capture date (EXIF) | Yes | Uses file date instead | If you check manually |
| Splits library by camera | Yes | No | No |
| Preview before moving | Yes | No | You just look |
| Works on years of backlog | Yes | No | Rarely finished |
No subscription. No feature locked behind a higher tier. And it all runs on your computer.
EXIF conditions only match when the metadata actually exists. The app never guesses. For files without EXIF, use a rule based on the file date instead.
Never. Photo recipes move and rename files, and every run has Undo in the history.
RAW files are filed into their own folder by file type. Their capture date isn't read from EXIF, so RAW recipes fall back to the file's own date rather than guessing. Capture-date and camera organizing is for photos with EXIF, such as JPG, HEIC and PNG.
The app organizes the arrival, the card or Downloads, before the catalog even sees the files. It doesn't touch catalogs or app libraries.
Turn on the photo recipes, approve the simulation, and let the EXIF lead. Undo stays one click away.
Elegant File Explorer