Is it possible to change the creation/modified dates in Excel?

Example...

Can someone change their computer date and create an excel file so that it
would appear that it was created say 3 years ago? Is there someway of
finding out if a person did this? We have a potential legal battle and we
believe that this is being done to tamper with documents already created.

Yes, it is possible to change the creation/modified dates in Excel. However, it is not recommended to do so as it can lead to legal issues and can be considered as tampering with documents.

To change the creation/modified dates in Excel, you can follow these steps:

1. Open the Excel file that you want to modify the creation/modified dates for.
2. Click on the "File" tab in the ribbon.
3. Click on "Info" in the left-hand menu.
4. Click on "Properties" in the right-hand menu.
5. Click on "Advanced Properties" at the bottom of the window.
6. In the "Summary" tab, you will see the "Created" and "Modified" dates. You can change these dates to any date you want.
7. Click "OK" to save the changes.

However, if you suspect that someone has tampered with the creation/modified dates of an Excel file, there are ways to find out. You can check the file's metadata to see if the dates have been modified. You can also check the file's properties to see if the dates match the file's content. If you have concerns about the authenticity of a document, it is best to consult with a legal professional.

Hi,


Can someone change their computer date and create an excel file so that it
would appear that it was created say 3 years ago?
I'm afraid it's as simple as changing the system time on the PC

Is there someway of
finding out if a person did this?

No

Mike


"indians777" wrote:

Is it possible to change the creation/modified dates in Excel?

Example...

Can someone change their computer date and create an excel file so that it
would appear that it was created say 3 years ago? Is there someway of
finding out if a person did this? We have a potential legal battle and we
believe that this is being done to tamper with documents already created.

If you are talking about the file's date as it shows up in Windows Explorer,
then yes, the creation and/or modified dates can be changed by running a
relatively easy to construct program in any one of a number of programming
languages. As these programs would change the date on the hard disk, there
would be no forensic way (that I am aware of) to determine such a
manipulation was done. Here is but one website (of the many out there)
showing how to do this in the compiled version of VB (I didn't look at it in
detail, but I would be willing to bet it could be modified to run in VBA
within Excel in order to accomplish the same thing)...

http://vbnet.mvps.org/index.html?cod...ledatetime.htm

If you are talking about the statistics Excel tracks within its Properties
for the workbook, I'm afraid that is easy to change as well...

http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32908

--
Rick (MVP - Excel)


"indians777" wrote in message
...
Is it possible to change the creation/modified dates in Excel?

Example...

Can someone change their computer date and create an excel file so that it
would appear that it was created say 3 years ago? Is there someway of
finding out if a person did this? We have a potential legal battle and we
believe that this is being done to tamper with documents already created.

Hi Rick,

Clearly the date can be manipulated, however, is the date in the statistics tab the ACTUAL CREATION date? Therefore, if no manipulation occured, can I safely say that a file with a Creation Date of say 02/02/2010 could not have been created any earlier than 02/02/2010 regardless of how many times it was saved with a new name or onto a new storage medium.

Thanks

Russell