Is there a way to change my file system?

[Aflaaaak]

When I look at my many photos from my phone's SD card on my computer while it's still in the phone, via the USB cable, it displays View columns that seem to assume everything is music, so it shows columns for Artist, Track #, Year. I changed that by unchecking the boxes in "View/Choose details". The problem is with so many photos, finding recent photos is a PITA, because it shows the same date Date Created for every file, which is whatever the day I'm viewing the photos is. Is there a way to make it show the photos by the actual date they were taken, as my computer will do for photos from my digital camera? Tried sorting by name, thinking the way the phone numbers the photos might have the date in it, but not any better .

 

[anon(238680)]

I think you'd have to access the metadata in the picture itself. There may be something out there to do that, don't know. Worth a google

 

[Golfdriver97]

What OS is your PC? Perhaps you need to get updated drivers for LG devices?

 

[ManiacJoe]

If you are using Mac Finder, you are out of luck because Finder does not look at the EXIF data (according to what I have been told).

If you are using Windows File Explorer, you can change the columns shown by right-clicking on the column headers in the details view. Unfortunately, any changes you make to the columns will be reset back to the default when you unplug the phone.

 

[Aflaaaak]

If you are using Mac Finder, you are out of luck because Finder does not look at the EXIF data (according to what I have been told).

If you are using Windows File Explorer, you can change the columns shown by right-clicking on the column headers in the details view. Unfortunately, any changes you make to the columns will be reset back to the default when you unplug the phone.

That seems to be the case. When I download photos from my camera's SD card, it brings the EXIF data along, including the actual date the photo was taken, not the day I downloaded it to the computer (Windows 7). So far, the G4 photos seems to assign the date downloaded to date taken or created, and that date changes to whatever the date is the G4 USB cable is connected. Interestingly enough, I did send one photo via Bluetooth that I took Saturday. It showed the correct Date Taken date as 7-1-17, but now that I want to test more, it refuses to work . It shows still paired t my computer, but files refuse to transfer. Either way, transferring files with Bluetooth is a PITA since it can take forever if there are more than a couple, or if there's video.
Is there another wireless way to do this?

 

[Golfdriver97]

I know you can possibly transfer files wirelessly, but, I don't know how easier/faster it will be versus BT.

 

[ManiacJoe]

One of the common complaints about the android file system is that it does not preserve the file dates when moving/copying files.

 

[smvim]

One of the common complaints about the android file system is that it does not preserve the file dates when moving/copying files.

Never heard of Android as being the actual source of the problem. As for myself I've been working with countless things with the ext4 file system for years now and using both GUI and CLI didn't encounter something like file dates, or other metadata, as a problem. If you want to make unfounded accusations I'm guessing you should point your finger at either Microsoft or Apple, neither one has an operating system that is very open to compatibility with other operating systems. Also FAT variants being the default file system for microSD cards are a fundamental weakness as FAT is antiquated, not stable (anyone who maintained Win98 systems will understand), and has inherent limitations, including the even the ability to retain file/folder metadata. So whether you're connecting your mobile device directly or using a microSD card for file transfers, your issues with things like dates not being preserved are either the OS (Windows or MacOS/OS X) on the computer or the card itself.

 

[ManiacJoe]

Maybe I am misunderstanding what the problem is.

When you move/copy files between internal and external storage, or between your phone and your computer, android always updates the file dates of the file at the new android location to be the time of the move/copy. This cause the file creation date to no longer match the "picture captured date" in the metadata.

Some file browsers and some picture viewers will correctly look at the EXIF data of pictures and movies. Some apps wrongly look only at the file dates.

Windows File Explore does maintain the file dates during file move/copy operations; and it can look at the EXIF data of your pictures and videos. Mac Finder does not look at the EXIF data; I am not sure what it does with the file dates.

The Android file system does not allow the file dates to be preserved. Some android apps look at the EXIF data; some do not.

The default LG G4 camera app names the files using the creation date, which is helpful since sorting by name becomes the same as sorting by "EXIF image capture date" regardless of what happened to the file creation date.

 

[Aflaaaak]

Never heard of Android as being the actual source of the problem. As for myself I've been working with countless things with the ext4 file system for years now and using both GUI and CLI didn't encounter something like file dates, or other metadata, as a problem. If you want to make unfounded accusations I'm guessing you should point your finger at either Microsoft or Apple, neither one has an operating system that is very open to compatibility with other operating systems. Also FAT variants being the default file system for microSD cards are a fundamental weakness as FAT is antiquated, not stable (anyone who maintained Win98 systems will understand), and has inherent limitations, including the even the ability to retain file/folder metadata. So whether you're connecting your mobile device directly or using a microSD card for file transfers, your issues with things like dates not being preserved are either the OS (Windows or MacOS/OS X) on the computer or the card itself.

Works fine for any of my camera's SD card, just not my phone's, so guessing it's an Android or LG issue.

 

[smvim]

The default file system for microSD cards is a variant of FAT -- FAT32, exFAT, whichever. FAT, or File Allocation Table, is Microsoft's antiquated, proprietary, and poorly supported file system, the problem being any current operating system will rely on newer, more robust, and much more capable file systems. Android uses ext4, not the newest Linux/Unix file system available but it has a good legacy history as being stable and reliable (unlike FAT). There are always going to be issues using microSD cards as FAT has so many limitations -- even ignoring fundamental read/write issues there are compatibility problems as it doesn't support file/folder metadata very well, and for FAT32 restrictions on file size.
So blaming Android is often convenient but not always accurate (a lot of people also mistakenly blame the Android OS for issues that are actually caused by the carriers). With file transfer problems it's often because of Microsoft's FAT, an old and still proprietary file system. Protected by patents, that legally isolates FAT from any further outside development, and the USB-IF (USB-Implementers Forum), the board that currently determines USB standards, still opts to follow legacy standards instead of looking forward.

 

[Aflaaaak]

Looks like it's more to do with Android connected to the computer than a straight file system problem. I popped out the SD card before I turned my phone on, inserted it into my laptop, and viola, all the photos show up the same as my digital camera's do, i.e. with correct Date Modified dates, not today's date. More of a pain to have to take the card out every time I want to transfer photos, but it works. Another reason I like a removable memory card instead of the way so many phones have gone with no removable card.