Controlling timestamp used for copied files

[pjaquiery]

Is it possible to control the timestamp used for files copied using the Copy Step?

At present it seems that the files get the time that the copy was done. Often it would be nice to use the timestamp from the original file. Sometimes it would be nice to use a supplied timestamp.

In some cases it may be nice to manage the creation and last modified timestamps individually.

[kinook]

The Copy Files action uses the CopyFileEx API to copy files, which sets the creation time to the current time and retains the modification time of the original file. This is consistent with copying from a command prompt or Windows Explorer, and retaining the modification time value is necessary to support incremental file copy.

After copying, you could use a touch utility (such as the one in http://unxutils.sourceforge.net/) to modify file timestamps. We'll consider adding an option to the Copy Files action set the created/modified timestamps for all copied files to a user-supplied date/time value.

[pjaquiery]

In that case something odd is going on. I am getting the modification timestamps set to the time of the copy. Is there an OS option I don't know about that may be doing this? Doesn't seem likely as it doesn't happen when I copy files in the explorer.

Could it be that (&%^*& MacServer is clobbering the timestamps? Not only it could be, it is!

The timestamp still seems like a good idea though, albeit low priority.