For scanned film photos

Your old photos already know when they were taken.

Film cameras printed the date right on the picture, in little orange numbers. Quartz Date reads that stamp on your scanned photos and puts the date in each file's name, so a whole box of memories sorts itself by date.

For Windows 10 and 11 · One-time purchase · Reads dates right on your computer

Before and after

From a jumble of scans to a folder in date order

Scanners name files in the order you scanned them. Quartz Date puts the real date first, so any folder lists your photos from oldest to newest.

📁 Scans: as scanned
  • scan0001.jpg
  • scan0002.jpg
  • scan0003.jpg
  • scan0004.jpg
  • IMG_2231.JPG
📁 Scans: after Quartz Date
  • 1996-08-03_scan0003.jpg
  • 1998-06-15_scan0001.jpg
  • 1999-06-05_scan0004.jpg
  • 2002-07-04_scan0002.jpg
  • 2009-01-10_IMG_2231.JPG
How it works

Three steps, a few minutes

Pick the folder

Choose the folder with your scanned photos (and its subfolders, if you like).

Quartz Date finds the dates

It reads the stamp on each photo, usually in under a second. Photos straight from a digital camera use the date the camera saved in the file.

Check, then rename

Every photo shows the date it found. Fix any you like, then rename them all at once. Changed your mind? Undo puts the old names back.

Features

Made for real shoeboxes of prints

Reads the stamp itself

Its built-in reader is made for the tiny, dotted orange digits cameras printed, even on sideways photos. No internet needed.

Knows digital photos too

Photos straight from a digital camera already carry their date inside the file. Quartz Date uses it, and ignores the scan date that scanners and phones add.

Optional AI double-check

For faded or unusual stamps, let an AI take a look: a free AI with a free OpenRouter account, or Claude for about 1¢ a photo. When the AI disagrees, it looks twice.

You have the final say

Unsure dates are marked Please check. Change any date with a click, and nothing is renamed until you say so.

Names your way

1998-06-15_scan001.jpg, 1998-06-15.jpg, 19980615.jpg or scan001_1998-06-15.jpg. Two photos from one day get _2, _3.

Undo anytime

Every rename is recorded, so Undo last rename puts the original names back in one click.

Your photos stay on your computer

Quartz Date reads and renames your files right on your PC. Nothing is uploaded, unless you switch on AI help; then only the photos it isn't sure about go to the AI you signed in with.

Pricing

Pay once. Keep it.

No subscription. Your license key arrives by email right after you buy.

Questions

Good to know

Which photos does it work with?

Scans of prints that have a date printed by the camera: the small orange or red numbers in a corner, like '98 6 15 or 6 15 '98. It also works with photo files straight from digital cameras, which keep their date inside the file.

Photos with no printed date are left as they are, and you can add a date by hand.

What if it reads a date wrong?

Dates it isn't sure about are marked Please check and aren't renamed unless you say so. You can change any date before renaming, and Undo last rename puts the old names back. As with any tool that renames files, keep a backup of photos you care about.

Do I need an AI or an account?

No. The built-in reader works on its own, offline. AI help is optional, for faded or unusual stamps: sign in with a free OpenRouter account to use free AI models, or pay about 1¢ a photo there to use Claude.

Does it need the internet?

Only to activate your license key (once) and for AI help, if you turn it on. Finding dates and renaming work offline.

Does it work on a Mac?

Not yet. Quartz Date is for Windows 10 and 11.

How do I get my license key?

It's emailed to you right after you buy. In Quartz Date, open Settings, paste the key under About and click Activate.

Windows says "Windows protected your PC". Is that OK?

Windows shows this for new programs it hasn't seen many times yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.

I have another question.

Send it through the contact form.

Give every photo its date back.