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ExifTool GUI for Windows: 3 Ways to Edit Photo Dates Without Commands

The ExifTool GUI options for Windows compared, from the free ExifToolGUI to point-and-click apps that change date taken, time zone and location in batches.

An ExifTool GUI is a program that runs ExifTool for you, so you click instead of typing commands. On Windows there are three kinds. ExifToolGUI is free and shows every tag, but it is still close to ExifTool's way of thinking. Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer, our app, has a point-and-click editor in its Selected Photos tab that uses ExifTool inside and is built for dates, time zones and places in batches. For a Google Takeout export, the same app does the whole .json job in one run.

Why people look for an ExifTool GUI

ExifTool is the most complete metadata tool there is, free, and trusted by archives and photographers. It is also a command-line program. To shift 300 holiday photos by two hours, you write:

exiftool "-AllDates+=0:0:0 2:0:0" -overwrite_original C:\Photos\Holiday

One wrong quote and nothing happens, or the wrong thing does. There is no preview and, with -overwrite_original, no undo. A GUI fixes those three problems: you see the files, you see the change, and you can take it back. ExifTool: change date taken has the commands, if you want them.

Option 1: ExifToolGUI (free)

ExifToolGUI is a free Windows program that shows ExifTool's output in a file browser. It was started by Bogdan Hrastnik and is now maintained as open source on GitHub.

  1. Download ExifTool from exiftool.org and ExifToolGUI from its GitHub page.
  2. Put exiftool.exe where ExifToolGUI can find it (its documentation says where).
  3. Open a folder, select photos, and use its date-shift or tag-copy functions, or type ExifTool arguments into its command box.

It is good if you already know ExifTool's tag names and want to see them. It is less good if you just want "these photos were taken on 14 July 2019".

There is also jExifToolGUI, a Java front end that runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.

Option 2: Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer, Selected Photos tab (our app)

Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer is a Windows app from the Microsoft Store. Besides fixing Takeout exports, it has a full photo editor in its Selected Photos tab. It bundles ExifTool and keeps one ExifTool process running in the background, so edits are fast. You never see a command.

  1. Install it from the Microsoft Store.
  2. Open the Selected Photos tab and click Choose library folder… to pick the folder with your photos.
  3. Select the photos you want to change.
  4. Press Edit and pick a tool: Set Date & Time, Shift Time, Fix Time Zone, Date from File Name, Set File Dates or Set Location.
  5. Enter the new date, offset or place, check the preview table of old and new values, and apply it.
  6. If something looks wrong, undo it in History….

It also writes titles, captions and keywords, removes metadata before sharing, renames and sorts into folders. It handles JPEG, HEIC, PNG, RAW files (through .xmp sidecars) and videos. The first 100 edits are free; Premium is $19.99 once and also makes Takeout fixing unlimited. If you only want the editing tools in a smaller app, there is also our editing-only Photo Date & Metadata Editor.

Option 3: For Google Takeout, the same app's Google Photos Takeout tab

If your photos came from Google Takeout, the job is not to type a date. The dates are already in the .json files next to each photo, and the work is matching each photo to its file, including cut-off names and (1) duplicates. The Google Photos Takeout tab of Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer does that for a whole export in one run on Windows or Mac: date taken, GPS, file dates, and optional Year/Month folders. The first 500 photos are free. The ExifTool route is in ExifTool for Google Takeout.

Which one to choose

You want toUse
See and edit any EXIF tag, freeExifToolGUI
Change date taken, time zone or place on many photos, with undoTakeout JSON Metadata Fixer, Selected Photos tab
Only the editing tools, in a smaller editing-only appPhoto Date & Metadata Editor
Fix a Google Takeout export from its .json filesTakeout JSON Metadata Fixer, Google Photos Takeout tab
Script it, schedule it, or run it on a serverExifTool itself

Can File Explorer do it?

Partly. Right-click a JPEG, Properties, Details, and you can edit Date taken for one photo or a selection. It does not work for HEIC, PNG or most videos, cannot shift times, and cannot set a location. For a few JPEGs it is enough. See change date created on Windows 11.

Frequently asked questions

Is ExifTool safe to use through a GUI?

Yes. A GUI runs the same ExifTool. Work on a copy the first time, whatever tool you use.

Does editing metadata change the photo?

No. Only the metadata part of the file is rewritten. The image is not recompressed.

Is there an ExifTool GUI for Mac?

jExifToolGUI runs on Mac. Our Mac app for the same date, time and place edits is Photo Metadata EXIF Editor in the Mac App Store; it uses Apple's own photo libraries rather than ExifTool. For Takeout exports, Takeout JSON Metadata Fixer runs on Mac too.

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