On this page
What a Date and place set does
A Date and place set turns file metadata into folders. With the levels Year / Month / City, a photo taken in Potsdam in December 2025 goes to 2025/12/Potsdam. No AI picks the folder, so the same metadata always gives the same path.
The built-in Capture date set uses Year / Month / Day. Make your own set to add a city, a camera or a fixed name such as Archive. To sort by what a document says, use a Your folders set instead.
Compare the three ways to sort on one page.
Build the folder levels
- Turn on Sort in the sidebar and choose an Output folder in the header, such as Pictures.
- In the Sort folders menu, choose New folder set…, then Date and place under Sort by. Or start from a copy of Capture date with Make an editable copy.
- Pick a path under Start from, or click + on the Folder levels row to add Date, Place, Camera, Music and audio or Text levels.
- Click a level for its options, such as Date from, Looks like and When missing. Move earlier and Move later change the order.
- Check the preview tree, name the set at the top of the panel and click Save.
Pick the date source
| Date from | Uses | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Date taken, else created date | The capture date saved in the photo, else the file’s created date | Exports and chat copies often lose the capture date |
| Created | When this copy of the file was made | A copy or download can carry the copy date |
| Modified | When the file last changed | Any edit changes this date |
These are file dates. A date printed on an invoice is not one of them.
Example: Year / Month / City with When missing
A set with the levels Year / Month / City. City keeps the default When missing folder, _Unsorted.
| File | What the file has | Folder |
|---|---|---|
| IMG_2041.HEIC | Taken 14 Dec 2025, GPS in Potsdam | 2025/12/Potsdam |
| IMG_2187.HEIC | Taken 3 Jan 2026, GPS in central Munich | 2026/01/Munich |
| Screenshot 2025-12-20 at 10.15.32.png | No GPS, made 20 Dec 2025 | 2025/12/_Unsorted |
| DSC00912.jpg | Exported without EXIF on 2 Mar 2026 | 2026/03/_Unsorted |
Each level falls back on its own, so a missing city keeps the date. Type your own name under When missing, such as No location, to get 2025/12/No location instead.
Check two things before you apply:
- City is the nearest named place to the GPS position, looked up on your computer. In big cities that can be a district: a photo at the Brandenburg Gate gets Tiergarten, not Berlin. Use Region or Country if that is too fine.
- A photo without EXIF goes by its file date. DSC00912.jpg lands in March 2026, the month it was exported, not the month it was taken.
Check the folders, then move the files
Add the photos to the Rename screen and click Run AI if Auto mode is off. With Rename off, click Move to folder; the files keep their names. With Rename on, the button is Rename & Move. Each changed file uses one apply credit. Undo puts them back.
With Rename on, you can keep camera IDs such as DSC00912 in the new names.
Sort new photos as they arrive
In Auto Flow, choose Add rule, turn on Sort, select your set in the rule’s Sort folders menu, and pick a source and destination, such as Camera Uploads and Pictures. Keep Auto Apply off until the folders in Processed look right.
See the guide to setting up an Auto Flow rule.