Issue regarding missing video metadata tags

[BBQ]

Issue regarding missing video metadata tags

Hi void,

I would like to submit a feature request/feedback regarding the metadata tags for audio and video files. Currently, the metadata fields and file tags are not comprehensive enough, which makes fine-grained sorting and searching quite difficult.

For instance, the system might only capture the `Encoded date` but miss the `Tagged date`. While these two timestamps are identical in many cases, they can often be different. In some scenarios, a video file might only contain the latter. Furthermore, tags like `Recorded date`, `Media Create Date`, and `Creation Date` are also missing. I would highly appreciate it if you could expand and improve your metadata database to better support these tags.

Below is an example of the metadata from a typical file (note that this is a partial log and may be incomplete):

```text
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID : mp42 (isom/mp42)
File size : 1.97 MiB
Duration : 8 s 499 ms
Overall bit rate : 1 940 kb/s
Frame rate : 29.882 FPS
Encoded date : 2026-06-02 06:18:47 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-06-02 06:18:48 UTC
Recorded date : 2026-06-02 15:02:57.8278425+08:00
com.android.version : 13
Writing application : Lavf58.32.104
Comment : 11
TIM : 00:00:06:01
TSC : 24
TSZ : 1

Video
ID : 2
Format : HEVC
Format/Info : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile : Main@L5.1@Main
Codec ID : hvc1
Codec ID/Info : High Efficiency Video Coding
Duration : 8 s 467 ms
Bit rate : 1 846 kb/s
Width : 720 pixels
Height : 1 280 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 0.562
Frame rate mode : Variable
Frame rate : 29.882 FPS
Minimum frame rate : 15.000 FPS
Maximum frame rate : 30.000 FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.067
Stream size : 1.86 MiB (95%)
Title : VideoHandle
Language : English
Encoded date : 2026-06-02 06:18:47 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-06-02 06:18:47 UTC
Recorded date : 2026-06-02 15:02:57.8278425+08:00
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
colour_primaries_Original : BT.601 PAL
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
transfer_characteristics_Origi : BT.601
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
matrix_coefficients_Original : BT.470 System B/G
Codec configuration box : hvcC

Audio
ID : 1
Format : AAC LC
Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID : mp4a-40-2
Duration : 8 s 499 ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 96.0 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel layout : L R
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode : Lossy
Stream size : 97.4 KiB (5%)
Title : SoundHandle
Encoded date : 2026-06-02 06:18:47 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-06-02 06:18:47 UTC

```

Thank you for your time and help! I look forward to hearing from you regarding the metadata suggestions.

Best regards,
[BBQ]

[void]

Everything has support for basic properties and the Windows Property System.

Please check under the Windows Property System for these properties.
Third party property handlers can be installed.

The Everything "Date Encoded" property maps to the Windows Property System "Media Created" property.

I will consider native support for Tagged date and Recorded date.
Thank you for the suggestions.

[Herkules97]

If you have this file you can use the "preview" setting in adding columns to load any possible columns without needing to index them first.

It doesn't work just in any situation, I don't remember in what exact situations it does work.

It might work if you search for the specific file, then select it just to be sure then right-click columns and add columns.
Right-click the columns in that window while the tab for "Everything Properties" is active, then full-screen it and wait a few seconds for any properties to load. Scroll down to the next section. Do that until you reach the end.
While checking, add any columns that you want data from just to know instead of having to do it all again..Or have the options window open at the same time and add every property as you find them within the Properties tab in Options window.

After that, do the same but with the Windows Property System tab selected.

There is no indication that it's finished reading the previews for the file, but I've found waiting a few seconds works fine enough.
It seems to go from top to bottom, so if one property takes far longer than any other to load, it will halt loading any visible properties under it until it's done. You could probably keep Windows' Task Manager visible and sort by disk usage or CPU usage to see if it's still doing stuff..Or use a better method you know of.

[wkearney99]

I'm running into what might be a similar problem. I've got a number of video files on a remote share and their video attributes are not being updated in EV (1416b). If I manually rename a file it'll get it's extended attributes updated. If I move the file to a different folder, it'll update. If I move it back to the original it'll still show the updated attributes.

The files are in folders of a parent share. I went so far as to remove the parent share from the EV Folder index (Options->Indexes>Folders, not Network Drives) and created new separate network folder indexes to just the paths. The same files are not showing their video attributes in the folders unless I move or rename the files. And it's not all of the files within the folders. Once they're 'altered' EV handles them properly.

Is there potentially some network folder attribute that might be telling EV to somehow treat the files within different until something changes about the files?

It's a QNAP NAS running linux (samba for the file sharing) and the shares and folders have existed for quite a long time. But there's always potential for shenanigans when there's Samba and Linux involved with Windows clients. I can read, create, edit and otherwise do any/all normal file activities with the files.

I have a number of other Folders indexed, from the same and other NAS boxes, and they're showing their video attributes just fine.

So it's weird, just certain files, with certain folders, are not showing their extended attributes until EV somehow detects them as 'changed'.

Suggestions on where to start debugging?

[Herkules97]

Suggestions on where to start debugging?

Idk about debugging, but you could try selecting them and ctrl+F5 and see what changes.
If it works properly when it thinks the file has changed, that should make it find new changes?

I think I saw somewhere that adding network shares as folders might work better? I don't use NAS so Idk about interactions with that.
Unless that was to add them as network indexes like you did..I was thinking the regular folder monitoring.
I've never had a network thing so I have no experience with that side of things.

[void]

Suggestions on where to start debugging?

Tools -> Debug -> Console
-or-
Tools -> Debug -> Start/Stop Debug Logging
Writes debug logs to %TEMP%\Everything Debug Log.txt

Look for the following lines:
IPropertyStore::GetValue exception <code>
no SHGetPropertyStoreFromIDList
<filename>: no pidl
SHGetPropertyStoreFromIDList <filename> failed <code>
GetValue <filename> failed <code>

[wkearney99]

I've been using this search string to find these files:

Code: Select all

!videoformat:

All of these files are in remote network folders, accessibe using a UNC path, not a drive letter.

Is there a way to tell EV to select and force re-indexing a single file or folder? or is that limited to only the whole folder being indexed?

Oddly, on one machine it managed to correct itself. But when on another machine it was still having some of the same files not getting their video metadata indexed.

I tried the logging and no errors came up matching iPropertyStore or SHGetPropertyStoreFromIDList

I noticed the File menu has a "Read Extended Information" item. What does this do? I'm not seeing it make any difference to files lacking the metadata if I use it on them. It'd certainly make debugging simpler to log. When I use it on a file that's missing the video metadata the Debug console reports this. but none of the metadata changes:

Code: Select all

COMMAND 41064
db_query_read_extended_info_on_selection(): 2.240784 seconds
ready
DB_WAIT: _db_ready_proc waiting for _db_read_extended_info_thread_proc...
DB_WAIT: _db_ready_proc waited 0.000064 seconds

If I verbose log and look I see: "get builtin property 25 " for the UNC path, with the next lines reading:

Code: Select all

2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: got property ret 0
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: event post: 00007ff686c53b20 000000000488a920
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: db_query_read_extended_info_on_selection(): 1.180550 seconds
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: event post: 00007ff686c53b20 000000000488a920
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: event post: 00007ff686c53b20 000000000488a920
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: event post: 00007ff686be3ae0 0000000000c6bd90
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: MSG: 00000000000205a0 1401 0000000000000000 0000000000000000
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: event post: 00007ff686c539d0 000000000488a920
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: TRAY 00001401 0000000000000000 0000000000000000
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: update EVENTs
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: EVENT: 00007ff686c53b20 000000000488a920
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: DB EVENT 1
2026-07-15 11:25:57.874: CBT: 4 0000000000582512 0000000000000000

Is there a way to suppress UI events in the verbose logging? It'd be helpful to exclude all the header, listview, tooltip, statusbar and other debug messages.

I'm basing my understanding of the metadata in the files based on using VLC's Tools->Codec Information menu item and dialog. I'm wondering if there might be something "different" about the video files that's allowing VLC to see the metadata but not EV.

Is there a command line tool I should try to examine the files to see where EV is getting tripped up? Given the complexities of media container formats it could well be some edge case of container parsing problems.

[void]

Is there a way to tell EV to select and force re-indexing a single file or folder? or is that limited to only the whole folder being indexed?

Select the files and press Ctrl + F5.

I noticed the File menu has a "Read Extended Information" item. What does this do?

This loads property values for the current selection and columns.
It doesn't apply to indexed properties.

Is there a way to suppress UI events in the verbose logging?

There's only the verbose on/off option.



Everything uses the system to gather properties.
It's unaware of codecs and most file formats.
Third party property handles can be installed.

Please check if Windows Explorer shows the same properties as Everything.

Please check the debug logs if Ctrl + F5 doesn't refresh your indexed properties.