OneDrive date modified without changing the file

[RahamimL]

Hi all,

We have windows 10 1709 with OneDrive files on demand enabled

One of my users have an issue where if he opens and closes a file the changes the date modified.

His computer is a relatively new installation and he is patched up to February's updates. OneDrive Client version is the latest. Most of his files are set to always keep, but when I added a new folder without always keep, created files and checked after a few minutes the issue persists.

I found several forums with the same problem and also several user voices for Microsoft talking about it.

Any ideas beside trying onedrive /reset?

[#2 · Accepted solution]

This is because of AutoSave in the office clients. They continually save as your view them and they will make changes unfortunately sometimes by just looking at them. The only option you really have is to uncheck the option in your OneDrive client so the files don't open directly with office but open locally. It's sort of explained in this article, but this tick box should keep the files opening the old way and not using the auto save functionality.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/use-office-applications-to-sync-office-files-that-i-open-8a...

[#3]

@Chris Webb 

This happens even when Autosave is off. It doesn't happen with other file types such as MP3s and JPGs, so is quite a serious oversight by Microsoft.

[#4]

Yes, Autosave on/off does not help this issue. I see this issue all over the support threads too. I am a recent convert from Dropbox, and this issue is seriously interfering with my workflow. File Open/Close has functioned one way in Microsoft Products for more than 3 decades. I am hoping this is a bug and not some new "feature."

[#5]

I would like to amend my comment. It turns out that "Auto-Save" feature within Office Products is very different than the "Office Sync" settings within OneDrive. In the earlier post, user Chris Web referenced this article:

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/use-office-applications-to-sync-office-files-that-i-open-8a...

If others are having the same problem I did, read it carefully ... it is not about "auto-save" but the Office Sync settings for OneDrive.

Thank you for your help, and I hope that others will find this setting works for them!

[#6]

This was very helpful. The Modified Date is very important to my workflow and I can confirm this is the OneDrive feature that changes it almost every time you open a document to view it. Thank you.

Quick recap for posterity: go to OneDrive Settings > Office tab > under File collaboration > uncheck "Use Office applications to sync Office files that I open"

[#7]

I know this is an old thread, but the problem persists. Disabling the sync is not a good solution, because that breaks all the collaboration features and live editing. Even if you don't need to collaborate with anyone, it means you have to save and close the file on one computer in order to edit it on another. This means for anyone with a laptop and a desktop computer, turning off the auto sync and autosave breaks important functionality of OneDrive.

Maybe for many, this is worth it to stop the inane Date Modified changes, but I see MS is starting to provide other options. Specifically, I notice that some files can now be set to open in Read Only mode, with a click to flip to Edit. This is an extra step for when you do want to edit the file, but as a single click for an "Enable editing" button that's right there at the top of the window, it's worth it for me to preserve the full benefits of live editing and protect the Date Modified from changing on open. Unfortunately, and this is what I'm currently seeking, I don't see how to set this as the default for all Office files, or at least per application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Anyone know if this is possible and how?

[#8]

Though an old thread, I think I've found a workaround that doesn't require turning off autosave or autosync. 

We know that simply opening an Office file saved in OneDrive will automatically update 'date modified'. However, it doesn't update 'date last saved'.

You can change the columns in File Explorer to show 'date last saved' instead of 'date modified':

1. Navigate to the folder
2. Right click on a column heading (e.g name)
3. Select 'More...'
4. Uncheck 'Date modified'
5. Scroll down to 'Date last saved' and check this
6. Click OK

For the change to apply to all folders of the same type, follow these simple steps: https://superuser.com/a/1128443/642896 

[#9]

Thank you SO much! This has been driving me nuts lately and it's a very good solution that I expect will be useful in other contexts as well

[#10]

In your local sync'd OneDrive files, select file, hold Shift + RightClick, Open as Read-Only.
Has worked well for me, so far, without file or folder changing modified date, so long as I only read and close the document.
Online OneDrive, I use the document menu, Preview - works as Read-Only.
These features mean that I don't have to change any headings or OneDrive settings.

[#11]

This has nothing to do with OneDrive .

If you have background services running in your Office documents like language autodetect, spellcheck etc etc then these will update invisible tags in your document and thus modify the document. This was true before OneDrive (or its predecessors) existed.