Stop Cubase from editing folder "modification date" when no chances have been made

Cubase
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1

Hi all,

Just making a request. Its something ive bought up before, and it’s something that im not even sure why it is a thing.

From Cubase 13 or 14 onwards, every time you open a project, it will alter the modification date of that folder. For archiving purposes, and probably even legal reasons (if someone has to prove that what they created was done so on X date and last modified on X date ) Its an issue because, although the .CPR file does not have its modification date changed, the folder its contained in does. That’s a mismatch and you can get accused of forging folder dates.

My projects made with Cubase span back many, many years. My folder structure is along the lines of: main folder > a named project folder > working title folder (this holds the .CPR file)

For me, as I create a ridiculous amount of music, I rely on the modification date of the working title folder to know when I last edited the project.

Issue start to arise when I’m browsing though projects, only opening them and listening and making no changes. The modification date of that working title folder is now the date that I last listened to it.

I’m unsure why this happens now, but for me, I could have 10-20 songs within what I referred to as the "named project folder " - though if all were opened and played on the same date, i now have no idea which projects have actually been recently worked on vs just observed.

Its an oversight. I could copy the whole main folder and place it externally, but that causes issues. Also Denying Cubase writing permissions would cause issues.

I’m unsure if its a bug, or an intended feature. If it is an intended feature, its counterproductive. Im in the process of re-mixing an album, and exploring older songs. Im going through a large batch of them daily. Now the modification dates do not reflect actual modification dates, and it gets disorientating and time consuming.

One reason its so helpful to have accurate modification dates, is because I can sort by modification date and clearly see what ive recently modified and what I haven’t. I do still have older versions of Cubase installed, but newer version of Cubase have features the older ones don’t. So If it were to play back a newer project with an older version of cubase, then im not hearing the true representation of the song or instrumental - I might have used the channel strip or other newly integrated Cubase features.

This is the first time in about 15 years i’ve though about changing DAWs down to this. Its more than just problematic its catastrophic in some cases

In an industry where version control, asset management, and timestamping are critical for legal and professional reasons, a DAW should never alter archival metadata just because you wanted to listen to a song.

Steinberg forum veterans noted that this behavior actually used to exist in Cubase 9.5, but users complained so much that Steinberg removed it in Cubase 10. For the entire run of Cubase 10, 11, and 12, the software left your folders alone. Then, for reasons passing understanding, Steinberg reintroduced the aggressive folder-wiping code into the Cubase 13 release.

We are dealing with a piece of software that cannot function without writing lock files and cache images, combined with a new, forced folder-deletion mechanic. Until Steinberg adds a “Read-Only/Browse” mode or gives users a toggle to disable the auto-cleanup feature, your archives will never be safe from timestamp modification if you open them natively. tf is that

2

The folder modification date doesn’t change for me if I just open a project and play it. (C15/MacOS15). Even if I make an edit, a file is created in the autosave folder, but the project folder modified date doesn’t change.

A change in the modification date on a folder usually means something inside the folder was modified.

3

Im on Windows, it could be different. But if a folder is created within a folder and then removed, the folder has infact been modified.

I’m also on Cubase 15 Pro, and unfortunately, the issue is very much still there. Support actually told me to post on here.

The problem isn’t about edits writing to the Autosave subfolder (which correctly doesn’t change the parent folder date). The problem is what Cubase does to the root directory.

When you open a project, Cubase generates a hidden .lck lock file in the root folder, and then deletes it when you close the project. On many file systems (especially Windows/NTFS), creating and deleting that lock file constitutes a modification to the root directory, which instantly overwrites the parent folder’s ‘Date Modified’ timestamp.

Furthermore, Cubase actively scans and deletes any empty root subfolders (like old, unused ARA or Edits folders) upon closing. Deleting a directory from the root also triggers an OS timestamp update. So if I open a project from 2017 just to listen to it, Cubase generates a lock file and sweeps for empty folders, overwriting my 2017 archival timestamp with today’s date—even if I never hit save.

im wondering, have you changed any settings or anything at any point? Though im sure your case may also be overlooking the structural folder layout I mentioned. The modification date of the main folder isn’t essential, the names project folder is the next most most important with the working title folder being the most important - this is where all the .CPR ad all the other folders live

4

In that case, it sounds like it might be a Windows-only problem? I just did a quick test and I don’t see a .lck file, hidden or visible, created in the project folder when I open a project and play it, and the project folder modification is unchanged, even after closing the project and quitting cubase. Cubase support might be able to shed more light on when that lock file is created.

5

Thanks for the info, it definitely does help, because at this point trying to figure out a work around myself. Support are aware of it, but just told me to request it as a feature which is oddly annoying.

It seems like it been hardcoded in since C13, at least in my experience. Others say as early as 9.5. Whether its Windows only, its a possibility, if yorue saying you have a 3 folder hierarchy setup, or similar and dont notice any issues. Right now I’m going to have to manually alter the time stamps after using FolderTimeUpdate. It basically does one specific thing: it scans your main music directory and automatically changes every folder’s “Date Modified” timestamp to exactly match the newest file contained inside it. Its the least destructive thing, but still, manually altering a modification date is not too wise.

If it is Windows only, then perfect, because im about ready to move over to Mac.

ty!