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why is "date modified" different for the same file?

Anonymous
2019-03-16T13:44:42+00:00

When Word is opened, the file I want is listed under "Recent" with a "date modified" of "Yesterday at 12:17 PM". The path underneath the filename shows that it was saved in the correct folder in OneDrive.

In File Explorer, the "date modified" for the same file in the same OneDrive location is shown as yesterday at 8:31 PM.

Why is there a discrepancy between the modification dates when both locations are referring to the same file?

Thank you.

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-03-16T20:14:13+00:00

    Thank you for looking into this. 

    It looks like it would be helpful to get someone from Microsoft to explain the difference between what triggers modification times in the Recent list in Word as opposed to the list in File Explorer.  I think I will start another post with that question. 

    Thanks again.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-03-16T18:52:53+00:00

    I found this. Not sure if it's much help though.

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/fo...

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-03-16T21:31:48+00:00

    You’re welcome

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-03-16T16:30:26+00:00

    I re-opened and checked again. It turns out that for most of the files listed under "recent" in Word, the modification times do not match the times listed in File Explorer.  Out of 9 files I checked, in only one case do the modification times match. (In case it makes any difference, that is a file that I had saved elsewhere, then copied and pasted it into this folder and continued to work on it.)

    Sometimes the modification times listed in the Word recent list are earlier and other times they are later than listed in File Explorer. The time difference can vary from a few hours to days.  In one case, the "Date Modified" in File Explorer is 4:32 PM February 12. The modification date for the same file in the Word Recent list is 9:37 AM March 13. 

    This is baffling, especially because the differences are so inconsistent. Any further thoughts?

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-03-16T14:49:43+00:00

    Hi Catbill,

    I'm a fellow Microsoft customer and expert user here to help.

    It may be that Word is a little slow in refreshing the date. Try closing Word, then open it again. The date/time should be refreshed.

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