If you want change the contents of files without changing its timestamps, there is no direct way to do it. But it is possible! We can use one of the touch command’s option -r (reference) to preserve file timestamps after editing or modifying it.
How can I edit a file without changing the timestamp?
The option -r (or –reference) uses file’s time instead of current time. You can use stat to check the timestamps of both files. Now edit the main file and make desired changes. Then use the touch command to touch the main file with timestamp of tmp file.
How do I edit an existing file in Linux?
How to edit files in Linux
- Press the ESC key for normal mode.
- Press i Key for insert mode.
- Press :q! keys to exit from the editor without saving a file.
- Press :wq! Keys to save the updated file and exit from the editor.
- Press :w test. txt to save the file as test. txt.
How do you change the timestamp of a file without opening it in Unix?
5 Linux Touch Command Examples (How to Change File Timestamp)
- Create an Empty File using touch. …
- Change File’s Access Time using -a. …
- Change File’s Modification Time using -m. …
- Explicitly Setting Access and Modification time using -t and -d. …
- Copy the Time-stamp from Another File using -r.
How do you keep a timestamp in Unix?
When using cp from the GNU Coreutils, to preserve only the timestamps and not attributes such as user id, group id or file mode there is the longhand –preserve which allows to explicitly specify a list of attributes to be preserved.
How copy file without changing date in Linux?
How to Copy File without Changing Last Modified Date, Time stamp and ownership in Linux / Unix? cp command provides an option –p for copying the file without changing the mode, ownership and timestamps. ownership, mode and timestamp. $ cp -p num.
How do I edit a PDF without changing the date?
You need to change your computer clock and then right-click on the file, properties, details, click on “Remove Properties and Personal Information” and select “Create a copy with all possible properties removed” and click on OK.
How do you edit .conf file in Linux?
To edit any config file, simply open the Terminal window by pressing the Ctrl+Alt+T key combinations. Navigate to the directory where the file is placed. Then type nano followed by the filename that you want to edit. Replace /path/to/filename with the actual file path of the configuration file that you want to edit.
What is the Edit command in Linux?
edit FILENAME. edit makes a copy of the file FILENAME which you can then edit. It first tells you how many lines and characters are in the file. If the file does not exist, edit tells you it is a [New File]. The edit command prompt is a colon (:), which is shown after starting the editor.
How do I edit a file in Linux VI?
Work
- Introduction.
- 1Select the file by typing vi index. …
- 2Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the part of the file you want to change.
- 3Use the i command to enter Insert mode.
- 4Use the Delete key and the letters on the keyboard to make the correction.
- 5Press the Esc key to get back to Normal mode.
What does touch do in Linux?
The touch command is a standard command used in UNIX/Linux operating system which is used to create, change and modify timestamps of a file.