Why does a server file show a different time from mine?
Clock gaps, time zones and servers that cannot keep file times all shift dates. FTP by Zaweba explains each case, with both times and the difference.
A server file can show a different time from your local copy for a few ordinary reasons: the server's clock or time zone differs from your PC's, the server can't keep the original file time and stamps the moment of upload instead, or the server's clock is simply ahead. FTP by Zaweba spells out which of these is likely, file by file, when it warns that the server has newer files.
That matters, because tools that compare dates (Get Newer, Put Newer, Sync) depend on those times being honest.
The usual causes
Clock and time-zone differences come first. If the server reports times in a different zone from yours, or its clock is set wrongly, every file seems shifted by the same amount. The giveaway is a gap that's a whole number of quarter hours. FTP by Zaweba looks for exactly that: two times 30 minutes to 14 hours apart, in steps of 15 minutes, are flagged as a likely clock or time-zone difference.
Servers that can't keep file times are the second case. When you upload, some servers ignore the time your file had and set it to the moment it arrived. The server copy then always looks newer than yours, even though it's the same file you just sent.
A time in the future is the third. If the server's copy is dated later than the current time on your PC, the server clock is ahead.
If none of those fit, the simplest explanation stands: the file really was written later, perhaps by a colleague, a plugin or the website itself.
What the warning shows you
When FTP by Zaweba finds server files that look newer, it explains each one with both times, the difference between them, whether the sizes match and the likely reason from the list above. A summary at the top leads with the most common offset, so if 200 files are all exactly one hour apart you see that straight away rather than reading 200 rows. The full table goes to the activity log for later.
The size column is a useful second clue. Same size and an exact hour apart is very likely the same file. A different size means real change, whatever the clock says.
What to do about it
For a time-zone or clock offset, there's nothing wrong with your files. Bear the gap in mind when reading dates, and check the warning before trusting a newer-wins sync, so a whole site doesn't get downloaded over itself because every server date is an hour ahead. Your host can sometimes correct a server clock that's wrong.
For a server that stamps the upload time, expect the server to look newer after every upload. Compare with Server Copy on a right-click shows the two side by side, with changed lines highlighted, which settles quickly whether anything differs inside.
For a genuine later edit, treat it as real. Download it, or compare it first, before you upload over it. FTP by Zaweba also warns, before a single-file Put or Get overwrites something, if the server copy changed since you last downloaded, opened, listed or uploaded it, with both sides' times and sizes lined up.
Why it's worth understanding
Date-based tools are only as good as the dates. Once you know which kind of gap a site has, warnings stop being alarming and start being informative. A one-hour gap every spring and autumn, for instance, tells you the clocks changed on one side and not the other. Knowing that turns a puzzling list of "newer" files into something you can safely ignore.
