Allow different Sort By for main library and 'recently added'/smart folders

antony.s · 2024-10-30T03:23:15+00:00

Is it possible to allow specific folders to be sorted by a different column without affecting the main library folder?
I have a 'Recently Added' smart folder, which I'd like to keep sorted by 'Date Added' while keeping the main library folders sorted by Author. It's a minor issue but helps with quickly navigating the library to find documents.
Other relevant smart folders might be sorting 'Recently Annotated' by 'Date Modified'. Other ref managers seem to have implemented this.
Thanks

adamsmith · 2024-10-30T14:19:51+00:00

Not currently possible, no. All column settings apply to the entire Zotero interface across libraries and collections.

Is there an app that does have comparable "by folder/collection" settings? I can see the use case, but it seems tricky to set this up in a way that's not confusing

dstillman · 2024-10-31T03:53:48+00:00

Thunderbird does, and it also demonstrates the downside. Changing the sort in one folder doesn't change the sort in another, so if you want something different from the default, you have to change every single folder. (You can change the default with a hidden pref.) This is less of a problem in TB because most people want the same default, but in Zotero you'd really want your last-used sort to apply to all collections by default and only apply a different sort to a few specific collections.

But this is a fairly common request, and we have an open ticket for it.

antony.s · 2024-10-31T22:40:42+00:00

Thanks for the response. Yes, it would only be specific collections that would need a custom default sort. Given the examples I mentioned are smart folders, is it feasible to implement this as a dropdown option in the 'Edit Saved Search' dialog?