Generate report sorted by date

mh
Report "Sort order" (https://www.zotero.org/support/reports):
"If you right-click on a collection or Saved Search in Zotero's left pane, then choose 'Generate Report from Collection/Saved Search', Zotero will use the current sort order of the columns in the Zotero center pane for the report."
This is not working for me now. A collection (179 items) is sorted by date in the center pane, but when I right-click on the collection name in the left pane the resulting report shows no obvious sequence.
  • pmcelhany
    I have the same problem
  • pmcelhany
    If you sort by date it works but not if you sort by year.
  • mh
    Sort by year is still not working. When can this be fixed?
  • jksch
    edited January 18, 2023
    It would be great to be able to sort by date. Now, I can only generate a report sorted in alphabetical order by item title. Sorting the center pane by year or by date doesn't change the order of the items in the report.

    For instance, I've gathered a number of newspaper reports about a certain policy process, where I've placed the text of the newspaper article as a child note. In order to follow the process, I would like to create a report where the newspaper articles are sorted chronologically rather than alphabetically. It would make it so much easier to read.
  • jksch
    I also tried installing the extension mentioned in the below thread. While I managed to install it, it doesn't seem to do anything (for instance, I don't get a pencil icon in the report that would allow me to edit the report).

    https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/68470/can-i-change-the-sort-order-of-report-for-zotero-5-0

    Using Zotero 6.0.20 on Mac OS Ventura 13.0.
  • Gurdas_Sandhu
    To create a report in chronological order:
    1. Create a new collection. I call mine "Create_Report" and use it only for creating reports and then empty it after
    2. Add all the items you want in the report to this collection
    3. Sort by Date. Sorting by Year will not work.
    4. Right-click on the collection to create report. If you select all items in collection and create report, it will not sort by Date.
    5. Delete all items from collection when done. This is just a clean-up step. Removing items from a collection does not remove them from the library.
  • jksch
    Wow, thank you @Gurdas_Sandhu! That was an easy – if not obvious – solution to my problem!
  • achivart
    I've tried Gurdas's proposal. It worked yesterday, but not today anymore, even if I restart Zotero
  • poettli
    @achivart Did you update zotero in-between?
  • achivart
    Nop... I have v6.0.22 installed.
    May be I need to restart my computer?
    Is there any extensions that could help to format reports?
  • DonnaCoxBaker
    This is not working anymore for me, either. In the temporary collection, the report sorts the same way it did in a filtered set from My Library.
  • Gurdas_Sandhu
    I checked my steps in Zotero 6.0.30 and confirm they are working fine - report is sorted by date of publication. Check if you are doing step 4 right.
  • DonnaCoxBaker
    There was a time when a report generated from the main item list sorted by date of publication, but if you moved items into a collection, the report sorted in whatever order you had them in the collection. Sometimes you need a report in date order, sometimes in order by author or title. We really need that flexibility. In fact, I would think most people would always want the report to print out in the order they're looking at it.
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