Aglet

Investigate Date Labels and Time Sort Keys in Reports

Investigate time sorting with dates chosen to distinguish numeric, chronological, and text order. Follow the stable time key separately from the formatted label. This reveals whether the query, grouping, saved state, or renderer introduces the wrong sequence without requiring changes to the underlying dates that the report is supposed to represent.

Build a useful investigation brief

  1. Create a discriminating period fixture

    Use periods whose labels sort differently as text and time, including a year transition and repeated month names across years where relevant. Record expected chronological and deliberate measure-ranked orders separately. Keep raw keys attached so the fixture does not rely on a display label that omits information needed to distinguish two periods.

  2. Trace key and label ordering

    Inspect grouping, query ordering, formatting, and the values the renderer actually compares. Record the first divergence from the selected sort contract. Check whether a date becomes a string before sorting or whether a chart reconstructs category order from incoming rows despite an explicit chronological key being available.

  3. Compare saved and alternate sorts

    Exercise the supported sort selector, saved view, and reopened report with the same fixture. Compare chart, table, and export order. Evaluate one implicated change against a deliberate ranking control so repairing chronology does not ignore a user-selected measure sort or overwrite a saved report’s intended ordering behavior.

What to carry forward

Deliver the raw-key and label trace, active sort contract, and first reordering boundary. Separate missing periods from sort behavior and retain deliberate ranking as a control. A supported correction preserves the selected meaning of order rather than merely arranging one familiar set of month names until the chart looks plausible.

Technical background: Metabase documentation.

Keep the decision with the work.

Use a Work Item in Aglet to record the problem, the evidence you have, and the next decision. Add an owner and priority, then keep updates in the discussion so the next person can follow the reasoning.

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