How to resolve mail search results not being sorted properly on Sonoma?

Question

How to resolve mail search results not being sorted properly on Sonoma?

since ventura and now sonoma, mail search results are not sorted. mail indicates they are sorted by date, newest on top as per settings, but they are oldest first. very easy to click the top carrot a couple times to get it to be right, but super annoying hiccup in workflow. seems to have started when the automatic features showed up in mail, where it suggests things and pulls things up by reading my emails, all super annoying but turned off now, i think.

i am on a 16" MBP running sonoma, despite what the stupid label below says.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 15″

Posted on Nov 22, 2023 7:03 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

The_Knowledge_Seeker

Level 4

3,727 points

Nov 22, 2023 10:32 AM in response to Reuben Jackson

It seems like you're experiencing an issue with the sorting of mail search results on your 16" MacBook Pro running Sonoma. The problem might have started when the automatic features in Mail were introduced, and you mentioned that you have turned them off.

To address the sorting issue, you can try the following steps:

Verify Mail Settings:
Double-check your Mail settings to ensure that the sorting order is set correctly. Go to Mail Preferences, and under the "Viewing" tab, confirm that the "Sort by" option is set to "Date" and "Descending" for newest on top.
Rebuild Mailbox:
Sometimes, mailbox corruption can cause sorting issues. Try rebuilding the mailbox in question. Right-click on the mailbox, choose "Rebuild," and see if that resolves the problem.
Reset Mail Preferences:
If the issue persists, you can try resetting Mail preferences. Quit Mail, then go to ~/Library/Preferences and move the com.apple.mail.plist file to the desktop. Relaunch Mail, and it will create a new preferences file. Check if the sorting is working correctly now.
Check for Updates:
Ensure that your Mail app and macOS are up to date. Check the App Store for any available updates for Mail or macOS, and install them.

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Answer 2

May 23, 2024 10:05 AM in response to Reuben Jackson

UPDATE: Solution below seemed to work, but doesn't. Sorry.

Same problem. With mailbox sorted by date, do a search, column head caret still indicates sorted by date, but it isn't.

Solution: View... Sort by... [Pick your favorite sort order, I use date]

But, I'm back to the problem, here's an example, search "acme" and get this list, caret indicates sorted by date, but it isn't. It's sorted by subject. Phooey.

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