Finder Sort by Date Added

Scripting Forums AppleScript | Mac OS X
#1

We have had sort by “Date Added” in the Finder now for a few years but there hasn’t been a way to show this yet through AppleScript that I am aware of. Has anyone been able to script to show the “Date Added” column in list view?

tell application "Finder"
   activate
   tell list view options of the front Finder window
       set properties to {calculates folder sizes:false, shows icon preview:false, icon size:large icon, text size:12, uses relative dates:true, sort column:name column}
       
       tell column name column
           set properties to {index:1, sort direction:normal, width:280}
       end tell
       tell column size column
           set properties to {index:2, sort direction:normal, width:72, visible:true}
       end tell
       tell column modification date column
           set properties to {index:3, sort direction:normal, width:120, visible:true}
       end tell
       tell column creation date column
           set properties to {index:4, sort direction:normal, width:120, visible:true}
       end tell
       tell column kind column
           set properties to {index:5, sort direction:normal, width:120, visible:false}
       end tell
       tell column label column
           set properties to {index:6, sort direction:normal, width:72, visible:false}
       end tell
       tell column version column
           set properties to {index:7, sort direction:normal, width:72, visible:false}
       end tell
       tell column comment column
           set properties to {index:8, sort direction:normal, width:240, visible:false}
       end tell
       set sort column to size column
   end tell
   
   tell the front Finder window
       set current view to list view
       set zoomed to false
   end tell
end tell
#2

You may use this code :

set {mt, mi} to {5, 2}
set p2Finder to path to application "Finder"
set ShowPresentationOptions_loc to localized string "N35" in bundle p2Finder

tell application "System Events" to tell process "Finder"
	set frontmost to true
	
	tell menu bar 1 to tell menu bar item mt to tell menu 1
		-- log (get name of menu items)
		-- log (get name of menu item mi)
		click menu item mi
		set showHide to name of menu item 21
	end tell
	delay 0.1
	if showHide is ShowPresentationOptions_loc then
		keystroke "J" using {command down}
		repeat 20 times
			delay 0.2
			-- log (get subrole of windows)
			-- log (get properties of first window)
			if exists (first window whose subrole is "AXSystemFloatingWindow") then exit repeat
		end repeat
	end if
	tell (first window whose subrole is "AXSystemFloatingWindow")
		-- log (get class of UI elements) --> {button, checkbox, group, checkbox, pop up button, static text, pop up button, static text, button, static text}
		tell first group
			-- log (get class of UI elements) --> {checkbox, static text, pop up button, checkbox, checkbox, static text, static text, radio group, checkbox, checkbox, checkbox, checkbox, checkbox, checkbox, checkbox, checkbox, checkbox, button, button}
			-- log (get title of checkboxes) (*Calculer toutes les tailles, Utiliser les dates relatives, Version, Tags, Date de modification, Taille, Type, Commentaires, Date de création, Utiliser un aperçu comme icône, Date de dernière ouverture, Date de l'ajout*)
			if value of attribute "AXValue" of checkbox -1 = 0 then
				click checkbox -1
			end if
		end tell
	end tell
end tell

Yvan KOENIG running El Capitan 10.11.1 in French (VALLAURIS, France) vendredi 13 novembre 2015 21:37:59

#3

Hey Skillet,

Did you flatten your script? The forum will manage indentation nicely and make it easier to read.

Unfortunately Apple has done little to improve Finder scripting for about a decade…

-Chris

#4

Here’s a pretty comprehensive look at setting the window list-view-options with System Events.

It’s pokey, but it’s faster than setting them manually.

(I know some of these can be set without SEV, but I was trying to be thorough.)


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Auth: Christopher Stone
# dCre: 2015/10/01 13:04
# dMod: 2015/11/15 02:14
# Appl: System Events
# Task: Set List View Attributes
# Libs: None
# Osax: None
# Tags: @Applescript, @Script, @System_Events, @Set, @List-View, @Attributes
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

tell application "Finder"
	tell front Finder window
		if its current view ≠ list view then
			set its current view to list view
			delay 0.1
		end if
	end tell
end tell

tell application "System Events"
	tell application process "Finder"
		set frontmost to true
		keystroke "j" using command down
		
		set theClock to 0
		repeat while front window's subrole is not "AXSystemFloatingWindow"
			if theClock ≥ 0.5 then
				beep
				error "Problem opening window list-view prefs!"
			else
				set theClock to theClock + 0.1
				delay 0.1
			end if
		end repeat
		
		tell (first window whose subrole is "AXSystemFloatingWindow")
			
			tell checkbox "Always open in list view"
				if its value = 0 then
					click it
				end if
			end tell
			tell checkbox "Browse in list view"
				if its value = 0 then
					click it
				end if
			end tell
			
			tell (first pop up button whose name is "Arrange By:")
				if value ≠ "None" then
					click
					tell menu 1
						click menu item "None"
					end tell
				end if
			end tell
			tell (first pop up button whose name is "Sort By:")
				if value ≠ "Name" then
					click
					tell menu 1
						click menu item "Name"
					end tell
				end if
			end tell
			
			tell group 1
				
				tell checkbox "Date Modified"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Date Created"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Date Last Opened"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Date Added"
					if its value = 0 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Size"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Kind"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Version"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Comments"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Tags"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Use relative dates"
					if its value = 0 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Calculate all sizes"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				tell checkbox "Show icon preview"
					if its value = 1 then
						click it
					end if
				end tell
				
			end tell
			
			keystroke "j" using command down
			
		end tell
		
	end tell
end tell

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

–
Chris

{ MacBookPro6,1 · 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7 · 8GB RAM · OSX 10.11.1 }
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#5

Hi Chris and Yvan,
Thanks for your reply, I always hate when I miss emails of replies to my questions. I came back here searching for the same topic again and found my own question through Google, it is funny how much that keeps happing over the years.

Anyway for some strange reason it is not sorting by size. Ideally I would like to sort by date added.

		set sort column to size column

--	set sort column of list view options of Finder window 1 to modification date column

It appears that “Date Added” and “Tags” don’t have an AppleScript option to sort by in macOS 10.11.6 - 10.13.2.

#6

The “Tags” column is called “label” by the Finder and AppleScript


set visible of column id label column of list view options of Finder window 1 to true
set width of column id label column of list view options of Finder window 1 to 70

I cannot locate the equivalent for “Date Added” of “Last Opened”