In a display array of gifs, the gifs are ordered by filename instead of by time.

[ruck94301]

When the user is shown an array of gifs, they are ordered by filename
which can be different from time order. Maybe that could be remedied
by labeling the displayed array with time info. Or finding a
different way to arrange the gifs for display.

On 2025-10-18, Henry says he can address this when he frees up.

[LSBuenoJr]

For additional context, this thread concerns the manual behavior sorter tool.

As users sort behaviors (animation and pattern-image pairs), the sorted items disappear from view. For example, if a user pauses and then resumes works days later, the remaining "behavior gifs" will be ordered by filename based on the still-unsorted set. This can dismantle ethologically meaningful behavioral sequences, making sequential labeling temporally disjointed.

Ideally, we’d like a scrollable timeline for the sorter tool that maintains the time axis of the original video, while preserving all current sorting functionalities. This would let users:

• Navigate by time (e.g., jump directly to, and label, rare behaviors that occur hours into the video).
• Resume labeling in any order (e.g., chronologically, from the end, or by skipping to notable events) while maintaining the sequential context of the behaviors for later adjustments/refinements.
• Always view behavior events in their original temporal order, regardless of sorting status.

Currently, sorted behaviors are moved to behavior-specific folders under-the-hood - I know that. However, it should be feasible to also preserve references or copies of the animation and pattern image pairs, specifically for rendering the scrollable timeline. Importantly, the scrollable timeline should include color-coded labels to reflect past or ongoing sorting efforts - similar to what Deep Ethogram does for individual video frames.

[yujiahu415]

I'll look into the problem of sorting by name rather than by temporal order and fix it. Other features like resuming seem good, which may be considered to be implemented.

[ruck94301]

Henry, thanks for agreeing to look into sorting by time instead of name, for display.
Going forward, this item tracks that topic only.

I have copied Lezio's more ambitious suggestion about scrollable timeline into the already-existing #315.

I'll probably paste in some Henry's counter opinions, as well. Even if a difference of opinion remains, the discussion is informative to users now and in the future.

[yujiahu415]

I was not able to reproduce this issue. In my hand, the behavior examples (animations + pattern images) are shown in chronological order. I also looked into the code. The file name of a behavior example contains the information of frame index, for example, XXX_mouse_0_50_len20_, in which 50 is the frame index when this example is generated. The logic of arranging the sequence of showing the behavior examples is sort the integer of the frame index. So, I didn't find any issue in the code logic, either.
If you still have the issue, some detailed examples, like screenshots, will be helpful.