Incorrect date sorting in Bookings app with custom column configurations

Affected versions

• SRM setups using a DataMiner version prior to 10.2.0 [CU10]/10.3.1.

• SRM setups using custom column configurations created prior to DataMiner 10.2.0 [CU10]/10.3.1.

Cause

In older custom column configurations, date-based columns were stored with a VisualType value of String (0) instead of DateTime (3). As a result, sorting is performed alphabetically rather than chronologically.

Fix

Install DataMiner 10.2.0 [CU10]/10.3.1.

Important

Custom column configurations created prior to these versions are not automatically updated and require manual intervention.

Workaround

Update the affected custom column configurations using one of the following methods:

• Via Cube:

  1. Open the Bookings app.

  2. Right-click the column headers and select Manage column configuration.

  3. Clear the affected date keys and select OK.

  4. Right-click the column headers and select Manage column configuration again.

  5. Re-enable the same keys and click OK.

  This rewrites the configuration so the affected columns are stored using the correct DateTime type.

• Via configuration file:

  1. Open the relevant data file located under C:\Skyline DataMiner\VisualData\Data.

  2. Locate the affected date keys (for example, StartTime).

  3. Update their VisualType value from 0 (String) to 3 (DateTime).

  4. Save the file.

  5. Verify in Cube that sorting now behaves as expected.

  6. Repeat these steps for all affected custom configurations.

Description

When sorting a bookings list that has a custom column configuration applied by a date-based column, entries may appear in an incorrect order.

For example, a booking starting on July 1st may be listed before a booking starting on June 30th, even when sorting in ascending order by start time.

This occurs because the column is still treated as a String value instead of a DateTime value.