fix(queries): preserve sort in exported CSVs, again

[grantfitzsimmons]

Fixes #5038

This PR adds back the CSV export tool preserving the sort order of a query. This was lost when #7994 was merged into main a few days ago.

Checklist

• Self-review the PR after opening it to make sure the changes look good and
  self-explanatory (or properly documented)
• Add relevant issue to release milestone
• Add automated tests

Testing instructions

• Create a new query
• Sort by any field
• Click "Create CSV" and download it when it is finished
• Verify that the exported CSV is sorted by the same column as in the query.
  • Note that any other column may not be sorted if the column you sorted by has duplicates (i.e. two agents with the first name "A")
• Sort by multiple columns and ensure the left-most column is sorted first
  • after that, it should sort by the next column to the right, and so on

Screenshots

(sorting by taxon in descending order)

Summary by CodeRabbit

• Bug Fixes
  • CSV exports now preserve the requested query result ordering.
  • Exported data consistently matches the ordering shown by the query.

[github-actions]

Warning

One or more dependencies are approaching or past End-of-Life.
Please plan upgrades accordingly.

STATUS=WARNING
NODE_VERSION=20
NODE_CYCLE=20
EOL_DATE=2026-04-30
DAYS_REMAINING=-95

--- Node.js ---
Version: 20
EOL: 2026-04-30
Status: WARNING

STATUS=OK
PYTHON_VERSION=3.12
PYTHON_CYCLE=3.12
EOL_DATE=2028-10-31
DAYS_REMAINING=820

--- Python ---
Version: 3.12
EOL: 2028-10-31
Status: OK

STATUS=WARNING
DJANGO_VERSION=4.2
DJANGO_CYCLE=4.2
EOL_DATE=2026-04-07
DAYS_REMAINING=-118

--- Django ---
Version: 4.2
EOL: 2026-04-07
Status: WARNING

[coderabbitai]

No actionable comments were generated in the recent review. 🎉

ℹ️ Recent review info

⚙️ Run configuration

Configuration used: Organization UI

Review profile: CHILL

Plan: Pro Plus

Run ID: 7b23de7d-66a1-4086-a552-8fed162fdf56

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between f5911c1 and 4f21c88.

📒 Files selected for processing (1)

• specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/execution.py

---

📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

query_to_csv now applies the ordering expressions returned by build_query before retrieving rows for CSV generation.

Changes

CSV Export Ordering

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Apply query ordering specifyweb/backend/stored_queries/execution.py	query_to_csv preserves the ordering expressions from build_query and applies them with order_by before retrieving rows.

Possibly related PRs

• specify/specify7#8168: Both changes apply ordering expressions during CSV export.

Suggested reviewers: g1rly-c0d3r, carolinedenis, melton-jason

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5 | ❌ 1

❌ Failed checks (1 warning)

Check name	Status	Explanation	Resolution
Automatic Tests	⚠️ Warning	The patch changes only execution.py; no test files were added or modified, and existing CSV tests do not assert exported sort order.	Add automated CSV regression tests for ascending, descending, and multi-column ordering, then run the stored-query test suite.

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title clearly identifies the fix that preserves query sorting in CSV exports.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	The change applies the ordering expressions from build_query before CSV generation, satisfying issue #5038.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	The changes are limited to restoring query sort order during CSV export and match the linked issue scope.
Testing Instructions	✅ Passed	The steps exercise QueryBuilder CSV export and verify single- and multi-column ordering, including duplicate-value caveats; this matches query_to_csv applying build_query order expressions.

✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests
• Commit unit tests in branch issue-5038-reup

---

Thanks for using CodeRabbit! It's free for OSS, and your support helps us grow. If you like it, consider giving us a shout-out.

❤️ Share

• X
• Mastodon
• Reddit
• LinkedIn

_{Comment @coderabbitai help to get the list of available commands.}

[g1rly-c0d3r]

Testing instructions

• Verify that the exported CSV is sorted by the same column as in the query.
• Sort by multiple columns and ensure the left-most column is sorted first

---

Hey I know this one.

[rijulpoudel]

• Verify that the exported CSV is sorted by the same column as in the query.

- Note that any other column may not be sorted if the column you sorted by has duplicates (i.e. two agents with the first name "A")

• Sort by multiple columns and ensure the left-most column is sorted first
  • after that, it should sort by the next column to the right, and so on

Test successful. The sortings are respected in the exported CSV.

[emenslin]

• Verify that the exported CSV is sorted by the same column as in the query.
• Sort by multiple columns and ensure the left-most column is sorted first

Looks good, sorting is respected!