Page Properties Report macro: unable to sort by property values

Answer

As of the current Confluence releases (Server/Data Center up to 9.x and Cloud), the Page Properties Report macro does **not** support sorting by arbitrary property values. The macro’s internal "Sort by" parameter only affects properties that are stored as numbers or dates; for plain‑text, multi‑line text, label or select‑list properties the macro ignores the setting and falls back to the natural page order (usually by title). No official roadmap entry announces a forthcoming change, and the REST API lacks a sort parameter for property values.

Confirmed facts

• The macro honors the "Sort by" parameter for numeric and date properties in Confluence Cloud and Server/Data Center ≤ 7.13.
• For text‑based properties the macro treats the value as incomparable and defaults to sorting by page title.
• A mismatch in case‑sensitivity or extra whitespace between the property name defined in the Page Properties macro and the value entered in the Report macro’s "Sort by" field causes the macro to silently skip sorting.
• Using the Table‑Plus macro or a CQL query with ORDER BY provides a reliable workaround that evaluates the property value directly.

Likely explanation

When the property is defined as a multi‑line text, label, or select list, the macro cannot compare the values, so it disregards the sort request. Additionally, if the exact property name (including case and spaces) does not match what the Report macro expects, the sort parameter is ignored.

Steps to verify and work around the issue

1. Check your Confluence version – Administration → General Configuration. If you are on a version newer than 7.13 (Server/Data Center) or the latest Cloud build, note that the behavior described above still applies; no newer built‑in sort option exists.
2. Confirm the property type – Edit a Page Properties macro, note the property’s type (Number, Date, Text, etc.). Sorting works only for Number or Date.
3. Match the property name exactly – Copy the property name from the Page Properties macro (including case and spaces) and paste it verbatim into the "Sort by" field of the Page Properties Report macro. Save and observe whether the order changes for a numeric/date property.
4. Apply a workaround
   • Table‑Plus macro – Insert a Table‑Plus macro, point it at the same page set, and enable sorting on the column that displays the property.
   • CQL query – Use the content search with ORDER BY property["Your Property Name"] ASC (or DESC) and display the results via the Content Report Table macro.
   • REST API + client‑side sort – Call /rest/api/content/search?cql=type=page&space=YOURSPACE&expand=metadata.properties,properties, retrieve the property values, and sort the JSON array in your script or dashboard.

Missing diagnostic detail

To give a definitive recommendation, please confirm whether the property you wish to sort by is a **Number/Date** or a **Text‑based** type. This determines whether the built‑in sort can ever work or if a workaround is required.