Add context menu entry to sort tabs alphabetically by DarkMysterio · Pull Request #15425 · JabRef/jabref

DarkMysterio · 2026-03-25T21:50:42Z

Related issues and pull requests

PR Description

This PR introduces a "Sort tabs alphabetically" option to the context menu of the library tabs, positioned directly below "Open terminal here". The intent is to help users who manage multiple open libraries easily organize and navigate their workspace. The tabs are sorted case-insensitively, keeping the UI clean and improving overall usability when dealing with cluttered tab bars.

Steps to test

Open JabRef.
Create multiple new libraries (e.g., File -> New library) and save them with names that are not in alphabetical order (for example: Zebra.bib, Apple.bib, Monkey.bib).
Look at the tab bar at the top and ensure you have multiple tabs open.
Right-click on any of the library tabs to open the context menu.
Verify that the new option "Sort tabs alphabetically" appears exactly below the "Open terminal here" option.
Click on "Sort tabs alphabetically".
Verify that all the open tabs immediately reorder themselves in alphabetical order from left to right (e.g., Apple.bib, Monkey.bib, Zebra.bib), ignoring case sensitivity.

Checklist

I own the copyright of the code submitted and I license it under the MIT license
I manually tested my changes in running JabRef (always required)
[/] I added JUnit tests for changes (if applicable)
I added screenshots in the PR description (if change is visible to the user)
I added a screenshot in the PR description showing a library with a single entry with me as author and as title the issue number
I described the change in CHANGELOG.md in a way that can be understood by the average user (if change is visible to the user)
[/] I checked the user documentation for up to dateness and submitted a pull request to our user documentation repository

fixes JabRef#15423

github-actions · 2026-03-25T21:50:59Z

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qodo-free-for-open-source-projects · 2026-03-25T21:51:08Z

Review Summary by Qodo

Add context menu entry to sort tabs alphabetically

✨ Enhancement

Walkthroughs

Description

• Adds context menu entry to sort library tabs alphabetically
• Implements tab sorting functionality in JabRefFrame
• Updates localization and changelog documentation

Diagram

flowchart LR
  A["StandardActions enum"] -- "adds SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY action" --> B["JabRefFrame context menu"]
  B -- "executes sort command" --> C["Sorted library tabs"]
  D["Localization properties"] -- "provides UI text" --> B
  E["CHANGELOG.md"] -- "documents feature" --> F["Release notes"]

File Changes

1. jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/actions/StandardActions.java ✨ Enhancement +1/-0

Add SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY action enum
• Adds new SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY enum constant with display text
• Positioned after OPEN_CONSOLE action in the enum
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/actions/StandardActions.java

2. jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/frame/JabRefFrame.java ✨ Enhancement +8/-0

Implement tab sorting in context menu

• Adds menu item for SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY action to tab context menu
• Implements SimpleCommand that sorts tabs case-insensitively by text
• Sorts tabbedPane.getTabs() using compareToIgnoreCase() comparator

jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/frame/JabRefFrame.java

3. CHANGELOG.md 📝 Documentation +1/-0

Document sort tabs feature
• Documents new "Sort tabs alphabetically" feature in unreleased changes section
CHANGELOG.md

View more (1)

4. jablib/src/main/resources/l10n/JabRef_en.properties Localization +2/-0

Add English localization for sort action
• Adds English localization entry for "Sort tabs alphabetically" text
• Positioned after "Open terminal here" property
jablib/src/main/resources/l10n/JabRef_en.properties

qodo-free-for-open-source-projects · 2026-03-25T21:51:08Z

Code Review by Qodo

🐞 Bugs (0) 📘 Rule violations (0) 📎 Requirement gaps (0) 🎨 UX Issues (0)

1. ~~Hardcoded SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY label~~ ☑ 📘 ⚙

Description

The new StandardActions.SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY uses a hardcoded user-facing string instead of
Localization.lang(...), so it will not be translated. This violates the requirement that all
UI-visible text be localized.

Code

jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/actions/StandardActions.java[127]
+    SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY("Sort tabs alphabetically"),

Evidence
PR Compliance ID 18 requires user-facing UI strings to be localized via Localization.lang(...).
The new action is defined with the raw string "Sort tabs alphabetically" even though a
localization entry was added.
AGENTS.md
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/actions/StandardActions.java[127-127]
jablib/src/main/resources/l10n/JabRef_en.properties[536-537]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
`StandardActions.SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY` introduces a hardcoded, user-facing label (`"Sort tabs alphabetically"`) instead of using `Localization.lang(...)`, preventing translation.
## Issue Context
A corresponding localization key was added to `JabRef_en.properties`, so the action label should reference it via `Localization.lang("Sort tabs alphabetically")` (or reuse an existing localization key if one already exists).
## Fix Focus Areas
- jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/actions/StandardActions.java[127-127]

ⓘ Copy this prompt and use it to remediate the issue with your preferred AI generation tools

2. ~~Tab sort can NPE~~ ☑ 🐞 ≡

Description

The new tab-sorting command calls compareToIgnoreCase on tab text without null-handling, which will
throw a NullPointerException if any tab’s text is still null. LibraryTab text is not set in the
constructor and is only set later via a deferred Platform.runLater update, so sorting soon after
opening/loading a tab can crash the UI.

Code

jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/frame/JabRefFrame.java[R612-618]

+                factory.createMenuItem(StandardActions.SORT_TABS_ALPHABETICALLY, new SimpleCommand() {
+                    @Override
+                    public void execute() {
+                        tabbedPane.getTabs().sort((tab1, tab2) ->
+                                tab1.getText().compareToIgnoreCase(tab2.getText())
+                        );
+                    }

Evidence
JabRefFrame sorts using tab1.getText().compareToIgnoreCase(tab2.getText()) with no null checks.
LibraryTab does not set any initial tab text in its constructor; instead it schedules updateTabTitle
via Platform.runLater, and updateTabTitle later sets textProperty(). This creates a window where
getText() can be null, leading to a NullPointerException during sorting.
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/frame/JabRefFrame.java[598-619]
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/LibraryTab.java[175-265]
jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/LibraryTab.java[391-449]

Agent prompt

The issue below was found during a code review. Follow the provided context and guidance below and implement a solution

## Issue description
The tab sort comparator dereferences `Tab#getText()` without null handling, so sorting can crash with an NPE when a tab’s text hasn’t been initialized yet.
### Issue Context
`LibraryTab` updates its title asynchronously (scheduled via `Platform.runLater`), which means newly opened/loading tabs can temporarily have `null` text.
### Fix Focus Areas
- jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/frame/JabRefFrame.java[612-618]
### Suggested fix
- Replace the lambda comparator with a null-safe comparator, e.g. compare on `Optional.ofNullable(tab.getText()).orElse("")`.
- (Optional but recommended) Keep non-`LibraryTab` tabs (e.g., `WelcomeTab`) in place by sorting only library tabs or by using a comparator that orders non-library tabs consistently and uses a stable tie-break (return 0 for non-library vs non-library).

ⓘ Copy this prompt and use it to remediate the issue with your preferred AI generation tools

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…/jabref into fix-15423-sort-tabs

Updated the changelog to include new features and changes.

testlens-app · 2026-04-01T13:47:24Z

✅ All tests passed ✅

🏷️ Commit: c029ac3
▶️ Tests: 8467 executed
⚪️ Checks: 50/50 completed

Learn more about TestLens at testlens.app.

DarkMysterio · 2026-04-07T15:32:45Z

Hello i think my PR is ready for review

Add context menu entry to sort tabs alphabetically

ae266c4

fixes JabRef#15423

github-actions Bot added the first contrib label Mar 25, 2026

github-actions Bot added the good first issue An issue intended for project-newcomers. Varies in difficulty. label Mar 25, 2026

qodo-free-for-open-source-projects Bot reviewed Mar 25, 2026

View reviewed changes

Comment thread jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/actions/StandardActions.java Outdated

Comment thread jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/frame/JabRefFrame.java