Timeline grouping disappears when sorting albums by photo taken date (regression from v6.4.2 to v7.3.2)

[kevin-snt]

Lychee version

v7.3.2

Did you check the latest Lychee version?

Yes, I did

Which PHP version are you using?

PHP 8.5

Detailed description of the problem

After upgrading Lychee from v6.4.2 to v7.3.2, the timeline grouping behavior for albums has changed.

In v6.4.2, when albums were sorted by photo taken date, the timeline view was displayed and albums were grouped by year, which worked perfectly.

Since upgrading to v7.3.2:

The timeline view disappears when albums are sorted by photo taken date

The timeline reappears only when sorting albums by creation date

This suggests that the timeline feature is now tied to the creation date sort, whereas it previously worked with the photo taken date as well.

For users who rely on EXIF “date taken” to organize albums chronologically, this is a regression and reduces usability.

Thanks

Steps to reproduce the issue

• Open the galery view
• Set album sorting to Photo Taken Date in Galery option
• Observe that the timeline grouping by year is not displayed
• Change the sorting to Creation Date
• Observe that the timeline grouping reappears, but only in a standard account. In admin account, it's style not displayed

Diagnostics [REQUIRED]

Smart Diagnostics
-----------------
Info: Hash: 1bf36f2b859da13e—27f01b745e931843
         2584 files and 14812 vendor files
Info: Full directory permission check is disabled
Info: Latest version of PHP is 8.5
Warning: opcache_get_configuration() is not available.
         We are unable to check for performance optimizations.
Warning: Default timezone not properly set; you might experience strange results when importing photos without explicit EXIF timezone
Info: Found 1 medium that could be generated.
         You can use `php artisan lychee:generate_thumbs medium 1` to generate them.
Info: Found 2 medium2x that could be generated.
         You can use `php artisan lychee:generate_thumbs medium2x 2` to generate them.
Info: Found 500 placeholder images that have not been encoded.
         You can use `php artisan lychee:encode_placeholders 500` to encode them.
Info: Found 13176 placeholders that could be generated.
         You can use `php artisan lychee:generate_thumbs placeholder 13176` to generate them.
Info: Found 7 small images without filesizes.
         You can use `php artisan lychee:variant_filesize 7` to compute them.
Info: Have you considered supporting Lychee? :)

System Information
------------------
Lychee Version (release):                  7.3.2
DB Version:                                7.3.2

Docker:                                    linuxserver.io
composer install:                          --no-dev
APP_ENV:                                   production
APP_DEBUG:                                 false
APP_URL:                                   set
APP_DIR:                                   default
LOG_VIEWER_ENABLED:                        true

System:                                    Linux
PHP Version:                               8.4.16
PHP User agent:                            Lychee/6 (https://lycheeorg.dev/)
Timezone:                                  UTC
Max uploaded file size:                    80M
Max post size:                             500M
Chunk size:                                51.20 MB
Max execution time:                        0
MySQL Version:                             11.4.8-MariaDB-log

exec() Available:                          yes
Imagick Available:                         1
Imagick Enabled:                           yes
Imagick Version:                           1810
GD Version:                                bundled (2.1.0 compatible)
Number of foreign key:                     33 found.

Config Information
------------------
version:                                   070302
check_for_updates:                         0
sorting_photos_col:                        taken_at
sorting_photos_order:                      ASC
sorting_albums_col:                        created_at
sorting_albums_order:                      DESC
imagick:                                   1
skip_duplicates:                           0
small_max_width:                           0
small_max_height:                          360
medium_max_width:                          1920
medium_max_height:                         1080
lang:                                      fr
image_overlay_type:                        desc
default_license:                           none
compression_quality:                       90
grants_full_photo_access:                  1
delete_imported:                           0
mod_frame_enabled:                         1
mod_frame_refresh:                         30
thumb_2x:                                  1
small_2x:                                  1
medium_2x:                                 1
landing_page_enable:                       0
search_public:                             0
hide_version_number:                       0
recent_age:                                1
grants_download:                           1
photos_wraparound:                         1
map_display:                               0
zip64:                                     1
map_display_public:                        0
map_provider:                              Wikimedia
map_include_subalbums:                     0
update_check_every_days:                   3
has_exiftool:                              0
share_button_visible:                      0
import_via_symlink:                        0
has_ffmpeg:                                1
location_decoding:                         0
location_decoding_timeout:                 30
location_show:                             1
location_show_public:                      0
rss_enable:                                0
rss_recent_days:                           7
rss_max_items:                             100
prefer_available_xmp_metadata:             0
editor_enabled:                            1
lossless_optimization:                     0
local_takestamp_video_formats:             .avi|.mov
log_max_num_line:                          1000
unlock_password_photos_with_url_param:     0
nsfw_visible:                              1
nsfw_blur:                                 0
nsfw_warning:                              0
nsfw_warning_admin:                        0
nsfw_banner_override:                      
map_display_direction:                     1
album_subtitle_type:                       oldstyle
upload_processing_limit:                   4
new_photos_notification:                   0
zip_deflate_level:                         6
default_album_protection:                  private
allow_username_change:                     1
album_decoration:                          layers
album_decoration_orientation:              row
auto_fix_orientation:                      1
random_album_id:                           starred
use_last_modified_date_when_no_exif_date:  0
layout:                                    justified
date_format_photo_thumb:                   M j, Y, g:i:s A e
date_format_photo_overlay:                 M j, Y, g:i:s A e
date_format_sidebar_uploaded:              M j, Y, g:i:s A e
date_format_sidebar_taken_at:              M j, Y, g:i:s A e
date_format_hero_min_max:                  F Y
date_format_hero_created_at:               M j, Y, g:i:s A T
date_format_album_thumb:                   M Y
upload_chunk_size:                         0
nsfw_banner_blur_backdrop:                 0
search_pagination_limit:                   300
search_minimum_length_required:            4
photo_layout_justified_row_height:         320
photo_layout_masonry_column_width:         300
photo_layout_grid_column_width:            250
photo_layout_square_column_width:          200
photo_layout_gap:                          12
display_thumb_album_overlay:               always
display_thumb_photo_overlay:               hover
default_album_thumb_aspect_ratio:          1/1
use_album_compact_header:                  0
back_button_enabled:                       0
back_button_text:                          Return to Home
SA_random_thumbs:                          0
login_required:                            0
enable_unsorted:                           0
enable_starred:                            0
enable_recent:                             1
enable_on_this_day:                        1
login_required_root_only:                  1
dark_mode_enabled:                         1
show_keybinding_help_popup:                0
show_keybinding_help_button:               1
disable_se_call_for_actions:               0
enable_se_preview:                         0
slideshow_timeout:                         5
keep_original_untouched:                   1
low_quality_image_placeholder:             1
timeline_photos_enabled:                   1
timeline_photos_public:                    0
timeline_photos_granularity:               day
timeline_photos_order:                     taken_at
timeline_photos_layout:                    square
timeline_photos_pagination_limit:          200
timeline_albums_enabled:                   1
timeline_albums_public:                    0
timeline_albums_granularity:               year
timeline_left_border_enabled:              1
timeline_photo_date_format_year:           Y
timeline_photo_date_format_month:          M Y
timeline_photo_date_format_day:            j M Y
timeline_photo_date_format_hour:           g:i
timeline_album_date_format_year:           Y
timeline_album_date_format_month:          M Y
timeline_album_date_format_day:            j M
hide_nsfw_in_smart_albums:                 1
hide_nsfw_in_frame:                        1
hide_nsfw_in_map:                          1
hide_nsfw_in_search:                       1
search_photos_layout:                      square
hide_nsfw_in_rss:                          1
hide_nsfw_in_timeline:                     1
number_albums_per_row_mobile:              3
cache_enabled:                             0
cache_ttl:                                 86400
low_number_of_shoots_per_day:              10
medium_number_of_shoots_per_day:           50
high_number_of_shoots_per_day:             100
maintenance_processing_limit:              5000
disable_recursive_permission_check:        1
exif_disabled_for_all:                     0
file_name_hidden:                          0
client_side_favourite_enabled:             0
default_old_settings:                      0
default_expert_settings:                   0
default_all_settings:                      0
disable_thumb_download:                    1
disable_thumb2x_download:                  1
disable_small_download:                    0
disable_small2x_download:                  0
disable_medium_download:                   0
disable_medium2x_download:                 0
temporary_image_link_enabled:              0
temporary_image_link_when_logged_in:       0
temporary_image_link_when_admin:           0
temporary_image_link_life_in_seconds:      86400
secure_image_link_enabled:                 0
SA_override_visibility:                    0
TA_override_visibility:                    0
enable_colour_extractions:                 0
colour_extraction_driver:                  farzai
home_page_default:                         gallery
flow_enabled:                              1
flow_public:                               0
flow_base:                                 
flow_max_items:                            10
flow_strategy:                             auto
flow_include_sub_albums:                   0
flow_include_photos_from_children:         0
flow_open_album_on_click:                  0
flow_display_open_album_button:            0
flow_highlight_first_picture:              1
flow_min_max_enabled:                      1
flow_display_statistics:                   1
flow_compact_mode_enabled:                 1
flow_image_header_enabled:                 1
flow_image_header_cover:                   cover
flow_image_header_height:                  24
flow_carousel_enabled:                     1
flow_carousel_height:                      6
date_format_flow_published:                M j, Y, g:i:s A e
date_format_flow_min_max:                  F Y
flow_blur_nsfw_enabled:                    1
hide_nsfw_in_flow:                         1
skip_duplicates_early:                     1
sync_delete_missing_photos:                0
sync_delete_missing_albums:                0
sync_dry_run:                              1
gallery_header_enabled:                    0
gallery_header_logged_in_enabled:          0
gallery_header:                            
gallery_header_bar_transparent:            1
gallery_header_bar_gradient:               1
import_via_url_forbidden_localhost:        1
import_via_url_forbidden_local_ip:         1
import_via_url_require_https:              1
import_via_url_forbidden_ports:            1
details_links_enabled:                     0
details_links_public:                      0
is_scroll_to_navigate_photos_enabled:      1
is_swipe_vertically_to_go_back_enabled:    1
photo_thumb_tags_enabled:                  0
hide_nsfw_in_tag_albums:                   1
hide_nsfw_in_tag_listing:                  1
sorting_pinned_albums_col:                 created_at
sorting_pinned_albums_order:               DESC
copyright_text:                            
timeline_page_enabled:                     1
timeline_quick_access_date_format_year:    Y
timeline_quick_access_date_format_month:   M
timeline_quick_access_date_format_day:     j M
timeline_quick_access_date_format_hour:    h M, g:i
watermark_enabled:                         0
watermark_photo_id:                        
watermark_public:                          1
watermark_logged_in_users_enabled:         0
renamer_enabled:                           0
renamer_enforced:                          0
renamer_enforced_before:                   0
renamer_enforced_after:                    0
renamer_photo_title_enabled:               1
renamer_album_title_enabled:               1
extract_zip_on_upload:                     1
webshop_currency:                          EUR
webshop_default_description:               No description provided.
webshop_allow_guest_checkout:              1
webshop_terms_url:                         
webshop_privacy_url:                       
webshop_default_price_cents:               0
webshop_default_license:                   personal
webshop_default_size:                      medium
enable_untagged:                           0
photos_pagination_limit:                   500
deduplicate_pinned_albums:                 0
desktop_dock_full_transparency_enabled:    0
mobile_dock_full_transparency_enabled:     0
import_via_url_block_redirect:             1
enable_smart_album_per_owner:              0
rating_enabled:                            1
rating_public:                             0
rating_show_only_when_user_rated:          0
rating_show_avg_in_details:                1
rating_photo_view_mode:                    hover
rating_show_avg_in_photo_view:             0
rating_album_view_mode:                    hover
rating_show_avg_in_album_view:             1
album_layout:                              grid
albums_per_page:                           30
albums_pagination_ui_mode:                 infinite_scroll
albums_infinite_scroll_threshold:          10
photos_per_page:                           100
photos_pagination_ui_mode:                 infinite_scroll
photos_infinite_scroll_threshold:          10
shared_albums_visibility_default:          show
enable_unrated:                            0
enable_1_star:                             0
enable_2_stars:                            0
enable_3_stars:                            0
enable_4_stars:                            0
enable_5_stars:                            0
enable_best_pictures:                      1
best_pictures_count:                       100
enable_propagate_unlock_option:            0
enable_photo_details_always_open:          0

Browser & System [REQUIRED]

Vivaldi on Linux Mint
Chrome on MacOS
Same result

Please confirm (incomplete submissions will not be addressed)

• I have provided easy and step-by-step instructions to reproduce the bug.
• I understand my bug report will be removed if I haven't met the criteria above.
• I understand that if I am requested to provide more information, I must do so within 14 days or the bug report will be closed.

[ildyria]

This suggests that the timeline feature is now tied to the creation date sort, whereas it previously worked with the photo taken date as well.

That should not be the case. It should still be using the proper values. However I need to double check whether the pre-computation of the statistics has an impact.

[ildyria]

@kevin-snt

Can you run the followings (if you have not):

docker exec -it CONTAINER_ID php artisan lychee:recompute-album-sizes
docker exec -it CONTAINER_ID php artisan lychee:recompute-album-stats

[kevin-snt]

Hi, thanks for your reply

I execute both command and it works on the user account, like before 🥳

However, it doesn't work on the admin account, but that was already the case before. I don't use the admin account daily, so it doesn't have an impact.

Thanks for your help