diff --git a/src/lib/ae_core/core__idb_sort.ts b/src/lib/ae_core/core__idb_sort.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..779cf3ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/ae_core/core__idb_sort.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/**
+ * src/lib/ae_core/core__idb_sort.ts
+ *
+ * Shared utility for computing tmp_sort_* fields stored in Dexie.
+ * All fields are designed for ascending .sortBy() — no .reverse() needed.
+ *
+ * Encoding rules:
+ *   priority — inverted boolean: true→'0', false→'1' so priority=true sorts first (ASC)
+ *   sort     — zero-padded integer string so "00000010" < "00000020" (correct numeric order)
+ *   all other fields — appended as-is; ISO 8601 datetimes already sort correctly
+ *
+ * Usage:
+ *   const { tmp_sort_1, tmp_sort_2, tmp_sort_3 } = build_tmp_sort({
+ *       prefix: [obj.group ?? '0'],      // fields before priority (optional)
+ *       priority: obj.priority,
+ *       sort: obj.sort,
+ *       fields_1: [obj.start_datetime],  // appended to base for tmp_sort_1
+ *       fields_2: [obj.name],            // appended after fields_1 for tmp_sort_2
+ *       fields_3: [obj.updated_on],      // appended after fields_2 for tmp_sort_3
+ *   });
+ */
+export function build_tmp_sort({
+    prefix = [],
+    priority,
+    sort,
+    fields_1 = [],
+    fields_2 = [],
+    fields_3 = [],
+    pad_width = 8
+}: {
+    prefix?: (string | null | undefined)[];
+    priority?: boolean | null;
+    sort?: number | string | null;
+    fields_1?: (string | null | undefined)[];
+    fields_2?: (string | null | undefined)[];
+    fields_3?: (string | null | undefined)[];
+    pad_width?: number;
+}): { tmp_sort_1: string; tmp_sort_2: string; tmp_sort_3: string } {
+    const clean = (v: string | null | undefined): string => v ?? '';
+
+    const p = priority ? '0' : '1';
+    const s = String(Number(sort ?? 0)).padStart(pad_width, '0');
+
+    const parts_base = [...prefix.map(clean), p, s].join('_');
+    const parts_1 = fields_1.map(clean).filter(Boolean).join('_');
+    const parts_2 = fields_2.map(clean).filter(Boolean).join('_');
+    const parts_3 = fields_3.map(clean).filter(Boolean).join('_');
+
+    const tmp_sort_1 = [parts_base, parts_1].filter(Boolean).join('_');
+    const tmp_sort_2 = [tmp_sort_1, parts_2].filter(Boolean).join('_');
+    const tmp_sort_3 = [tmp_sort_2, parts_3].filter(Boolean).join('_');
+
+    return { tmp_sort_1, tmp_sort_2, tmp_sort_3 };
+}
diff --git a/src/lib/ae_events/ae_events__event_presentation.ts b/src/lib/ae_events/ae_events__event_presentation.ts
index 4f6c7b7d..73a2acf7 100644
--- a/src/lib/ae_events/ae_events__event_presentation.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ae_events/ae_events__event_presentation.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import type { key_val } from '$lib/stores/ae_stores';
 import { api } from '$lib/api/api';
 
 import { db_save_ae_obj_li__ae_obj } from '$lib/ae_core/core__idb_dexie';
+import { build_tmp_sort } from '$lib/ae_core/core__idb_sort';
 import { db_events } from '$lib/ae_events/db_events';
 import type { ae_EventPresentation } from '$lib/types/ae_types';
 
@@ -681,19 +682,16 @@ export async function process_ae_obj__event_presentation_props({
                 obj.event_session_id = obj.event_session_id_random;
             if (obj.event_id_random) obj.event_id = obj.event_id_random;
 
-            // Override generic tmp_sort_* with presentation-specific encoding.
-            // WHY: Generic _process_generic_props encodes priority as 0/1 ASC (backwards)
-            // and sort as an unpadded string ("10" < "2"). Presentations also need
-            // start_datetime and code in the sort chain, which are not generic fields.
-            // Desired order: priority DESC → sort ASC → start_datetime ASC → code ASC → name ASC
-            // Encoding trick: invert priority so true→'0' sorts before false→'1' ascending.
-            const p = obj.priority ? '0' : '1';
-            const s = String(Number(obj.sort ?? 0)).padStart(8, '0');
-            const dt = obj.start_datetime ?? '';
-            const code = obj.code ?? '';
-            const name = obj.name ?? '';
-            obj.tmp_sort_1 = `${p}_${s}_${dt}_${code}`;
-            obj.tmp_sort_2 = `${p}_${s}_${dt}_${code}_${name}`;
+            // Override generic tmp_sort_* with presentation-specific encoding via
+            // build_tmp_sort. Order: priority DESC → sort ASC → start_datetime ASC → code ASC → name ASC
+            const { tmp_sort_1, tmp_sort_2 } = build_tmp_sort({
+                priority: obj.priority,
+                sort: obj.sort,
+                fields_1: [obj.start_datetime, obj.code],
+                fields_2: [obj.name]
+            });
+            obj.tmp_sort_1 = tmp_sort_1;
+            obj.tmp_sort_2 = tmp_sort_2;
             return obj;
         }
     });
diff --git a/src/lib/ae_journals/ae_journals__journal.ts b/src/lib/ae_journals/ae_journals__journal.ts
index ddee6337..523b5be7 100644
--- a/src/lib/ae_journals/ae_journals__journal.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ae_journals/ae_journals__journal.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import type { key_val } from '$lib/stores/ae_stores';
 import { api } from '$lib/api/api';
 
 import { db_save_ae_obj_li__ae_obj } from '$lib/ae_core/core__idb_dexie';
+import { build_tmp_sort } from '$lib/ae_core/core__idb_sort';
 import { db_journals } from '$lib/ae_journals/db_journals';
 import type { ae_Journal } from '$lib/types/ae_types';
 
@@ -885,9 +886,16 @@ export async function process_ae_obj__journal_props({
 
             const updated =
                 obj.updated_on ?? obj.created_on ?? new Date(0).toISOString();
-            obj.tmp_sort_3 = `${obj.group ?? '0'}_${obj.priority ? 1 : 0}_${obj.sort ?? '0'}_${
-                obj.name
-            }_${updated}`;
+            const { tmp_sort_1, tmp_sort_2, tmp_sort_3 } = build_tmp_sort({
+                prefix: [obj.group ?? '0'],
+                priority: obj.priority,
+                sort: obj.sort,
+                fields_2: [obj.name],
+                fields_3: [updated]
+            });
+            obj.tmp_sort_1 = tmp_sort_1;
+            obj.tmp_sort_2 = tmp_sort_2;
+            obj.tmp_sort_3 = tmp_sort_3;
             obj.combined_passcode = `${obj.passcode ?? ''}:${obj.private_passcode ?? ''}`;
 
             return obj;
diff --git a/src/lib/ae_journals/ae_journals__journal_entry.ts b/src/lib/ae_journals/ae_journals__journal_entry.ts
index c86d0064..c70513ad 100644
--- a/src/lib/ae_journals/ae_journals__journal_entry.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ae_journals/ae_journals__journal_entry.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import type { key_val } from '$lib/stores/ae_stores';
 import { api } from '$lib/api/api';
 
 import { db_save_ae_obj_li__ae_obj } from '$lib/ae_core/core__idb_dexie';
+import { build_tmp_sort } from '$lib/ae_core/core__idb_sort';
 import { db_journals } from '$lib/ae_journals/db_journals';
 import type { ae_JournalEntry } from '$lib/types/ae_types';
 
@@ -1050,19 +1051,20 @@ export async function process_ae_obj__journal_entry_props({
             obj.history = history;
             obj.history_md_html = history_md_html;
 
-            // Journal entry-specific computed sort fields, overriding generic ones if needed
-            const sort_val = (obj.sort ?? 0).toString().padStart(3, '0');
+            // Journal entry-specific computed sort fields via build_tmp_sort.
+            // Order: priority DESC → sort ASC → name ASC → updated ASC (all ascending, no .reverse())
             const updated =
                 obj.updated_on ?? obj.created_on ?? new Date(0).toISOString();
-            obj.tmp_sort_1 = `${obj.group ?? ''}_${obj.priority ? '1' : '0'}_${
-                sort_val
-            }_${updated}`;
-            obj.tmp_sort_2 = `${obj.group ?? ''}_${obj.priority ? '1' : '0'}_${
-                sort_val
-            }_${obj.name ?? ''}_${updated}`;
-            obj.tmp_sort_3 = `${obj.group ?? ''}_${obj.priority ? '1' : '0'}_${
-                sort_val
-            }_${obj.name ?? ''}_${updated}`;
+            const { tmp_sort_1, tmp_sort_2, tmp_sort_3 } = build_tmp_sort({
+                prefix: [obj.group ?? ''],
+                priority: obj.priority,
+                sort: obj.sort,
+                fields_2: [obj.name],
+                fields_3: [updated]
+            });
+            obj.tmp_sort_1 = tmp_sort_1;
+            obj.tmp_sort_2 = tmp_sort_2;
+            obj.tmp_sort_3 = tmp_sort_3;
 
             return obj;
         }
diff --git a/src/routes/journals/+page.svelte b/src/routes/journals/+page.svelte
index 7f9f894e..e06c4d80 100644
--- a/src/routes/journals/+page.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/journals/+page.svelte
@@ -59,7 +59,6 @@ let lq__journal_obj_li = $derived(
         return await db_journals.journal
             .where('person_id')
             .equals($ae_loc.person_id)
-            .reverse()
             .sortBy('tmp_sort_3');
     })
 );
diff --git a/src/routes/journals/[journal_id]/entry/[journal_entry_id]/+page.svelte b/src/routes/journals/[journal_id]/entry/[journal_entry_id]/+page.svelte
index a94120da..171ef9ba 100644
--- a/src/routes/journals/[journal_id]/entry/[journal_entry_id]/+page.svelte
+++ b/src/routes/journals/[journal_id]/entry/[journal_entry_id]/+page.svelte
@@ -105,7 +105,6 @@ let lq__journal_obj_li = $derived(
         let results = await db_journals.journal
             .where('person_id')
             .equals($ae_loc.person_id)
-            .reverse()
             .sortBy('tmp_sort_2');
 
         // Check if results are different than the current session version stored under $journals_slct