Thank you Jackie_w, that was what I was looking for.
Except it isn't quite working for me ... for whatever reason.
Have you used the special all_by_author collection on the T1?
If you have, and it sorts correctly, then I've done something incorrect, and need to keep troubleshooting.
If not, I'm suspecting the T1 just doesn't play nicely with it, and I should probably stop trying to chase it down, and live with it.
I think you're using the custom column & tweak to the same purpose/effect I was using the plugboard & author_sort field on the 350.
I *thought* on the 350 that added_order on all the collections, including a_b_a, was being pulled from the author_sort I defined in the plugboard.
edit: No that's not right .... because collections usually ended up by title,I think. Not sure why I was using the plugboard for author_sort. Maybe I never got it quite working either
On the T1, added order in a_b_a seems ... confused, within author.
And neither setting author_sort in the device_db plugboard, and in the epub plugboard, or tweaking the collections sort seems to affect it.
On the other hand, for the other collections, sorting via the tweak seems to be producing a lasting sort on the T1, while plugboarding author_sort in both device_db and epub didn't.
Which is the opposite of what I would expect, but it is, after all, Sony ...