diff --git a/lib/ui/menu_paginated.sh b/lib/ui/menu_paginated.sh
index 1238b1d..4a2f62d 100755
--- a/lib/ui/menu_paginated.sh
+++ b/lib/ui/menu_paginated.sh
@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@ paginated_multi_select() {
     local top_index=0
     local filter_query=""
     local filter_mode="false"                         # filter mode toggle
-    local sort_mode="${MOLE_MENU_SORT_DEFAULT:-date}" # date|name|size
-    local sort_reverse="false"
+    local sort_mode="${MOLE_MENU_SORT_MODE:-${MOLE_MENU_SORT_DEFAULT:-date}}" # date|name|size
+    local sort_reverse="${MOLE_MENU_SORT_REVERSE:-false}"
     # Live query vs applied query
     local applied_query=""
     local searching="false"
@@ -198,6 +198,8 @@ paginated_multi_select() {
     # Cleanup function
     cleanup() {
         trap - EXIT INT TERM
+        export MOLE_MENU_SORT_MODE="$sort_mode"
+        export MOLE_MENU_SORT_REVERSE="$sort_reverse"
         restore_terminal
         unset MOLE_READ_KEY_FORCE_CHAR
     }
@@ -895,6 +897,8 @@ paginated_multi_select() {
 
                 trap - EXIT INT TERM
                 MOLE_SELECTION_RESULT="$final_result"
+                export MOLE_MENU_SORT_MODE="$sort_mode"
+                export MOLE_MENU_SORT_REVERSE="$sort_reverse"
                 restore_terminal
                 return 0
                 ;;