* This method follows the builder pattern for method chaining.
     *
     * @param sortField the field name to sort by
     * @return this QueryStringBuilder instance for method chaining
     */
    public QueryStringBuilder sortField(final String sortField) {
        this.sortField = sortField;
        return this;
    }

    /**
     * Sets whether to escape special characters in queries.

            }
            final String sortField = values[0];
            if (!getQueryFieldConfig().isSortField(sortField)) {
                throw new InvalidQueryException(
                        messages -> messages.addErrorsInvalidQueryUnsupportedSortField(UserMessages.GLOBAL_PROPERTY_KEY, sortField),
                        "Unsupported sort field: " + termQuery);
            }

            request.setAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_QUERIES, params.getQuery());
        });

        String query = ComponentUtil.getQueryStringBuilder().params(params).sortField(params.getSort()).build();
        List<Map<String, Object>> documentItems;
        try {
            documentItems = searchInternal(query, params, userBean);
        } catch (final InvalidQueryException e) {

        return sortFields;
    }

    /**
     * Sets the fields that can be used for sorting search results.
     * Also updates the sortFieldSet for O(1) lookup performance.
     *
     * @param sortFields array of field names that can be used for sorting
     */
    public void setSortFields(final String[] sortFields) {
        this.sortFields = sortFields;
        sortFieldSet = new HashSet<>();