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Web & AEM Support

Unpublished AEM Content Protocols

  • Unit Responsible: Digital Publishing, Computing and Communications Services (CCS)
  • Updated: 11-11-2026

I. Purpose

These protocols outline how Digital Publishing identifies, reviews and removes content that has been left unpublished in Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). They apply to sites that were never released, content that was taken offline and never republished, and DAM assets that are no longer used on TMU websites.

Unpublished content is invisible to site visitors, but it still has a cost. It:

  • clutters the AEM author environment;
  • can be published by mistake, putting outdated information, old branding or inaccessible content on torontomu.ca;
  • consumes storage;
  • adds to the content that must be maintained, migrated and tested during AEM upgrades; and
  • wastes time in yearly audits, which review the same content again and again.

Authors, website owners and sponsors are responsible for the unpublished content in their sites, just as they are for published content.

II. Scope

These protocols apply to all unpublished sites, pages and DAM assets in the AEM production author environment that are associated with torontomu.ca. This includes unpublished pages within otherwise published sites.

These protocols do not apply to:

  • content in the AEM development or QA environments, which is covered by the AEM Development Website Deletion Protocols; or
  • published sites and pages, which are covered by the Website Deletion Protocols and the Abandoned Website Protocols.

III. Definitions

  • Creation date: The date a site or page was created in AEM.
  • Never-published site: A site created in AEM in which no page has ever been published to torontomu.ca.
  • Unpublished page: A page within a published site that has never been published, or that has been unpublished.
  • Unpublished site: A site that was once live on torontomu.ca and has since been unpublished.
  • Unused asset: A file in the DAM, such as an image, PDF, document or video, that is not referenced by any published page.

IV. Criteria for Abandoned Unpublished Content

Unpublished content may be deemed abandoned if it meets either of the following criteria:

  • Never-published site: No page has been published within six months of the site's creation date, and no launch date is on record.
  • Unpublished site: The site has remained unpublished for six months or more.

Criteria for unpublished pages and unused assets will be added in a future update.

V. Notification and Removal Process

The site owner, sponsor and/or author(s) will receive one email notice identifying the abandoned site. No further reminders will be sent. Within 30 days of the notice, they must do one of the following:

  1. Request that the site be archived and deleted;
  2. Update and publish the content; or
  3. For a never-published site, provide a target launch date. If the site is not launched by that date, one extension of up to two months may be granted if requested.

If there is no response within 30 days, the site will be deleted.