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rajesh_domala
Level 1
May 18, 2026
New

AEM CF Editor – Tag Selector UX Issues leading to incorrect tag selection and confusing UI behavior

  • May 18, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 16 views

Description

We have identified UX inconsistencies in the Tag Selector component within the new Content Fragment Editor in AEM as a Cloud Service.

These issues are causing confusion for authors and may lead to incorrect tagging of content.

We have identified UX inconsistencies in the Tag Selector component within the new Content Fragment Editor in AEM as a Cloud Service.

These issues are causing confusion for authors and may lead to incorrect tagging of content.

 

Issue 1: Tag Selection and Expansion Behavior

Current Behavior

  • Clicking on a tag label performs two actions simultaneously:
    • Expands the tag hierarchy
    • Automatically selects/adds the tag value
  • Clicking specifically on the left arrow icon only expands the tag (expected behavior)

Expected Behavior

  • Clicking on a tag label should only expand/collapse the hierarchy
  • Tag selection should be a separate explicit action (e.g., checkbox selection)

Impact

  • Authors may unintentionally select incorrect tags
  • Leads to data inconsistency in content tagging
  • Increases manual correction effort and validation overhead

Issue 2: Incorrect Expansion Indicator (Arrow Icon)

Current Behavior

  • Tags display an expand arrow icon, even when:
    • No child tags are available

Expected Behavior

  • Expand arrow should be displayed only for tags that have child nodes

Impact

  • Creates confusion for authors
  • Leads to unnecessary clicks and poor user experience

 

Comparison with Classic Editor

  • Classic CF Editor provides:
    • Clear separation between expand vs select actions
    • Checkbox-based selection, making intent explicit
    • More intuitive and predictable UI behavior

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Open Content Fragment in the new CF Editor
  2. Navigate to the Tag Selector
  3. Click on a tag label
  4. Observe that the tag is both selected and expanded
  5. Expand tags that do not have children
  6. Observe that an arrow icon is still displayed

Proposed Enhancement / Recommendation

  • Decouple tag expansion and selection behavior
  • Introduce explicit selection mechanism (checkbox or similar)
  • Remove expansion arrows for tags without children
  • Align UX with classic CF editor behavior

 

    2 replies

    S
    Adobe Employee
    SubbaraoGa1Adobe Employee
    Adobe Employee
    May 18, 2026

    ​@rajesh_domala 

    I did not find a supported configuration switch that changes this specific tag-tree behavior in the new editor. So the practical workaround today is:

    • Use the classic editor for authors who are heavily impacted by tagging UX, if still available in that environment/path.
    A
    akhil_merupula
    Level 3
    May 18, 2026

    Hi ​@rajesh_domala,

     

    We have run into both of these issues on our end as well and they are legitimate UX regressions compared to the classic CF editor.

     

    The tag label click triggering both selection and expansion simultaneously is the more painful one in practice because authors browsing a deep tag hierarchy end up accidentally tagging content with parent tags they were just trying to navigate through. We have had to add extra author training specifically because of this behavior change from the classic editor.

     

    The expansion arrow showing on leaf tags with no children is a smaller issue but adds unnecessary cognitive load and makes authors question whether they are missing child tags that should be there.

     

    Since this is a product bug and UX feedback rather than a configuration issue, the most effective path to getting this addressed is submitting it through the Adobe Experience Manager feedback channel directly. Go to the AEM Cloud Service UI, click the question mark icon, and select Send Feedback, this goes directly to the product team and carries more weight than a community post for UI/UX issues. If you have an Adobe support contract you can also log it as a bug via the Admin Console support portal which creates a tracked ticket.

     

    In the meantime the practical workaround we tell our authors is to always use the arrow icon specifically for expanding rather than clicking the tag label, and to double check their selected tags before saving. Not ideal but it reduces accidental selections until Adobe addresses this in a future Cloud Service release.
     

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