Disable the "Publish" option in page editor toolbar for specific user groups | Community
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NavyaVo
Level 2
May 7, 2025
Solved

Disable the "Publish" option in page editor toolbar for specific user groups

  • May 7, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 554 views

Hi community,

We have a requirement where only certain users (like content approvers) should be able to publish pages. However, all authors currently see the "Quick Publish" and "Manage Publication" options in the page editor toolbar.

Is there a way to hide or disable these publishing actions only for specific user groups in AEM (as a Cloud Service)?

Appreciate your help.

    Best answer by SantoshSai

    Hi @navyavo,

    You can give this a try -  adding a few practical ways to manage this as below:

    1. Use AEM page permissions to restrict replication

    AEM controls the visibility of the "Publish" buttons based on replicate permissions.

    Steps:

    1. Navigate to /content in Useradmin or CRXDE Lite.

    2. Deny the replicate permission for your target group (e.g., content-authors) on the required path.

    3. Ensure only approvers or publishers group has this permission.

    This will automatically hide the Publish options in the toolbar for users who don't have replicate rights.

    2. Customize the page editor action toolbar (if needed)

    If permissions alone don’t meet your exact needs, you could look into customizing the editor toolbar’s action rendering logic.

    Location:

    /apps/<your-project>/cq/gui/components/authoring/editors/clientlibs/core/js

    You could inject custom logic to control visibility based on group membership. That said, permissions are still the cleaner and more secure route.

    3. You can also try using Closed User Groups (CUG) for controlled access

    If certain areas of the site require stricter publishing controls:

    • Use CUG policies to limit who can access and publish them.

    • Combine with ACLs for comprehensive governance.

    References: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-65/content/security/security

    https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-65/content/security/user-group-ac-admin

    https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-65/content/security/touch-ui-principal-view

    Hope that helps!

    3 replies

    AmitVishwakarma
    Community Advisor
    AmitVishwakarmaCommunity Advisor
    Community Advisor
    May 7, 2025

    Hi @navyavo ,

    Try below steps:

    1. Restrict Permissions via ACLs (Deny Replicate)

    Purpose: Prevents unauthorized users from publishing (even if they try manually or via API).

    How:

      - Go to: /security/permissions.html

      - Select group: content-authors

      - At /content, deny the replicate permission

      - Optionally allow replicate only for content-approvers group

    Effect: Authors won’t be able to actually publish even if buttons are visible
    Limitation: UI buttons still visible — need hiding

    2. Hide Publish/Manage Publication Buttons via ClientLibs

    Purpose: Clean UI — hide buttons so authors aren’t confused or tempted

    Steps:

      - Create a clientlib at:
    /apps/your-project/clientlibs/editor/hide-publish

      - Add this clientlib.json:

    { "categories": ["cq.authoring.editor.sites.page.hook"], "jsProcessor": ["default"], "js": ["js/hide-publish.js"] }

    Create the JS file hide-publish.js:

    (function ($, $document) { "use strict"; $document.on("foundation-contentloaded", function () { Granite.author.User.getCurrentUserProfile().done(function(profile) { const groups = profile['authorizable']['groupMembership'] || []; const isApprover = groups.includes("content-approvers"); if (!isApprover) { // Hide Publish and Manage Publication buttons $('[data-foundation-command="quickpublish"]').hide(); $('[data-foundation-command="managepublication"]').hide(); } }); }); })(Granite.$, jQuery(document));

    Effect: Publish UI options are hidden from users not in content-approvers

    Optional: Route All Publishing Through Workflow

    If you want tighter control:

      - Disable replicate for all users

      - Set up a Request for Activation workflow

      - Only allow content-approvers to approve and publish via workflow step

    Regards,
    Amit

     

      SantoshSai
      Community Advisor
      SantoshSaiCommunity AdvisorAccepted solution
      Community Advisor
      May 7, 2025

      Hi @navyavo,

      You can give this a try -  adding a few practical ways to manage this as below:

      1. Use AEM page permissions to restrict replication

      AEM controls the visibility of the "Publish" buttons based on replicate permissions.

      Steps:

      1. Navigate to /content in Useradmin or CRXDE Lite.

      2. Deny the replicate permission for your target group (e.g., content-authors) on the required path.

      3. Ensure only approvers or publishers group has this permission.

      This will automatically hide the Publish options in the toolbar for users who don't have replicate rights.

      2. Customize the page editor action toolbar (if needed)

      If permissions alone don’t meet your exact needs, you could look into customizing the editor toolbar’s action rendering logic.

      Location:

      /apps/<your-project>/cq/gui/components/authoring/editors/clientlibs/core/js

      You could inject custom logic to control visibility based on group membership. That said, permissions are still the cleaner and more secure route.

      3. You can also try using Closed User Groups (CUG) for controlled access

      If certain areas of the site require stricter publishing controls:

      • Use CUG policies to limit who can access and publish them.

      • Combine with ACLs for comprehensive governance.

      References: https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-65/content/security/security

      https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-65/content/security/user-group-ac-admin

      https://experienceleague.adobe.com/en/docs/experience-manager-65/content/security/touch-ui-principal-view

      Hope that helps!

      Santosh Sai
        chaudharynick
        chaudharynick
        Level 4
        May 7, 2025

        Hi @navyavo 

         

        You need to update the user permissions groups and create separate groups for the publishers and add the required ones only in them.

         

        For the main authors group where you don't want to show the publishing, remove the replication privileges from that group and add the replication privilege to publisher group only.

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