Hi @ChristopherPr1 ,
Follow this, and you'll nail down the issue for sure:
1. Check Browser Console for Errors: Try annotating again and check for:
- JavaScript errors
- CORS errors
- Permission Denied / Unauthorized errors
- Any failed API endpoints (look for red text)
2. Check Network Tab:
- Filter by XHR / Fetch
- Try to annotate → Click the failed request
- Note the Status Code (e.g., 403, 500)
- Check Response Body for backend error message
3. Permissions Check — AEM User Access
- Are you logged in as a user with Annotation privileges?
- Go to AEM Useradmin → Confirm your user has:
- read, modify, and replicate permissions on the page
- /libs, /content, and /etc permissions as needed
- If unsure, ask your AEM Admin to verify.
4. Page State & Mode — Must Be Editable
- Annotations only work in Edit mode (not Preview/Published).
- Confirm the page is not locked or read-only.
- If it's a published page, annotations might be blocked.
5. Dispatcher Rules / Caching
- If using Dispatcher, check if it's blocking POST requests to annotation endpoints.
- Modify dispatcher.any to allow annotation APIs.
- Try bypassing Dispatcher and annotate directly via the author instance URL.
6. AEM Logs — Server-Side Error?
- AEM error log: /crx-quickstart/logs/error.log
- Search for:
Annotation create operation failed
javax.jcr.AccessDeniedException
java.lang.NullPointerException
This will confirm if it's backend permission, null data, or server error.
7. Clear Browser Cache / Try Incognito
- Cached scripts can block annotation UI.
- Try in Incognito Mode or clear cache.
- Test in different browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge).
8. AEM Version / Patch Issue
- Some AEM versions had annotation bugs fixed in patches.
- Confirm your AEM version → Check if there’s a hotfix available from Adobe.
- Example: AEM 6.x had annotation issues on SP1, fixed in SP2.
Regards,
Amit
