AEM assets expiry dates

[Prashardan]

Hi Everyone

I'm looking for some guidance on how to enhance our AEM Assets implementation. We have a large number of assets under the /content/dam/xxx path, and it's becoming challenging to track their expiry dates effectively. My goal is to implement a visual indicator—either a flag or an icon—on each asset within the AEM Assets interface that would dynamically appear when an asset's expiry date is within a certain threshold.

Specifically, I want to achieve the following:

• When assets are loaded in /content/dam/xxx, the system should check each asset's expiry date (if one is set).
• If an asset's expiry date is within the next 5 days, a visual flag or icon should be displayed on the asset's thumbnail or metadata area in the AEM Assets interface.
• Ideally, the flag or icon would disappear once the asset is no longer within the 5-day expiry window.

Any suggestions please

Thanks in advance

[SantoshSai]

Hi @Prashardan,

This sounds like a very useful feature to improve the management of assets within AEM Assets (You could add this into the Idea's section of the community), especially when dealing with expiration dates. Below, I could share a few possible ways to approach this, leveraging AEM’s capabilities such as custom metadata, workflow, and frontend modifications.

1. Add Expiry Date Metadata to Assets (if not already done)

Ensure each asset has an "expiry date" stored as metadata. If your assets don’t already have an expiry date, you can create a custom metadata field for it.

• Method: You can add the expiryDate metadata field using a custom workflow or through bulk editing in AEM Assets.

• Type: This metadata can be added as a Date field.

2. Custom Workflow to Update Expiry Status

You can create a custom workflow in AEM that periodically checks assets for their expiry dates. The workflow could trigger a custom metadata update that marks whether an asset is within the 5-day expiry window.

• Steps:

  1. Custom Workflow Process: Create a custom workflow process that runs periodically (e.g., daily) and checks the expiry dates of assets in the /content/dam/xxx folder.

  2. Update Metadata: If an asset’s expiry date is within the next 5 days, update the metadata or set a flag field (e.g., expiryStatus) to "expiring" or similar.

  3. Trigger the Workflow: You can either trigger the workflow manually or set up a scheduled job to run the workflow periodically.

3. Display a Visual Indicator in the AEM Assets Interface

You can implement a custom component or use AEM’s client-side customization to dynamically display a visual indicator (like a flag or icon) on the asset’s thumbnail when the expiryStatus flag is set to "expiring".

• Option 1: Using a Custom Overlay or Icon on Thumbnails

  • Client-side: A custom JavaScript or CSS overlay can be added to the AEM Assets interface to check the metadata for each asset and display a flag/icon if the expiryStatus field is "expiring."

  • How to implement:

    1. Custom JavaScript: Add custom JavaScript to AEM’s DAM interface (via a clientlib or custom frontend code).

    2. Query Metadata: When assets are loaded in the AEM Assets UI, use the AEM API (or Asset Manager) to query each asset’s expiryStatus.

    3. Conditionally Show Icon: If the asset’s expiryStatus is "expiring" (or if the expiry date is within 5 days), display an overlay icon or flag on the asset’s thumbnail.

• Option 2: Using AEM Asset's Metadata: If you’re looking to keep it simple, you can also modify the asset’s metadata view in the AEM interface to show a visual flag or indicator based on the expiry date field.

  • This can be done using JCR Queries and custom JSP components to render a flag icon next to the asset’s metadata in the UI.

Hope that helps!

[AmitVishwakarma]

Hi @Prashardan ,
Try below steps:

1. Ensure Expiry Metadata Exists
Make sure all assets have an expiryDate metadata field.

Path: Usually stored under jcr:content/metadata/dc:expiryDate or a custom field like custom:expiryDate.

How to add:
  - Use Metadata Schema Editor (AEM > Tools > Assets > Metadata Schemas).
  - Add a Date type field and assign it to your /content/dam/xxx path.

2. Add a Scheduled Job to Mark Expiring Assets
 Create a scheduled AEM service or workflow model that:
  - Runs daily.
  - Scans assets under /content/dam/xxx.
  - Compares expiryDate with today’s date.
  - If the date is within 5 days, sets a metadata flag like expiryWarning = true, else removes/sets to false.

Example (Java logic outline):

Calendar today = Calendar.getInstance();
Calendar expiryDate = ... // pulled from asset metadata

Calendar thresholdDate = Calendar.getInstance();
thresholdDate.add(Calendar.DAY_OF_YEAR, 5);

if (expiryDate != null && expiryDate.before(thresholdDate)) {
    asset.getMetadata().put("expiryWarning", true);
} else {
    asset.getMetadata().put("expiryWarning", false);
}
​

3. Customize the AEM Assets UI (Coral UI)

Use a ClientLib to inject JavaScript into the AEM Assets UI and show a flag/icon when expiryWarning == true.

Steps:

  - Create a ClientLib under /apps with category: dam.gui.customassetview.

  - In the JS:

     - Hook into AEM’s assetView rendering.

     - Check the expiryWarning field.

     - If true, append an icon to the thumbnail (e.g., a warning or calendar icon).

Sample JS Snippet:

(function(document, $, Coral) {
    $(document).on("foundation-contentloaded", function() {
        $(".foundation-collection-item").each(function() {
            const $item = $(this);
            const metadata = $item.data("foundation-collection-item-meta");

            if (metadata && metadata["expiryWarning"] === true) {
                $item.append('<div class="expiry-flag"> Expiring Soon</div>');
            }
        });
    });
})(document, Granite.$, Coral);

Style the .expiry-flag in your CSS (in the same ClientLib).

Note: Ensure your service user for the scheduled job has read/write access to /content/dam.


Regards,
Amit

[aanchal-sikka]

@Prashardan : Did you find the suggestions helpful? Please let us know if you require more information. Otherwise, please mark the answer as correct for posterity. If you've discovered a solution yourself, we would appreciate it if you could share it with the community. Thank you!

[Prashardan]

Hi @AmitVishwakarma 

Thanks for your reply. I have tried you suggested.

I have overlayed /libs/dam/gui/coral/components/admin/contentrenderer/card/asset/propertyList.jsp to /apps/dam/gui/coral/components/admin/contentrenderer/card/asset/propertyList.jsp

I have a dc:expiry in metadata and want to read this property and when date is >= currentdate I want show the flag/icon.

Currently I am able to show icon but unable to read dc:expiry in the /apps/dam/gui/coral/components/admin/contentrenderer/card/asset/propertyList.jsp

Kindly advise.

CC: @SantoshSai @aanchal-sikka