AEM: Number fields in content fragments display commas, causing issues with ID storage and search
This article explains how to address issues caused by automatic comma formatting in number fields used for IDs in Adobe Experience Manager content fragments.
Description description
Environment
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) (all versions)
Issue/Symptoms
When using number fields in content fragments to store identifier values (such as IDs), the AEM UI automatically formats these numbers with commas (For example: 1,000,000).
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This formatting is problematic when the field is intended to store an ID, not a value for calculation or display.
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The presence of commas:
- Creates confusion, as IDs aren’t meant to be interpreted as formatted numbers.
- Breaks search functionality, since the default search doesn’t recognize or handle commas properly.
- Requires manual removal of commas from UI values before searching, with unreliable results.
No error messages are displayed, but the behavior disrupts workflows that rely on unformatted identifier values.
Resolution resolution
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Review field usage:
- Identify fields in content fragments that are intended to store identifiers (IDs) rather than numeric values for calculation or display.
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Switch to text fields for IDs:
- Change the field type from number to text for any field used to store IDs.
- This ensures that values are stored and displayed exactly as entered, without automatic formatting.
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Handle sequencing/uniqueness externally:
- If the ID value must be auto-generated or sequential, implement this logic in the application or service responsible for generating the identifier, not in the AEM editor field type.
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Feature request (optional):
- If a configurable option to disable numeric formatting for number fields is required, feature request ASSETS-69798 has been created.
- Note that current product guidance is to use text fields for identifier-style values.
Cause
Number fields in AEM content fragments apply locale-based formatting (such as commas) by design, which isn’t appropriate for storing unformatted identifier values.