DAM assets not detected as referenced when using publish URLs
In Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), DAM assets can appear as unreferenced in the Assets UI even when they are used on a published page if they are referenced by publish URLs instead of repository paths. To fix the issue, update asset references to use DAM repository paths instead of publish or CDN URLs.
Description description
Environment
Adobe Experience Manager (all versions)
Issue/Symptoms
- A DAM asset appears as unreferenced in the AEM Assets UI, even though it is used on a published page.
- The asset does not appear in the asset’s References tab and may be incorrectly flagged for deactivation or cleanup.
- No error messages are shown in the UI or logs.
- After reactivating a previously deactivated asset, it still does not appear as referenced in the Assets UI.
Cause
AEM’s reference detection only works for assets referenced by their repository path (for example, /content/dam/...) within page or component content. If the asset is referenced using a full publish or CDN URL (such as https://example.com/content/dam/...), AEM does not detect it as a reference. As a result, the asset does not appear in the References tab and may be considered unreferenced.
Resolution resolution
To fix the issue where DAM assets are not detected as referenced when using publish URLs in AEM, follow these steps:
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Open the affected page in the AEM author environment.
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Inspect the component or HTML source where the asset is used.
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Check whether the asset is referenced by a full publish or CDN URL, such as
https://example.com/content/dam/...). -
Update the asset reference to use the DAM repository path instead of the publish or CDN URL, for example:
/content/dam/<your-folder>/<asset-name>).- Example:
<img src="/content/dam/<your-folder>/<asset-name>.svg" width="40" height="45"/> -
After updating the reference, open the asset in the AEM Assets UI.
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Confirm that the page now appears in the asset’s References tab.
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Optionally, use AEM query tools to find components or pages that store publish URLs instead of DAM paths. Adjust your search parameters as needed for your site structure.