Launches

Navigate to the source page in the Sites console, check the box next to it, and choose Create > Launch from the toolbar.

This opens the Create Launch wizard, which has two steps: Select Source and Properties.

Select single page, sub-node, or entire node. This is where you determine how much of the site the Launch covers.

Add Pages lets you pick one or more starting pages. All pages added to the Launch must sit under a common site root.

For each page you add, the Include Subpages toggle controles whether its children are included:

• Off: only that single page is copied into the Launch
• On (default): that page and every page beneath it are copied into the launch.

Launch Title Give it a name authors will recognize in the References rail — e.g., CEAS Site Refresh. Avoid generic titles like "Test" if more than one person might create launches for the same site.

With existing content vs. using a new template This choice covers both the template and the starting content at once:

• With existing content — the Launch is built from the page's current template and current content. This is what you want for a typical refresh: you're editing what's already there, not rebuilding it. This is the default and what's used for CEAS Site Refresh.
• Using a new template to replace the page — lets you swap in a different template for the Launch version. Important: because the page structure changes, no existing content carries over — the new page starts empty. This option is also only available when you start the wizard from the Sites console (not from the Launches console).

Inherit source page live data (mirroring live content) Checked by default. This turns the Launch into a Live Copy of the source:

• Checked (mirrored) — if someone edits the live production page while your Launch is in progress (routine fixes, another editor's changes), those edits automatically flow into your Launch too. This is usually what you want for a multi-week refresh like CEAS, so you don't fall behind ongoing maintenance on the live site.
• Unchecked (static) — the Launch is a frozen snapshot from the moment you created it. Live-page edits after that point will not appear in your Launch. Use this when you specifically want an isolated sandbox and don't want any outside changes mixing in.

Launch Date Optional. On its own, this field is just a target date/time for your own planning — it does not automatically do anything by itself. It only triggers automatic promotion and publishing if the Production Ready flag is also set later, in Edit Properties (see Part 2). If you just want a soft deadline reminder, you can set the date without touching Production Ready.

Select Create. A confirmation dialog asks whether to open the Launch immediately. If you select Done instead, you can find your Launch later via:

• The Launches console (Tools > General > Launches), or
• The References rail on the source page in the Sites console, under Launches

From the source page's References rail, select Launches, choose your Launch, then Go to the page. The page editor shows an indicator that you're inside a Launch, with Leave and Navigate options in the toolbar.

A couple of behaviors to know going in:

• You can't move a page within a Launch — AEM will block it with a warning.
• Pages that sit above your selected source pages in the tree (but weren't part of your selection) show up as placeholders using an "out of scope" template. You'll see: "This page is not part of the launch. Go to production page." This is expected — it's just AEM giving you breadcrumb navigation up the tree, not an error.

If you left Inherit source page live data checked, components on your Launch pages show small padlock icons:

• Closed padlock — this component is still being synced from the live production page. Any edits made there will keep flowing in.
• Click the padlock to break the sync for that specific component — the padlock opens, and from then on your Launch version is independent for that piece of content. Production edits to that component will no longer overwrite your work.
• You can also Suspend (and later Resume) inheritance for an entire page if you want to lock down more than one component at once.

This is the standard Live Copy editing pattern, so it'll feel familiar if you've worked with Live Copies elsewhere in AEM.

To see exactly what's changed: go to the source page > References > Launches > select your Launch > Compare to Source. This opens a side-by-side Page Diff view — handy before you promote, or when a stakeholder asks "what's actually different?"

You're not locked into your original choices:

• Add or remove pages from the Launch: open it from the Launches console (Edit) or References rail (Edit Launch), adjust, and Save.
• Edit the Launch Title, Launch Date, or Production Ready flag: open it from the Launches console (Properties) or References rail (Edit Properties), adjust, and Save.

The Production Ready flag mentioned above only appears here, in editing — not at creation. Set it (along with a Launch Date) if you want AEM to automatically promote and publish the Launch on that date without a manual step.

You can trigger it from any of these:

• Sites console, on the source page: References rail > Launches > select the Launch > Promote launch
• Sites console, while inside the Launch itself: select the page, then Promote in the toolbar
• Launches console: select the Launch thumbnail, then Promote
• While editing a Launch page: Page Information > Promote Launch

The wizard asks you to confirm:

• Delete launch after promotion — optional cleanup once you're done with it.
• Scope — how much of the Launch to promote:
  • Promote full launch — everything in the Launch.
  • Promote modified pages — only pages you've actually changed (compares both the source and Launch branches).
  • Promote approved pages — only relevant if the Launch is running through an approval workflow.
  • Promote current page / Promote current page and sub pages — for promoting just part of a larger Launch at a time.

Review the list of pages that will be affected, then select Promote.

Publish the now-updated production pages the normal way (Quick Publish, or Manage Publication for a batch). For large refreshes, coordinate with the Digital and User Experience team to perform a large activation.