Stop content from displaying (unpublishing)

Overview

Site editors cannot delete content but can unpublish nodes of certain content types (e.g., Basic page). Unpublishing hides the content from users without permissions to view unpublished content, including anonymous and authenticated users. Below are two methods for unpublishing nodes.

Note that if you no longer want content to be accessible, it is best to unpublish that content rather than simply disabling its menu item. Published content will remain in search results long after its menu item has been disabled whereas unpublished content will not be accessible the moment it is unpublished, and will eventually be purged from the search indexes of Google, Bing, etc.

With great power…

Before unpublishing content, it is a good idea to make sure you are editing the correct item and that you do indeed need to change its status from published to not published. Unintentionally unpublishing your front page will essentially render your site unavailable with the exception of inbound links and search results to interior pages.

If you need to unpublish an event or a news article, make sure you are editing the event or article, and not the Events or News page where the views that show this content are displayed.

Method 1: Unpublish an individual node via the editing interface

  1. Navigate to the page you wish to unpublish.
  2. Click the Edit tab on the node you want to unpublish.
  3. To the left of the Save button, toggle Published to Off: status toggle in the unpublished state.
  4. Save changes: Click Save to apply the changes.

Tip: To re-publish a node follow the same steps, but in Step 3 toggle Published to On: status toggle in the published state..

Method 2: Unpublish multiple nodes from Content Administration

  1. Navigate to the Content Administration page via the administrative menu (Administrative menu > Content)
  2. Select the checkbox next to each node you wish to unpublish.
  3. Select Unpublish content from the Actions menu below the content table and click Apply to selected items.
  4. Follow the confirmation prompts to complete the process.

Tip: To publish multiple unpublished nodes, repeat the steps but select Publish content in Step 3.

Additional Notes

  • Site editors cannot unpublish nodes of certain content types, such as Member - Imported. Instead, these changes should be made at the source (for example removing a member from a group in Trinity Directory Tool).
  • Trinity Communications can lock down specific Basic pages, such as the front page, to prevent them from being unpublished. If you encounter a Basic page that you believe you should be able to unpublish but the toggle is disabled, please contact Trinity Communications and include the URL (web address) of the page in question. 
  • Changing the published status of a node takes effect immediately and will hide or reveal content site-wide.