[DEFECT] Initial view renders incorrect content state (Published/Unpublished) until Date Picker is manually triggered
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Since Jan 26, 2026.
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Description
Problem Statement
When using the Time Machine functionality to preview content states in the future (specifically for Scheduled Publish and Scheduled Expire/Unpublish actions), the initial rendering of the view is incorrect.
When you create content with a scheduled publish or unpublish date the first time you go to the Published tab, you'll see incorrect states about the scheduled published and unpublished contentlets, after the user explicitly interacts with the Date Picker (e.g., clicking it and re-selecting the date) you will see the CORRECT state. This affects both content scheduled to be published (showing as published before it should be) and content scheduled to be unpublished (showing as published after it should have expired).
Steps to Reproduce
Scenario A: Scheduled Publish (Future Publish).
- Create a new Content Item.
- Set the Publish Date to 10/15 minutes in the future.
- Save the content (do not publish immediately).
- Open the Published tab.
- Observe: The content item incorrectly appears in the "Published" list/view on the first load.
- Click the Time Machine Date Picker and re-select the exact same time.
- Observe: The view refreshes, and the content item correctly disappears (as it is not yet published).
Scenario B: Scheduled Expire (Future Unpublish).
- Create a new Content Item and Publish it immediately.
- Edit the item and set the Expire Date (Unpublish) to 10 minutes in the future.
- Open the Published tab, after the 10 minutes happened.
- Observe: The content item incorrectly remains visible in the "Published" list/view on the first load.
- Click the Time Machine Date Picker and re-select the exact same time.
- Observe: The view refreshes, and the content item correctly disappears (as it should be expired).
💡 see more details in the QA evidence of this PR (min 3:50): https://github.com/dotCMS/core/issues/34278#issuecomment-3773474950
Acceptance Criteria
- When the Time Machine view loads, it must immediately calculate and render the content state based on the selected timestamp, without requiring secondary user interaction.
- Content scheduled for the future must not appear as "Published" if the Time Machine is set to a time prior to the Publish Date.
- Content scheduled to expire must not appear as "Published" if the Time Machine is set to a time after the Expire Date.
dotCMS Version
Latest main
Severity
Low - Minor issue or cosmetic
Links
NA
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