AD0-E137 Adobe Experience Manager Sites Developer Expert Questions and Answers

In AEM as a Cloud Service, multi-tenant projects can be managed via independent repositories linked to a primary project repository using git submodules. When a new tenant is added, the tenant’s repository must be registered as a submodule of the main project so that it is included in the CI/CD build and deployment pipelines.

From Adobe Documentation:

“When using independent repositories for tenant modules, these repositories must be referenced as git submodules in the main project repository. This ensures they are included in the Cloud Manager build and deployment process.”

— Adobe AEM as a Cloud Service – Multi-tenant Setup & Git Submodules

Workflow launchers in AEM are designed to monitor changes in specific repository paths such as /content, /content/dam, and /conf. However, changes under certain system-level paths, including /var, do not trigger workflows. This restriction is intentional, as /var is used for system-generated and internal data such as workflow instances, audit logs, and temporary nodes. Triggering workflows on changes under /var could result in recursive or unintended behavior. Option A is unrelated because Workflow Process Legacy Mode refers to backwards compatibility. Option B is incorrect, as AEM does allow system nodes under /var, but they are not workflow-launcher enabled. Adobe documentation makes clear that workflow launchers must be configured under supported content paths for them to execute correctly.

Explanation (Adobe Docs Reference):

When configuring SAML SSO with AEM, the dispatcher must allow POST requests to the saml_login endpoint. If blocked, AEM redirects endlessly back to the IDP. This is done by allowing the POST request in filters.any.

Adobe Documentation:

“For SAML authentication to work with AEM behind a Dispatcher, you must configure the dispatcher filter to allow POST requests to /saml_login. Otherwise, authentication attempts will loop infinitely.”

— AEM Dispatcher and SAML Authentication Configuration

The issue in this case is that the title field is declared but not annotated with @Inject. In Sling Models, all fields that should be populated from the resource or request must be annotated appropriately (@Inject, @ValueMapValue, or @Self). Without this annotation, the Sling Model cannot populate the field when adapting from the resource, resulting in the model not functioning as expected. Option A is incorrect because Resource.class is a valid adaptable for Sling Models. Option C does not apply because the problem is not with hard-coded paths but with injection. Option D is also incorrect because while @PostConstruct must be properly annotated, the root issue here is missing injection on the field. Adobe’s Sling Models documentation emphasizes correct use of injection annotations as a core requirement.

AEM package files follow a standard naming convention in CRX Package Manager:

--.zip

Thus, with the package name aem-package, group aem_group, and version 1.0, the correct package name is aem-package-aem_group-1.0.zip. Option B is invalid because group names and content paths are not combined in filenames. Option C omits the group name, making it incomplete. Adobe documentation emphasizes this naming convention for easier package identification and dependency management across environments.

Two important weekly maintenance tasks for repository health are:

Datastore Garbage Collection (A): Cleans up unreferenced binaries in the datastore, preventing unnecessary growth in storage size.

Online Revision Cleanup (D): Reclaims space in the segment store by compacting revisions and removing obsolete data.

Option B, Clientlib Dumps, does not affect repository size. Option C, Version Purge, should be scheduled daily rather than weekly for continuous health. Adobe’s official guidelines recommend combining datastore GC with revision cleanup to prevent segment store bloat and performance degradation, ensuring repositories remain lean and optimized.

By default, when saving dialog values, AEM stores them as String types in the JCR unless a type hint is provided. To ensure a checkbox is stored as a Boolean, developers must add a hidden TypeHint field to the dialog. This informs Sling Post Servlet about the correct JCR type when persisting values. Option A, using a JCR Event Listener, is inefficient and adds unnecessary complexity. Option C, using a Switch, would still result in a String unless the TypeHint is specified. Adobe documentation specifies that TypeHint fields should be added whenever developers need precise control over how values are stored, especially for Boolean, Long, or Date properties.

In AEM’s Template Editor, there are multiple modes that allow template authors to configure different aspects of templates. The Structure mode defines static and editable areas in templates. The Page Policy allows defining rules such as which components are available for use. However, the Layout mode is specifically designed for defining grid settings for different devices. With Layout mode, template authors can configure responsive layouts and grid behavior across breakpoints such as desktop, tablet, and mobile. This ensures consistent responsive design and adaptability across devices. Adobe documentation specifies that “Layout mode allows authors to configure responsive grid layouts for different breakpoints, ensuring that pages render appropriately on devices of varying screen sizes.” This mode is essential for enabling adaptive and responsive designs in AEM projects. Options B and C do not allow for device-specific grid settings and thus are not correct.

Explanation (Adobe Docs Reference):

Editable templates + Policies: Editable templates allow developers to restrict which components are available by defining policies that control allowed components for layout containers.

Content Fragment Model validation: Developers can define validation rules (e.g., regex, required fields, min/max length) directly in the content fragment model.

Options A, C, and D are incorrect:

Field validation is not configured in editable templates (A is wrong).

Workflows are not used for enforcing component usage (C is wrong).

Dynamic templates are deprecated in favor of editable templates (D is wrong).

Adobe Documentation:

“Editable templates support defining policies to determine which components can be used in the layout container.”

— AEM Templates – Defining Policies

“Content Fragment Models can include validation rules to ensure data integrity, including regex patterns, length restrictions, and required fields.”

— AEM Content Fragment Models – Validation Rules

Explanation (Adobe Docs Reference):

AEM supports basic multi-tenancy through separation by content paths, ACLs, and templates. However, this is not true multi-tenancy. For strict isolation with no code/content overlap, separate AEM instances per tenant is required. Adobe’s official recommendation for true isolation (zero cross-tenant knowledge or sharing) is to run dedicated AEM environments per tenant.

Adobe Documentation:

“AEM supports multi-tenancy by allowing separation of content trees, ACLs, and components. However, for strict tenant isolation (true multi-tenancy), each tenant must be deployed on separate AEM environments.”

— Adobe AEM Multi-tenancy Concepts

The segment store in AEM grows as new content versions are created and retained. If not managed, this can result in significant performance degradation and increased storage size. To address this, the Version Purge maintenance task should be scheduled daily. This task removes old, unused versions of nodes and ensures that the repository remains healthy and compact. Option A, Audit Log Purge, cleans old audit entries but does not significantly affect segment store size. Option B, Lucene Binaries Cleanup, targets binary references but is not the main factor behind large segment store growth. Adobe recommends running Version Purge regularly as part of AEM maintenance to balance data retention needs and performance optimization.

When defining component style options in AEM, authors can select from pre-defined CSS classes by configuring them in the component’s cq:editConfig node under /cq:style. The correct properties are:

cq:styleClasses: Defines the list of CSS classes that authors can apply.

cq:styleLabel: Defines the label displayed in the authoring dialog for the style selection.

Options B, C, D are incorrect because they use invalid property names (cssClasses, styleLabel, cssStyles, cssLabel) which are not recognized by AEM.

From Adobe Documentation:

“Component styles can be defined using the cq:editConfig node. Authors can choose between style variations configured under cq:styleClasses with a descriptive cq:styleLabel.”

— AEM 6.5 – Defining Component Styles with cq:editConfig

— AEM Core Components – Style System