Handling Missing References in Imports

Liferay DXP 2025.Q3

When importing content or user-related data (such as categories, tags, vocabularies, roles, organizations, accounts, and account groups), Liferay handles references to entities missing in the target environment to avoid import errors and preserve data structure. Liferay manages missing references in several ways:

Creates an incomplete placeholder entity
Keeps the reference but shows a UI warning or 404
Ignores the missing field
Defaults to a known fallback (for example, using the importing user as author)

The following sections describe how Liferay applies these behaviors to different entity types.

How Liferay Handles Missing Content References

Referenced Entity	Import Behavior
Categories	Creates a placeholder category in `Incomplete` status. If the vocabulary exists, it’s associated.
Tags	Automatically created with no special status.
Vocabularies	Creates a placeholder vocabulary in `Incomplete` status.

How Liferay Handles Missing User References

Referenced Entity	Import Behavior
Roles	Creates a placeholder role in `Incomplete` status.
Accounts	Creates a placeholder account in `Incomplete` status.
Account Groups	Creates a placeholder account group in `Incomplete` status.
Organizations	Creates a placeholder organization in `Incomplete` status.

Understanding the Incomplete Status

Entities created as placeholders are marked with the Incomplete status. These entities

Act as functional placeholders
Are excluded from validation-dependent features
May show warnings or tooltips in the UI
Must be reviewed and updated manually

You can view and manage these entities by filtering for Incomplete status in the relevant app (e.g., Categories, Users).

Best Practices

Follow these guidelines to maintain data integrity and ensure a smooth import process:

Review imported data for Incomplete entities after import.
Use consistent environments between source and target to reduce missing reference scenarios.
Audit content regularly to ensure taxonomy, user assignments, and layout references are intact.