Under the following scenarios, globally scoped content is not published or imported to global scope on the target site when content refer to it get published or imported. While this may be an intended behavior, it could cause confusion or missing reference issues for certain use cases. This article will provide clarification and solutions to those cases.
Scenario 1
If we import a site that was exported with Web Content using Global template/structure, the Global structure/template will be imported into the local site level instead of the global site level.
Scenario 2
If we publish a Staging site that has Application Display Template(ADT) created for Asset Publisher in Global scope, com.liferay.portal.MissingReferenceExceptionwill occur. The missing reference error shows that it is related to the specific ADT in Global Scope.
Resolution
If staging content that references Globally scoped content like structure or template is planned to be published or imported, the Global content(template/structure) is supposed to be exported from the source environment first, then imported to target system's global scope before site's import or publishing.