SharePoint Document Issues

How to Restore a SharePoint Page After Promoting It as News

Adam Davis Oct 9, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to revert a SharePoint news post back into a standard site page because the standard demotion options are unavailable.

How to Restore a SharePoint Page After Promoting It as News

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing intranet content and accidentally promoting a standard site page to a news item.
Observed behavior: The page displays 'Update news' instead of 'Republish', the 'Promote as news item' option is missing, and the 'Promoted State' field is strictly read-only in grid view.

Before you start

Ensure you have Site Owner or Full Control permissions on the SharePoint site, as you will need to access the Site Pages library settings and modify column formatting.

Solution 1Recommended

Change the Promoted State Value Using JSON Formatting

Use advanced column formatting to force the read-only Promoted State value to change from 2 (News) to 0 (Regular Page).

Since SharePoint locks the Promoted State column in the standard grid view to prevent accidental modifications, applying a custom JSON script directly to the column allows you to bypass this restriction and reveal a 'Demote' option.

Access the Site Pages Library

Navigate to your SharePoint site, click on the gear icon (Settings), and select 'Site contents'. Open the 'Site Pages' library.

Display the Promoted State Column

If the 'Promoted State' column is not visible, click 'Add column' at the end of the header row, select 'Show/hide columns', check the box for 'Promoted State', and click 'Apply'.

Open Column Formatting

Click the 'Promoted State' column header, select 'Column settings' from the dropdown, and click 'Format this column'.

Apply Advanced JSON Formatting

At the bottom of the formatting pane, click 'Advanced mode'. Paste the appropriate JSON code designed to change the value from 2 to 0, and click 'Save'. You can find standard Microsoft JSON templates for demotion in the Microsoft Tech Community forums.

Demote the Page

After saving the JSON formatting, click the 'Promoted State' column menu again, and a new option to 'Demote' will appear based on your script. Click it to restore the page to a standard state.

Change the Promoted State Value Using JSON Formatting

JSON Code Reference: If you are unfamiliar with JSON, Microsoft's Tech Community provides official snippets specifically for changing the Promoted State from 2 to 0.

Solution 2

Create and Publish a Copy of the Page

Duplicate the page template to generate a fresh, unpromoted standard page as a quick workaround.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What do the different Promoted State numbers mean in SharePoint?

In SharePoint, a Promoted State value of 0 means it is a standard site page. A value of 1 indicates an unpublished news post, and a value of 2 means the page has been fully published and distributed as a News post.

Why is the Promoted State field read-only in the grid view?

SharePoint restricts direct editing of the Promoted State field in grid view to prevent accidental changes that could break news roll-ups, web parts, and distribution logic across the intranet.

Will demoting a news page automatically remove it from the News web part?

Yes. Once the Promoted State is successfully changed from 2 to 0, SharePoint no longer recognizes the file as a news item, and it will immediately disappear from any active News web parts on your site.

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