Hide publishing options in hook_form_alter without unpublishing node? I'm trying to create a very slimmed down node edit page for a content type. One of the things I'm doing is hiding the additional_settings section with #access = false.

This is what I'm using:

$form['additional_settings']['#access'] = FALSE;
$form['options']['status']['#default_value'] = TRUE;


With #access = false, when I save the node after editing, it set to unpublished.

I've tried using $form_state['values']['status'] = TRUE; in a form submission handler, but that doesn't help.
You could just convert the element to a value type, that way it will be hidden from the form display but will be passed through to the submit handler as normal:

$form['options']['status'] = array(
  '#type' =&gt; 'value',
  '#value' =&gt; 1
);


You can do the same thing for the rest of the elements in that fieldset, then set the fieldset itself to a container type and remove the title:

$form['options']['#type'] = 'container';
$form['options']['#title'] = '';