Summary

Fixes an issue where publishing start and end date fields are not visible when creating a new article on the frontend.

Cause

The condition if (!is_null($this->item->id)) restricted the publishing fields to existing articles only, causing them to be hidden for new articles.

Fix

• Removed the condition that restricted fields to existing articles
• Ensured publish_up and publish_down are always displayed
• Kept featured_up and featured_down fields restricted using permission check (access-change)

Testing Instructions

1. Go to frontend article creation page
2. Create a new article
3. Verify that publishing start and end date fields are visible
4. Edit an existing article and confirm fields still appear correctly

Expected result AFTER applying this Pull Request

• Publishing start and end date fields are visible for both new and existing articles
• Featured fields remain controlled by user permissions

Link to documentations

• No documentation changes for guide.joomla.org needed
• No documentation changes for manual.joomla.org needed

Checklist

• I read the Generative AI policy and my contribution complies with it