We know there are a lot of keys on the keyboard, so with the upcoming release of Confluence 4.0, we’re happy to announce that we’ll be taking one off of your plate when editing in Confluence.
We’ve majorly improved macros in Confluence by eliminating the need for the {macro} syntax and introducing a more visual and intuitive way to view macros with macro placeholders.
Introducing Macro Placeholders
In previous releases of Confluence, the wiki markup syntax did little by way of differentiating macros and even less by helping you visualize your finished page. Macro placeholders offer a visual representation of your macros while editing your Confluence page, allowing for easy macro management and a clearer understanding of your page’s format.
Macro placeholders offer the following advantages when managing a page’s macros:
- Quick access to macro editing
Edit the content of a macro directly in the editor, or double-click the placeholder to open the Macro Browser for parameter editing.
- Macro placeholder properties panel
Every macro placeholder has a properties panel. The properties panels for particular macros, such as the ‘Status’ and ‘View File’ macros, have additional functionality, as described below.
3 Improved Macros
Macro placeholders in Confluence disprove the wise-ol’ adage that ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. Look out, because in Confluence 4.0 there are a number of old macros packed with improved functionality and even a few new moves.
The Include Page Macro
The Include Page macro allows you to display the contents of one Confluence page or blog post in another page or blog post. It’s an essential feature for technical writers because it allows them to re-use often-used content across their technical documentation and manage that content from one location.
The properties panel for the Include Page macro has a ‘Go to included page’ button that allows you to quickly check the page you have included, while still in the editor.
The JIRA Issue Macro
It’s incredibly easy to connect JIRA, Atlassian’s bug and issue tracker, and Confluence using Application Links, enhancing the cohesiveness of your project tracking and software development. Connecting these applications allows you to quickly create ad-hoc reports about your JIRA issues inside of Confluence, bringing collaboration to a whole new level.
You can quickly open up the JIRA issue or filter, right from the editor, using the new ‘View in JIRA’ button in the properties panel. Forget about application switching!
The View File Macro
Confluence makes it easy to embed files on to a page, helping you free your harddrive and better share it with your team. Now, instead of e-mailing or meeting to share and discuss documents, you can collaborate online through Confluence.
The placeholder for the View File macro displays an image according to the file type (for example PDF or Word file). And you can easily download the file while you are editing the page, using the new ‘Download file’ button in the properties panel.
3 New Macros
We’ve bundled more macros with Confluence, and even made some new ones to help you do even more with Confluence.
1. Status Macro
With the upcoming release of Confluence 4.0, the Status macro will be officially bundled so your team can benefit right away from some major improvements. This macro is particularly useful for visualizing the status of tasks for a current project; a green lozenge to signify ‘Complete’, a yellow lozenge for ‘In Progress’, and a red lozenge to signify that the task is ‘Behind Schedule’.
The Status macro displays a colored lozenge in the editor, so you can see the status directly. You can use the properties panel to change the status while editing, without having to use the Macro Browser.
2. Expand Macro
The Expand macro allows you to hide pieces of content, helping prevent your page from becoming too cluttered. This macro works great for condensing answers to FAQs or hiding embedded code and video in an expandable text box.
The Expand macro allows you to add a dynamically expandable section of text to your page.
3. Profile Picture Macro
This is a brand new macro that makes it quick and easy to build rich team landing pages. Not only does it render the user’s profile picture in the editor, it also leverages the macro property panel, providing a link to the user’s profile page.
The Profile Picture macro displays a users profile picture on a page.
Try the Confluence 4.0 Beta Today!
Check out our release notes for a complete list of new features and improvements in this first beta release of Confluence 4.0.
Want to learn more about Confluence 4.0?
We’ve been working really hard to help make sure you’re ready for Confluence 4.0 when it’s released later this year. We’ve created a number of guides to make sure your upgrade to 4.0 is a successful one that you can find in our Preparing for Confluence 4.0 documentation.
Be sure to check-out the videos below and try the Confluence 4.0 beta today!