Confluence 4.0 : Quick Reference Guide for the Confluence Editor
This page last changed on Aug 21, 2011 by edawson.
This page is a quick-reference guide to using the Confluence editor. The aim is to give you enough information about the editor's features for you to experiment yourself, rather than describing every possible shortcut key, autocomplete feature or toolbar option.
This guide is for people who want to use the autocomplete, autoformatting and keyboard shortcuts provided by the editor. If you prefer to use the toolbar options, the editor itself should be mostly self-explanatory.
1. Simply start using the Confluence 4.0 Editor to create your content. The new editor toolbar contains the most important buttons you'll need for creating and editing content.
2. Use the super-easy keyboard shortcuts. Type these keys in the editor to begin:
Type [ (angle bracket) to insert a link.
Type ! (exclamation point) to insert an image or other media.
Type { (curly bracket) to insert a macro.
These controls will autocomplete, prompting you with a list of suggestions to finish off the entry. For more, click the help icon on the editor toolbar to see a list of keyboard shortcuts.
3. Discover the undo autocomplete and autoformatting actions. To undo something that autocomplete or autoformatting has done, press Backspace on your keyboard. Alternatively, press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac).
Simple How-To Video
Here's a short video showing off the basic editor improvements.
Using the Most Commonly Used Formats and Features
Below is a list of the most commonly used editor features, and the related keyboard shortcuts.
Formatting Text
Formatting Text
What to Do
Windows Keyboard Shortcuts (For Mac OS X, replace "Ctrl" with "Cmd".)
Heading levels
Type the heading level and a full stop. Autoformat will convert the line to the appropriate heading immediately. You can continue typing your heading text immediately. Example:
Ctrl + 1 to 6
Bold text
Type an asterisk '*', your text, then another asterisk. Confluence autoformat will convert the text to bold immediately. Example:
Ctrl + b
Italic text
Type an underscore '_', your text, then another underscore. Confluence autoformatting will convert the text to italics immediately. Example:
Ctrl + i
Underlined text
Type a plus sign '+', your text, then another plus sign '+'. Confluence autoformatting will convert the text to underlined immediately. Example:
Ctrl + u
Monospace text
Type two curly braces {{, your text, then another two curly braces }}. Confluence autoformat will convert the text to monospace immediately. Example:
{{
Left, centre and right alignment
Click the left, centre and right alignment buttons on the editor toolbar:
None
Indentation
Click the left and right indentation buttons on the editor toolbar:
Tab (right), Shift + Tab (left)
Quotation
Use the Quote style – select 'Quote' from the style dropdown menu or use the keyboard shortcut. Example:
Ctrl + 8
Colour
Click the colour options on the editor toolbar. Example:
None
Using Symbols
Adding Symbols and Emoticons
What to Type
Keyboard Shortcut (Windows)
Tick or check mark
Type a forward slash in round brackets. Autocomplete will convert it as you type. Example:
( + / + )
Smiley
Type the globally-recognised markup for a smiley face (colon and round bracket), a wink (semicolon and round bracket), and so on. Autocomplete will convert it as you type. Example:
: + )
Linking Text
Linking text
What to Type
Keyboard Shortcut (Windows)
Linking to a Confluence page
Type a square bracket '[' and start typing the page name to see the suggested pages to link to. Press the arrow keys to select the page you want. Example:
[
Linking text to a web page
Type a square bracket '[' and select 'Insert Web Link', then paste the URL into the link dialog. Example:
[
Linking to a page that does not yet exist
Type a square bracket '[' and the name of the non-existent page, then select 'Insert Link to Create Page'. Example:
[
Linking to an attachment
Type a square bracket '[' and start typing the attachment name to see the suggested attachments to link to. Press the arrow keys to select the item you want. Example:
[
Using Lists
Using lists
What to Type
Keyboard Shortcut (Windows)
Adding a bullet list
Type an asterisk '*' followed by a space. Autoformat will convert the line to a bulleted list. You can continue typing your text immediately. Example:
To add another line of text to an entry without creating a new list item, press Shift + Enter at the end of the line.
Ctrl + Shift + b
Adding a numbered list
Type a hash or pound '#' followed by a space. Autoformat will convert the line to a numbered list. You can continue typing your text immediately. Example: To add another line of text to an entry without creating a new list item, press Shift + Enter at the end of the line.
Ctrl + Shift + n
Using Tables
Using tables
What to Type
Keyboard Shortcut (Windows)
Adding a table
Type a series of pipe characters '|' then press Enter. Autoformat will convert the pipes to a table. Example – to create a table with three columns:
None
Using Macros
Adding Macros
What to Type
Keyboard Shortcut (Windows)
Adding a macro to your page.
Type '{' and start typing the macro name to see a list of macros that match your text. Press the arrow keys to select the macro you want. Example:
{
Displaying Images and Multimedia
Displaying images
What to Type
Keyboard Shortcut (Windows)
Display an image attached to the page
Type an exclamation mark '!' and start typing the image name to see the suggested images to insert onto the page. Press the arrow keys to select the item you want. Example:
!
Displaying an image attached to another page
Exactly the same as when the image is attached to the same page.
!
Embedding multimedia files
What to Type
Keyboard Shortcut (Windows)
Embedding a video, movie or audio file into a page
Type an exclamation mark '!' and select 'Insert Other Media'. Example:
Or type '{' and start typing the macro name 'Multimedia'. Example:
!
Notes
Update policy: We have made these guides available as sooon as they contain useful information. The content is not final, but it is as correct and authoritative as we can make it while the editor is still under development. We will update the guides regularly during the period up to the final release of Confluence 4.0. Please watch this page to stay informed.