Thank you for choosing Confluence. This guide will take you through installing Confluence and trying out the most relevant features.
Getting Started
1. Installing Confluence
First things first. If you haven't already got Confluence up and running, carry out the following steps:
For Windows: (click to expand)
- Go to the Atlassian Download Center.
- Click 'Show all' and download the Confluence Windows Installer (.EXE) file. This file also handles upgrades.
- Run the Installer file, choose an installation directory, a home directory, and a port ('8090' will do). We recommend that you choose to 'Run Confluence as a service'.
- Confluence will start automatically when the Installer finishes.
- To access Confluence, go to your web browser and type this address: http://localhost:8090. Windows 'Start' menu shortcuts will also be added which you can also use to start and stop Confluence.
- Follow the Setup Wizard. This will guide you through the process of setting up your Confluence server and creating an Admin user.
For more help on the technical procedures in this section, see the Confluence Installation Guide.
If you need assistance, please create a support ticket.
2. Importing Existing Content
Why would I do this? (click to expand)
The best way to spur adoption is to get some content in Confluence. It is likely that you have existing documentation stored in another wiki or in static documents. Confluence makes it easy to import your existing content so that you do not have to re-invent the wheel or start from scratch.
How do I do this? (click to expand)
Refer to our documentation - Importing Content Into Confluence - for details on:
- Importing Content from Other Confluence Sites
- Importing Content from Other Wikis - e.g. Mediawiki, SharePoint, Socialtext, MindTouch etc.
- Importing Content from an Office Document
- Importing Web Content
- Importing Other Non-Wiki Content
3. Adding Users
Ease of collaboration is key, so we'll need to add people quickly.
For each of your users, you will need to do the following: (click to expand)
- Create users — add user accounts for the people who will create most of the pages and blog posts in your Confluence site.
- Your users will be automatically added to the 'confluence-users' group. For more about groups, please see the documentation.
- (Optional) Enable 'anonymous' mode — allow non-logged-in users to access your Confluence site. Note that they will only be able to view content where the space permissions allow 'Anonymous' access.
4. Configuring Mail
Confluence can send notifications based on user preferences, such as watching the contributions to a particular space or page. To take advantage of this feature, you will first need to tell Confluence about your SMTP server.
Mastering the Basics
5. Creating Spaces, Pages and Blog Posts
Your new Confluence site contains a 'Demonstration' space, which contains a Tutorial. This will guide you through the basics of using the
Dashboard, creating a
space, adding
pages and publishing
blog posts ('news items').
Your users will need to access Confluence at http://<Confluence machine name>:8090
(not http://localhost:8090).
6. Searching Confluence
7. Subscribing to Updates
Customising Confluence
(Note that you need to be an Administrator to do the tasks in this section.)
8. Adding Your Own Logo
Why would I do this? (click to expand)
By replacing the default Confluence logo with your organisation's logo, your Confluence site will immediately appear more familiar to visitors.
How do I do this? (click to expand)
Please see the following documentation:
9. Changing Confluence's Colours
Why would I do this? (click to expand)
By replacing the default Confluence colours with your organisation's standard colours, your Confluence site will immediately appear more familiar to visitors.
How do I do this? (click to expand)
Please see the following documentation:
10. Choosing a Different 'Theme'
Why would I do this? (click to expand)
Depending on what you are using Confluence for, you may want to alter the 'theme' (i.e. screen layout) for an individual space or for the entire site. For example, for a space that contains documentation, you may prefer a theme that displays a table of contents on the left and allows you to configure a page header and footer.
How do I do this? (click to expand)
Please see the following documentation:
11. Using a Page Template
Why would I do this? (click to expand)
A page template is a form that is displayed when a user creates a page, so that the user can enter content in particular fields. A page template can be made available to your entire Confluence site or just to a particular space, e.g. a Human Resources space might have a template called 'Leave Request', or an IT space might have a template called 'Asset Configuration'.
How do I do this? (click to expand)
Please see the following documentation:
12. Installing Plugins
Why would I do this? (click to expand)
There are hundreds of new features and customisations available for Confluence as plugins. For example, many additions to Confluence's macros are available as plugins. Or, if you want to populate Confluence with content created elsewhere, take a look at the WebDAV plugin and the Universal Wiki Converter.
Important Next Steps
(Note that you need to be an Administrator to do the tasks in this section.)
13. Connecting to an External Database
Before using Confluence as a production system, you need to switch from the default HSQLDB database, which is provided for evaluation purposes only. Please see the documentation for details.
14. Backing up Data
To back up your Confluence data, and establish processes for regular backups, please see the documentation.
Thank you for using Confluence.
We're always happy to help. Feel free to contact us with any questions you have.