This page is part of the guide to developing technical documentation on Confluence Wiki. We have already shown you how to create your technical documentation space. Now we offer an introduction to the templates that Confluence provides.
Quick guide to templates in Confluence
- A template is a page with predefined content that can be used as a prototype when creating other pages.
- Templates are available across the Confluence site (global templates) or per space (space templates).
- Both 'global templates' and 'space templates', as described on this page, define the content of a page. They do not define the content of an entire space.
- You can import predefined templates, including those shipped with Confluence and additional templates from the Atlassian Plugin Exchange.
- To create a template for an entire space, see our guide to creating your documentation space.
Deciding Where to Put Your Templates
In Confluence, there are two places to store your templates:- Global templates: These are defined by site administrators through the Administration Console and are available in every space.
- Space templates: These are defined by space administrators on the space administration screens, and are only available in the space in which they are defined.
Decide whether your template is useful across more than one space.
- If yes, create a global template. You will need Confluence administrator permissions.
- If no, create a space template.
- You will need space administrator permissions for the relevant space(s).
- You may have already saved your documentation space as a template, as described in our guide to creating your documentation space. In that case, it may be useful to save your template page in your template space. When you later copy the space, the template pages will be copied too.
Creating a Global Template
- Open the 'Browse' menu and select 'Confluence Admin'. The 'Administrator Access' login screen will appear.
- Enter your password and click 'Confirm'. You will be temporarily logged into a secure session to access the 'Administration Console'.
- Select 'Global Templates' in the left-hand panel.
- Click 'Add New Global Template'.
See Global Templates for more information.
Creating a Space Template
- Go to a page in the space, open the 'Browse' menu and select 'Advanced'.
- Click 'Templates' in the left-hand panel.
- Click 'Add New Space Template'.
See Adding a Template for more information.
Importing Templates
Confluence ships with a number of templates, including the 'Charts', 'Document List' and 'Meeting Notes' templates. These templates are not available for use by default. However, if you have the appropriate permissions to access the Administration Console, you can import any of these templates to be used globally or within a specific space. In addition, you can find more template bundles on the Atlassian Plugin Exchange.
- Go to the Confluence Administration Console and click 'Import Templates'.
- Select the templates that you want to import.
- Choose which space to import the templates to, or whether to import them as global templates.
- Click the 'Import' button.
Using a Template to Create a Page
When people add a page on your Confluence site, they can choose to base their new page on a template.
Next Steps
You now have a good idea of how Confluence templates work. What next? Take a look at Re-using Content in Technical Documentation.