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What is a Content List?

A Content list allows you to browse a list of contents (pages, blog posts), with the ability to sort and export the list, and to view important metadata. It is available in multiple contexts across the app, such as on dedicated dashboards, in popups, and in macros, providing the same convenience features.

Scopes

The Content List dashboard is available for the whole Confluence site and for any single space. As a generic content browsing interface, it is also available as macros and in content list popups.

Content List report for the site

For the site scope report, expand the Apps section in the left-bar (not Space apps!) → click the Better Content Archiving app → Content list tab. In this scope, the report covers all spaces, all contents and all activities on the site.

The report displays all contents on the site, regardless of their space.

Content List report for a space

For the space scope report, go to the space → expand the Space apps section in the left-bar (not Apps!) → click the Better Content Archiving app → Content list tab. In this scope, the report covers only that single space, the contents and the activities in it.

The report displays only the contents in the space.

Content list as a macro

The Content list is also available as a macro that you can insert into any page. It will display the contents returned by any configured CQL query.

For more information, see the Content Status List macro documentation.

Content list in popups

When you click on various numeric content statistics throughout dashboards, a fully featured Content list popup will appear.

It will display the contents matching the context of the statistic you clicked on — e.g. contents in a specific space and status, or having specific ownership.

Understand the Content List

A Content list displays a set of contents (pages, blog posts) based on the context: either all contents on the site, contents in a specific space or contents matched by a custom CQL query. Archived and draft contents are not listed.

The following columns can be displayed, depending on the configuration:

  • Space: Enclosing space of the content, with a link to the space itself. The space is opened in a new tab. (For macros, you can also configure whether to open the link in a new tab or not.)
  • Parent: Title of the content's parent, with a link to the content itself, if available. The content is opened in a new tab. (For macros, you can also configure whether to open the link in a new tab or not.)
  • Title (always shown): Title of the content, with a link to the content itself. The content is opened in a new tab. (For macros, you can also configure whether to open the link in a new tab or not.)
  • Version: Version number of the content.
  • Labels: Labels applied to the content.
  • Content status: Status assigned by the app, as defined by the enclosing space's content status scheme. If the list is shown in a macro and the content is in an excluded space, it is indicated here with an "Excluded" lozenge.
  • Owners: Zero or more content owners (managed by the app). Click a user's avatar to see their profile in a new tab.
  • Limited owner: Content owner (managed by Confluence). Click the user's avatar to see their profile in a new tab.
  • Expiration date: Expiration date of the content, if set.
  • Archiving date: Archiving date of the content, if set.
  • Last update: Last update date and updating user. Click the user's avatar to see their profile in a new tab.
  • Last view: Last view date and viewing user. Click the user's avatar to see their profile in a new tab.
  • Creator: Shows who created the content and when. Click the user's avatar to see their profile in a new tab.

Work with the Content List

The content list is paginated. You can navigate through the pages using the pagination controls at the bottom of the list. You can refresh the current page using the Refresh button on the bottom right.

Some columns can be sorted in either ascending or descending order by clicking on the column header. (Availability of this feature depends on whether CQL actually supports sorting by the corresponding field or not.)

Configure columns

Below the content list, you will find the Settings (indicated by a cog icon), which allows you to configure:

  • the columns to be displayed
  • the page size (how many contents to display on one page)

Configuration is saved per user, per screen, so each user can configure the report as they prefer, per context.

Filter contents

Above the content list, you will find filters that you can use to narrow down the list of contents you want to see.

Depending on which screen you are on, some filters may be initialized with default values. Occasionally, these defaults may not be changed (where it makes sense that way, like disabling the space filter on screens opened from within a space).

The following filters are available:

  • Space: limit the result set to contents in the specified spaces.
  • Content type: limit the result set to pages or blogs.
  • Search content: free text content search.
  • Content status: limit the result set to contents in one of the specified statuses.
  • Owners: limit the result set to contents owned by the specified users, or contents that have an owner set, or contents that have no owner set.
  • Limited owner: filter the result set by the "limited owner" (the owner managed by Confluence).
  • Creator: filter the result set by the creator of the content.

Click Run or press Enter to run the filter. Click Clear (or Reset on screens where the filter is initialized with defaults) to return the filter to its initial state.

Use quick actions

Quick actions can also be accessed from the cells of certain columns, allowing you to change content status and other fields without leaving the list.

The following cells support quick actions:

  • Content status
  • Owners
  • Limited owner
  • Expiration date
  • Archiving date
  • Last update
  • Last view

Unlike in the Content Status Indicator, the Open ancestor quick action is not available here.

Notes about inherited properties:

  • The expiration date and archiving date columns (if their values are set) always display the dates directly set on the content. That means if the content inherits an earlier date from an ancestor (which would make it the effective date), that inherited value is not calculated by the Expiration date and Archiving date columns! To view the effective expiration or archiving date, open the corresponding quick action dialog.
  • On the other hand, inherited owners (if there are any) are always already included in the user list displayed in the Owners column.

Notes about performing quick actions:

  • Some changes take time to be reflected in the list.
  • After using a quick action that affects the content displayed in the list, the current page is refreshed automatically. Depending on the quick action used, the content status or owner information may need to be recalculated. In such cases, these fields may temporarily become outdated.
  • Fields can also become outdated as a result of quick actions applied earlier or by other concurrent users.
  • A blurred field indicates an outdated value. Hover over the blurred value with your mouse cursor (or focus on it using the keyboard) to make the value clear and readable.

Export contents to CSV

You can use the Download CSV button to export the list of contents as a CSV file, which you can open in Excel or any other spreadsheet software.

The export will contain the currently displayed columns and rows (the latter for scalability reasons), also keeping the actual sorting of rows. One column on the user interface may explode to multiple columns in the CSV for easier processing, as shown in the table below.

Column in the content list Columns in the CSV file
Space Space URL
Space ID
Space key
Space name
Parent Parent URL
Parent ID
Parent type
Parent title
Title Content URL
Content ID
Content type
Content title
Version Version
Labels Labels
Content status Content status
Owners Owner IDs (comma separated list of Atlassian user IDs)
Owners (comma separated list of names)
Limited owner Limited owner ID (Atlassian user ID)
Limited owner (name)
Expiration date Expiration date (in "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm" format)
Archiving date Archiving date (in "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm" format)
Last updated Last updater ID (Atlassian user ID)
Last updater (name)
Last updated (in "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm" format)
Last viewed Last viewer ID (Atlassian user ID)
Last viewer (name)
Last viewed (in "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm" format)
Creator Creator ID (Atlassian user ID)
Creator (name)
Created (in "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm" format)

Fix content restriction problems

The Content list indicates when the app cannot process a piece of content due to Confluence restrictions. If a page (or an ancestor page) has view/edit restrictions that exclude the app user, the row shows a warning icon in place of the content type icon, and the status column displays a clickable "Cannot refresh" lozenge instead of the content status.

Clicking the "Cannot refresh" lozenge opens a dialog that lets you grant the app the necessary access without leaving the Content list. While restrictions block the app from working with a piece of content, the content's status won't be updated, and quick actions for that content are not available.

Security

The Content list is available for all users. It respects the Confluence space permissions and page restrictions.

As the list is personalized for the user who opens it, your view and your teammate's may be different.

Questions?

Ask us any time.