Confluence is built on top of the Open Source SiteMesh library, a web-page layout system that provides a consistent look and feel across a site. SiteMesh works through 'decorators' that define a page's layout and structure.

To edit the layout of Confluence, you will need to modify these decorator files. A decorator file is a vmd file and is written in a very simple programming language called Velocity. Learn more about Velocity. Once you become familiar with Velocity, you can edit the decorator files to personalise the appearance of Confluence.

You need to be a site administrator to edit decorator files.

  • You can customise the layouts for a particular space or for the whole site. This page tells you how to customise layouts for a space. To customise the global layouts, use the 'Layout' menu on the 'Administration' page.
  • When you upgrade Confluence, you must reapply your custom layouts to the new default layouts.

These files are grouped into:

Site layouts : These are used to define the controls that surround each page in the site. For example, if you want to make changes to the header and the footer, you will need to modify these layouts.

Content layouts : These control the appearance of content such as pages and news items: they don't change the way the pages themselves are displayed, but they allow you to alter the way the surrounding comments or attachments are shown.

Export Layouts: These control the appearance of spaces and pages when they are exported to HTML. If you are using Confluence to generate a static website, for example, you will need to modify these layouts.

Learn more about using decorators.

To edit a decorator file,

  1. Click the 'Browse Space' link for the space. This is located at the top of every page and beside the space link on the dashboard.

  2. Go to the 'Space Admin' tab. This tab is only displayed if you are a space administrator.

  3. Click the 'Layout' link in the left panel under the heading 'Look and Feel'. A list of the layouts for the space is listed.

    • Click 'View Default' to view the vmd file.
    • Click 'Create Custom' to edit the default vmd file. This will open up the vmd file in edit mode.

      Make changes and click 'Update'.

Screenshot : Edit Layouts Example

Click thumbnail to view an example of a vmd file:

RELATED TOPICS

Customising Look and Feel
Applying A Theme To A Space
Administrator's Guide - Design and Layout

Take me back to Confluence 2.6 User Guide

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