Getting Started as Confluence Administrator

Diagram: A Confluence installation

How to administer and configure Confluence

After installing Confluence, you will perform the initial configuration via a web interface called the Confluence Setup Wizard.

Introducing the Confluence Administration Console: From this point onwards, many of the administrative functions are available from the Confluence Administration Console, which is part of the Confluence web interface. If you have administrative permissions, you will have access to the Confluence Administration Console via your web browser, using the standard Confluence URL for your site.

To access the Confluence Administration Console:

1. Open your Confluence URL in your web browser.
2. Choose the cog icon  at top right of the screen, then choose Confluence Admin.

For further configuration options, you can edit the XML and properties files that are part of your Confluence installation directory. To get started, take a look at the important directories and files. The Confluence administration guide will lead you through tasks such as configuring the log files and configuring system properties. Not applicable to Confluence OnDemand.

Getting started on a new Confluence site

Is this a new Confluence site? Here are some things to get started with:

• Decide whether you want to allow public (anonymous) access to your site. See Setting Up Public Access.
• Make sure you have set up an email server. The above task list will include this step, but it is worth mentioning it here again. Email notifications are an important part of collaborating on Confluence. See Configuring a Server for Outgoing Mail. Not applicable to Confluence OnDemand.
• Add a space and some content. See Setting up a New Sitel Space.
• Decide whether you will manage your users in Confluence or hook up an external LDAP directory. See Configuring User Directories.  Not applicable to Confluence OnDemand.
  
• Invite some users to your site. See Adding and Inviting Users.

Now you can continue getting to know your site, as described in the next section.

Getting to know an existing Confluence site

Has the site been around a while, but you are new to Confluence administration? Take a look at these topics:

• Understand the Confluence permission scheme. See Giving People Access to Content.
• Get to know the power of add-ons (also called plugins), for extending and customising your Confluence site. See About Add-ons.
• Investigate more ways of customising Confluence. See Customising your Confluence Site.

Now you are ready to dive into the Confluence Administrator's Guide.

Prompts from Confluence itself

When you go to your Confluence Administration Console, you will see a handy list of tasks that need doing. 

Screenshot: The Confluence Administration Console, showing a list of tasks that need doing – these tasks are specific to your site, and those shown below are examples only