Working with Blueprints

Creating content using a blueprint

You create a page from a blueprint in the same way as other pages in Confluence.  All blueprints are different and most contain instructions to guide you.

To create a page from a blueprint in the current space:

1. Choose Create on the header.
2. Choose a blueprint from the 'Create' dialog.
3. Choose Create.
4. The editor will open, a prompt to enter information, or the page will appear, depending on the blueprint selected. You can now follow the instructions built in to the blueprint to add content.

The first time a blueprint is used in a space, Confluence creates an index page and adds a shortcut to your sidebar (if you are using the default theme). The index shows information from your blueprint pages, for example the meeting notes index displays a list of all meeting notes pages in the space. 

Screenshot: Index page for the Meeting Notes blueprint

If you are using the Documentation theme, your blueprint index pages will appear in the sidebar as children of the homepage. 

Screenshot: Index page for the File List blueprint with the Documentation theme applied to the space

Customising blueprint templates

Blueprints are made up of templates that can be customised for an individual space or the whole site. This means you can adapt the content of the blueprint pages to suit your specific needs. For example, you might update the Meeting Notes blueprint templates to include a heading for apologies.

If you are a space administrator, you can customise blueprint templates for the spaces you are an administrator of. You must be a Confluence Administrator to customise blueprint templates for a whole site. See Administering Site Templates for more information.

To customise a blueprint template for a space:

1. Go to the relevant space and choose Space Tools > Content Tools.
2. Choose Edit beside the blueprint template you wish to edit. 
3. Make your changes to the template and choose Save.

Editing a blueprint template is very similar to editing a page template except:

• You should be careful not to remove any macros that the blueprint page or index page may use to store and display information. 
• You cannot remove a blueprint template or change the template name.

To reset a blueprint template back to the default:

1. Go to the relevant space and choose Space Tools > Content Tools.
2. Choose Reset to default beside the blueprint template you wish to reset. 

See Working With Templates and Administering Site Templates for more information on templates. 

As with user created space and site templates, editing a blueprint template will not change existing pages, but any new blueprint pages will be based on the updated template. 

Adding more blueprints

You can find more blueprints for Confluence in the Atlassian Marketplace. Blueprints are managed using add-ons (also known as plugins). 

See Requesting Add-ons for information on how you can search for new blueprint add-ons and send a request to your System Administrator. (Not applicable to Confluence OnDemand.)

If you are a System Administrator, see Managing Add-ons and Macros for information on how to install new blueprint add-ons. 

You can also develop your own blueprints. See our developer documentation on Writing a Blueprint.

Disabling blueprints in a space

You may want to disable particular blueprints in some spaces. For example, you may not want to see the Product Requirements blueprint in the Create dialog when you are creating content in your HR or Social space. 

To disable a blueprint in a space:

• Go to the space and choose Space tools on the sidebar.
  Note: The 'Space tools' option  appears only if you are a space administrator for the space or you are a super user (a member of the confluence-administrators group).
• Choose Content Tools.
• Choose Disable next to the blueprint you wish to disable in that space.

You can re-enable the blueprint at any time.