Getting started

Owned by Former user (Deleted)
Last updated: 22 Jan, 2021
4 min read

Some introductory guidance on creating wiki spaces, wiki pages, layouts and formatting text to get you started.

1. The basics

For an overview of Confluence wiki spaces, pages, blogs and other features, have a look at the 'Get started' section at:

2. Creating your wiki space

The York Wiki Service is divided into 'wiki spaces'. Any member of staff can set up a wiki space for themselves or their teams. To get started, from the Dashboard log in with your University username and password.

To create a wiki space, click on Create a space. Think of a name for your wiki space (eg 'Building Refurbishment Project') and type it into the Space name box. You'll find that Confluence automatically suggests a Space key shortcut (this forms part of the URL and you can change this now to something more meaningful if you wish, but you can't change it later). Tick the Make this space private box if you wish to restrict access to yourself whilst you are creating the pages - you can alter the permissions later (see below). If you don't tick this box, all wiki users will be able to view your pages. Click Create.

You're now ready to start adding content to your wiki space, although at some point you should think about setting permissions.

3. Setting permissions

When you’ve created your wiki space, you need to think about who should have access to it. For example, should your wiki be publicly visible, or restricted to University staff or students, or to a specific group? To set access, see the separate page on:

4. Structure

A new wiki space begins as a single page - your 'home' page. You can put all your information onto this page, or you can add further ('child') pages.

When you're adding pages to your wiki space, it's useful to bear in mind an overall structure and make sure you add your child pages to the relevant parent page (although you can move your pages around later if you wish, by going to Space tools then Reorder pages). A logical structure helps people to navigate around your wiki.

4. Editing and adding pages

To start editing your home page, simply click on Edit. You can then start typing directly onto the page. You can think about page layout now if you wish, or apply a layout later. Use the toolbar to format your text. Preview your page using the button at the bottom and save it when you're ready to do so.

You can add 'child' pages to your home page by clicking on Create, and then giving your page a name by typing over 'Page title'.

Note that each page within a wiki must have a unique name.

5. Page layout

When you create a page, the wiki by default gives you a blank page on which any text entered extends across the page in a single column. This is often fine for information such as technical documentation, but if you are presenting information about a project or committee, for example, you might prefer to divide your page in some way. Some ways to do this are:

  • Page layout. You can divide your page horizontally into columns and vertically into sections. A number of pre-set options are available. To see these, whilst editing your page click on the Page layout button on the editing toolbar. An additional toolbar will appear which allows you choose a layout, add extra sections or move sections up or down. You can then start to type directly into a column or section.

  • Tables. Tables are another useful way of presenting your information; click on the Insert table button to create a table.

  • Panels. Panels are the boxes used on this page; they can include text or images. See Enhancing your pages for more information.

  • Lines. Inserting a horizontal line can be a useful way of breaking up your text. Place the cursor where you want the line to appear, go to the Insert more content button then select Horizontal rule.

6. Formatting text

When you start to edit a page, you'll see a toolbar at the top of the page which allows you to apply many of the usual text formatting attributes such as bold, italics, numbered lists, bulleted lists, and indents. You'll also find a drop-down menu with pre-set styles for paragraphs and headings: to use these, highlight the text you want to format, then select the style.

Note that if you want to include an automatically-generated table of contents, you might need to use heading levels.

You can create links from text or images to other wiki pages, Google docs, external websites, and more. You can also upload files as attachments to the wiki (for example, pdf documents) and link to those. This is all done from the Insert links button. See the Confluence Links page for further guidance. 

If it all goes horribly wrong ...

  • Don't worry!
  • By clicking on the ellipsis button at top right, you can view the Page History and restore a previous version.
  • To delete a page you are looking at, select Delete from the ellipsis button. Providing you have permission to delete that page, you'll get a warning of any incoming links or child pages before the page is deleted.
  • Don't forget that you can preview your page before saving it.