Quick start

Quick start

This is a quick start guide to help you begin working with Scaffolding.

Overview

This example demonstrates how to create a knowledge base of multiple articles structured as follows.

Screenshot displaying multiple pages, each with three sections - Summary, Diagnosis, and Cause.
Multiple knowledge-base articles with the same structure

Set up the template

You must be a space administrator to view the Space settings menu.

  1. Go to Space settings > Look and feel > Templates.

    Screenshot of the Space settings menu in Confluence, with an arrow pointing to the Templates option under the Look and Feel section.
    Screenshot of the Space settings menu in Confluence.
  2. Click Create a new template.

  3. Name the template Knowledge Base Article Template.

  4. Insert the Scaffolding - Field Group macro in the template editor.

     Screenshot of the macro browser with the Scaffolding - Field Group macro selected.
    The Scaffolding - Field Group macro

The Insert Scaffolding - Field group macro dialog opens.

  1. In the sidebar, expand the Add Fields section to view the available fields.

  2. Drag a Paragraph field from the sidebar into the editor area, and enter the text Summary above it using the Heading 2 style.

    A sequence of screenshots demonstrating how to drag the Paragraph field from the sidebar into the editor area.
    Summary section with a Paragraph field
  3. Insert a 2 x 2 table, and enter System and Version into the left-hand cells.

    Screenshot of the macro editor showing the Summary section with a Paragraph field and a System-Version table.
    System/Version table within the Summary section
  4. Click the empty cell next to System and drag the Dropdown List field into it from the sidebar.

    Screenshot of the macro editor showing the Summary section with a Paragraph field and a System-Version table with the Dropdown list field in the System cell..
    Dropdown list field in the System cell
  5. Fill in the labels for the dropdown list, for example, Mac OS X, Windows 10, and Ubuntu.

    1. Click Edit () on the Dropdown list field to open its Field settings section in the sidebar.

    2. To create a label, in the Labels box, enter the label text, select a color for the label, and press Enter. The label is auto-saved.

      Screenshot of the macro editor with Dropdown list field edit selected and the Labels field in the sidebar.
      Dropdown list field settings
  6. Click the empty cell next to Version and drag the Number field into it from the sidebar.

    scaffolding-template-setup-7.png
  7. Add Diagnosis, Cause, and Solution sections, each containing a Paragraph field. See Step 6 for details.

    Screenshot of the macro editor containing a Diagnosis section with a Paragraph field after the Summary section.
    Diagnosis section after the Summary section
  8. Click Insert to insert the Field Group macro.

    Screenshot of the page in edit mode with inserted Scaffolding - Field Group macro.
    Inserted Scaffolding - Field Group maco
  9. Save the template.

Create a page from the template

  1. Create a new page and insert the Scaffolding - Live Template macro.

     Screenshot of the macro browser with the Scaffolding - Field Group macro selected.
    The Scaffolding - Live Template macro
  2. From the Template name dropdown list, select your template, Knowledge Base Article Template, and click Insert.

    Screenshot of the Insert Scaffolding - Live Template Macro dialog with highlighted the Template name selected and an arrow pointing to the Insert button.
    The Scaffolding - Live Template macro configurations
  3. Enter a page title and publish the page.

    Screenshot of the page in edit mode with inserted Live Template macro and an arrow pointing to the Publish button.
    Inserted Scaffolding - Live Template macro

Add content to the page with the template

  1. On the newly published page using the live template, click Edit content within the Field Group macro.

    Screenshot of the page with the live template containing the Field Group macro, and an arrow pointing to the Edit content button.
    Edit content button for entering Scaffolding data
  2. Populate the fields accordingly. The Paragraph field editor supports most features from the standard Confluence Cloud editor, including fonts, text color, lists, links, and more.

    Screenshot of the Summary section from the template with some text entered. The toolbar of the Paragraph field editor contains most of the features from the Confluence editor.
    The Paragraph field foe entering rich text
  3. Select an option from the System dropdown menu. The System cell includes a dropdown menu that lets you select an option from the labels you created earlier in the template.

    Screenshot of the table with the dropdown list of labels.
    The System field for selecting a label from a dropdown list

     

  4. Enter a number in the Version cell. As you configured the field earlier in the template, it accepts only numbers.

    Screenshot of the table with the Version number filed.
    The Version field for entering a number

  5. Fill in the rest of the fields as needed and click Publish to save your data.

    Screenshot of the page populated and saved with data in the Field Group macro.
    Published Scaffolding data

Update the template

Let’s modify the template to demonstrate the Live Template macro's benefits.

  1. Go back to the Knowledge Base Article Template you created and open it in edit mode.

  2. Click Edit () on the Field Group macro.

    Screenshot of the page in edit mode with the Scaffolding - Field Group macro selected and an arrow pointing to the Edit icon on the macro.
    The Edit icon on the Scaffolding - Field Group macro
  3. Modify the Field Group macro.

    1. Add a section titled Contact info and drag a Paragraph field within it.

    2. In the Summary section, modify the table by changing System to Operating System and Version to Version Affected.

      Screenshot of the Field Group macro editor with modified table texts.
      The modified table field in the Field Group macro editor
  4. Click Save to save the Field Group macro.

  5. Click Save to save the template.

  6. Go back to the page that uses the template.
    The changes you made to the template are automatically reflected on the page that uses the template, without the need to edit the page individually.

    Screenshot of the page that uses the template with the table changed to Operating System-Version Affected
    The Operating System/Version Affected table on the page that uses the template

You can manage tens or even hundreds of pages by applying changes to the template alone.

Tips

In the Scaffolding - Field Group macro editor

You can insert fields quickly by typing / and the beginning of a field name, for example, /paragraph.

scaffolding-tip1.png

In the Scaffolding - Field Group macro editor toolbar

You can insert a table by clicking the Table icon.

scaffolding-tip2.png

To speed up macro entry with autocomplete:

  • In the new editor, type / and the beginning of an element (tool or things in the insert menu) to see a list of suggestions.

  • In the legacy editor, type { and the beginning of the macro name to see a list of suggested macros.

scaffolding-tip3.png

 

For more details about using Scaffolding, see Use cases.





Need support? Create a request with our support team.

Copyright © 2005 - 2025 Appfire | All rights reserved.