CONFLUENCE TABLES
Native Confluence tables
Use Simple Table with Body for a Confluence table already on the page. It provides the same table capabilities as Simple Table; only the source and where you edit it are different.
Make an existing table interactive
Keep editing the table where it was created. Sorting, search, filters, grouping, and the other table capabilities are the same as in the Simple Table macro.
- 1
Wrap the native table
Edit the Confluence page. Create or paste a native Confluence table. Select the table and insert the Simple Table with Body macro around it.
- 2
Configure the interactive behavior
Choose the options you need for sorting, search, filtering, grouping, colors, data types, calculated columns, and aggregations.
- 3
Review the source and publish
In the preview footer, switch between Simple Table for the final reader view and Confluence source for the native table stored in the macro body.
Good to know
The source preview is read-only. Edit the table in the Confluence page editor, then use macro preview or publish the page to confirm the final behavior.
Additional display options
Simple Table with Body provides two options specifically for native tables.
Preserve native appearance
Keeps readable Confluence colors and text styles when the original table formatting matters.
Use first column as field names
Treats the first column as the label and the second as the value in two-column detail tables.
Example: project status on the page
The team wraps the native Confluence table on its project page with Simple Table with Body.
- Native table
- Columns: Task, Owner, Status. Rows: Design → Maya → On track; Testing → Sam → Blocked.
- While editing
- The team continues to update tasks and statuses directly in the Confluence table.
- After publishing
- Readers can filter to “Blocked” or sort by owner. The information still comes from the same table.
Two-column detail tables
Some Confluence tables describe a page, project, request, or record. In this pattern, the first column is the field label and the second is its value.
For this kind of table, enable Display > Use first column as field names. This allows dates, statuses, numbers, and text to be handled appropriately for each field.
Owner
Product Operations
Status
On track
Review date
Quarterly
Action Items and permissions
Action Items remain interactive after publishing. Checkbox state, mentions, due dates, links, and inline formatting are preserved.
Viewers who can edit the page can complete or reopen tasks directly from the published table; others see an accessible read-only checkbox. Past due dates appear in red, and tasks remain independent even when multiple columns use the same visible heading.
Edit the table, check the result in preview
Changes to a native table may not appear immediately inside Simple Table with Body in the Confluence page editor. Check the interactive result in Settings preview or on the published page; the native table on the page remains the editing source.
Preview and known limitations
Check the interactive table in preview or after publishing. Some Confluence content displays differently, and some table arrangements cannot be nested.
Mentions
Mentions remain visible and can be highlighted for the current viewer, but they do not send native Confluence notifications from the macro-rendered table.
Dates
Confluence dates appear as localized date pills; the underlying value remains available for sorting, filtering, and calculations.
Nesting
Table Excerpt / Include works with the standard Simple Table macro. A table nested inside Simple Table with Body is not supported because of current Confluence Cloud limitations.