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.
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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 sorting, search, filters, and other table features. Preserve native appearance keeps Confluence formatting; Use first column as field names shows two-column tables as field and value pairs. Text fragments within one cell retain their own styles, such as bold or italic.
- 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.
Convert a table directly on its page
On a published page with an eligible native Confluence table of at least 21 total rows (including the header) still outside a macro, Simple Tables can show a conversion suggestion at the top. Tables already inside Simple Table with Body do not trigger the suggestion.
- 1
Open the migration workspace
Choose Start migration in the page banner. The full-page workspace lists eligible tables and reports beside the preview and explains what will change. Select the table you want to inspect.
- 2
Compare the original and the preview
Use Current data for a read-only Confluence-style view of the original values. Switch to Preview to try the Simple Tables result with search, sorting, filters and pagination. The column formats below are detected from the existing values.
- 3
Convert your selection
Use the Convert button naming the selected table. To convert every eligible item together, select the Convert all checkbox beside it. Each table stays in its current position inside a Simple Table with Body macro, keeping its native rows, columns, cell content and formatting. The selected replacements publish in one new page version.
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Explore and keep editing
The completion view shows the converted content, with tabs when several items were converted, plus guides and a live Confluence demo opening in new tabs. View updated page opens the published result. Edit native content in the Confluence page editor and adjust detected column formats or interactive features in macro settings.
Good to know
A draft identical to the published page does not block conversion. If the page or saved draft changes after review, the preview is rebuilt and you must review and confirm again. Canceling review does not publish anything.
Understand the migration preview
The same comparison is available for native tables and Page Properties Reports. Choosing a preview does not publish changes.
Current data
Read the original values in a read-only Confluence-style table, with links and supported native formatting. It has no Simple Tables search, sorting or detected display formats.
Preview
Try the Simple Tables result with search, filters, sorting and pagination. These interactions stay local. When you confirm conversion, the detected column settings are saved with the macro.
Column formats detected from your data
Categories
Repeated text values can become colored Enum categories. Existing native status colors and rich content are preserved.
Numbers, currencies and percentages
Numeric columns use suitable number or currency formatting and right alignment. Explicit percentages between 0 and 100 can appear as progress bars.
Dates and boolean values
Unambiguous YYYY-MM-DD dates can use Confluence-style date pills. Complete true/false or yes/no columns can use boolean indicators.
Detection is conservative: ambiguous dates and codes with leading zeros stay as text. Links and native rich content are kept. Review the result and adjust column types and formats in macro settings when needed; calculations and grouping are choices you configure yourself.
Continue when a page has unpublished changes
Unpublished title or content changes pause previews and conversion for every table and report on the page, even if only one item changed. Wait for Confluence to save changes in any open editor, then publish them before reviewing again.
- 1
Publish in the Confluence editor
Choose Open editor to publish. The editor opens in the same tab. Review all pending changes, including collaborators’ saved edits, then use Confluence’s Publish or Update button.
- 2
Review the updated content and convert
After publishing, check the page outside the editor. If the banner shows the initial suggestion, choose Start migration again. The review reloads current content and clears previous selections. Select the tables or reports again and confirm only after checking the updated preview. If pending edits still appear, use I've published, check again.
Two separate page versions
Publishing pending edits creates a page version; conversion creates another. Without a different draft, conversion publishes just one new page version.
If the result cannot be confirmed
If the save response is missing or the saved result cannot be verified, a separate verification screen explains the outcome and offers Reload page. Reload, check the converted content on the page, then choose Edit and check that the same content is there. Simple Tables does not automatically repeat publication.
Published pages. This banner workflow applies to published Confluence pages. Live Docs are excluded from conversion suggestions.
Suggestions become less frequent
If you see suggestions without opening a conversion preview, reminders gradually become less frequent. This schedule is shared by your account across all pages on this site.
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First active day
Up to five appearances during the 24 hours after the first suggestion.
- 2
Next active day
Up to two appearances during the next active 24-hour period.
- 3
Third active day
One appearance, followed by a seven-day wait.
- 4
Two weekly reminders
One reminder after seven days, then another seven days later.
- 5
Monthly reminders
After the second weekly reminder, wait 30 days. Suggestions then appear at most once every 30 days.
You stay in control
Time away never skips stages: the next period starts only when another suggestion is shown. Opening a preview holds the current stage for one cycle without resetting its quota or shortening the wait. Not here can hide a page for you; restoring hidden pages does not reset the schedule. Previously saved timed pauses remain in effect until they expire. No banner or tab appears during waiting periods.
Which tables can trigger the banner?
Only tables still waiting to be converted
A page containing only Simple Table macros has no migration suggestion. If a native table remains, or a new one is added later, that table can be suggested. Existing migrated macros are not offered for conversion or repair.
Compatible tables at page level
Automatic suggestions cover standalone page-level tables with regular rows and cells and at least 21 total rows, including the header. Smaller tables remain available for manual macro insertion and stay out of banner review and bulk conversion. Tables inside layouts or other macros, merged cells, images, nested tables and unsupported macro content are not offered.
One banner for tables and reports
Eligible native tables and Page Properties Reports share the same review. You can convert each item separately or convert all eligible content together. Each report retains its own space and labels; when everything eligible is converted, the suggestion disappears.
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.