Nesting macros in Navitabs: Restrictions in Confluence Cloud
The following information applies to the cloud apps Navitabs - Tabs for Confluence and Translations for Confluence.
In a nutshell
⚠️ Confluence Cloud has limitations when nesting built-in and 3rd-party macros in some bitvoodoo macros. Affected macros:
The nesting of macros is possible if they don't have a rich body (prevented by Atlassian; see below)
Gadget macros are not working (e.g., Jira gadget), as Atlassian does not support gadgets inside nested macros.
Background information
Currently, nested rich body macros are not supported in Confluence Cloud. This is a frequently voted-for Atlassian issue; see this ticket. We are watching that issue and will adapt as soon as Atlassian changes anything.
Rich body vs. block macros
Rich body macro: a container in which the page editor can type text or insert page elements.
Examples: Tab&Tab Group, Info, Panel, language macrosBlock macro: a static element that pulls content into the page based on properties set in the macro. The page editor cannot type inside the macro.
Examples: Table of Contents, Children Display, Labels List
What you’ll experience when trying to nest bodied macros is one of the following:
Error message in the preview or on the published page
Strangely formatted content on the published page (see formatting issues in nested macros)
No content at all or incomplete content on the published page (even if the preview worked fine)
New Cloud editor: If you try to insert a macro inside another, it will be placed below the first macro.
Possible workarounds
Use nested macros mindfully: Only use complex nesting if this is absolutely necessary for your use case. Try to reduce the macro complexity whenever possible.
If you are facing difficulties nesting macros, you should use them separately on your pages or spread them over various pages.
If you are using the new Confluence Cloud editor, please use the option Tab Wizard - Create your own tabs with its built-in editor.
Switch to Tab Content Layout (Beta) and try to use your macros there. However, as stated before, nested rich body macros are not currently enabled in Confluence Cloud, so various macro combinations will not work in the macro editor either.
List of Atlassian and 3rd-party macros & whether they work within Navitabs/Translations macros
To help you clarify which macro combinations are possible and which are not, we have created a list of Atlassian macros and popular 3rd-party macros (listed alphabetically).
New Confluence Cloud vs. old (legacy) editor
In the following table, we distinguish between macros used in the old (Legacy) and the new Confluence Cloud editor.
When migrating pages from Server or Data Center to Cloud, all content is transferred to the Legacy Cloud editor. The Legacy editor allows for certain nested rich body macros while the new one does not. However, the Legacy editor might not be supported forever.
Please consult the documentation on the differences before deciding which editor to use in the future.
Macro | New Editor | Legacy Editor | More detail |
|---|---|---|---|
Tab / Tab Group (Navitabs) | NO |
| Legacy editor: “Tab” and “Tab Group” can be nested within language macros. New editor: This is not possible. |
Language X (Translations) | NO |
| Legacy editor: Language macros can be nested within tab macros. New editor: This is not possible. |
Anchor | NO | NO | Because of limitations in how Cloud macros are rendered, this is not possible in Cloud. |
Attachments | works partly | works partly | The thumbnail is generated, but clicking on the macro will lead to the file directly (usually download via web browser) instead of opening the preview. New editor: The macro goes beyond the tab macros while editing. The published page looks ok. |
Blogposts |
|
| New editor: Blog posts work but don’t look nice: The avatar image is not displayed, and the image name disturbs the layout. The blog content itself is displayed as expected. |
Change History |
|
| |
Chart | NO | NO | Legacy editor: Nothing is rendered. New editor: macro cannot be nested. |
Cheese | macro not available |
| |
Child pages (formerly Children Display) |
|
| |
Code Block | macro not available |
| New editor: This macro was removed from the new editor and replaced with the Code Snippet element. |
Column | macro not available | NO | Works rudimentarily, but using Sections and Columns inside other macros is not recommended. The single-column layout option was removed in the new editor. |
Content by user | macro not available |
| |
Content report table |
|
| |
Contributors |
|
| |
Contributors Summary |
|
| |
Create from Template | NO | NO | New editor: Macro can be inserted but does not work. |
Create Space Button | macro not available |
| |
Decision |
| macro not available | |
draw.io diagram |
NO (Translations) |
NO (Translations) | Tabs: Both editors can display draw.io diagrams. Translations: Both editors: Nothing is displayed when the diagram macro is placed within a language macro. |
Emoticons / Emojis |
| NO use workaround | Legacy editor: Emoticons and symbols don’t display. Emojis are not available. New editor: Both Unicode and Confluence emojis can be used. See our suggestions: Can I use emojis in tabs? ❤️ |
Excerpt | NO |
| New editor: Excerpt can’t be inserted. |
Expand | NO |
| New editor: Can’t be inserted. It is not a macro in the new editor and is inserted via “/” command. |
Favourite Pages | macro not available |
| |
Filter by label (formerly Content by label) |
|
| New editor: Works, but the contents might be clipped. |
Gallery |
|
| New editor: Works, but images are not clickable. |
Global Reports | macro not available | NO | Icons are not found. Links are provided. |
Include Page |
|
| |
Info |
|
| This is not a macro in the new editor and is inserted via “/” command. |
Insert Excerpt (formerly Excerpt include) |
|
| New editor: Works, but the content in the excerpt might be clipped. |
iFrame |
|
| Provided that the source URL allows a connection. |
Inline comment | NO | NO | This is not a macro, but a known limitation: Inline comments cannot be added, and existing inline comments cannot be displayed in tabs and translations. |
Jira |
| NO | Legacy editor: List view works in some instances, single issues do not display. New editor: Works partially. |
Jira Chart |
|
| |
Jira Issue | NO | NO | |
Jira Gadgets (Reports) | NO | NO | Nothing is rendered |
Jira Roadmap | NO | NO | |
Labels List |
|
| |
Live Search |
|
| |
Lorem Ipsum | macro not available |
| |
Multimedia | macro not available | NO | Nothing is rendered |
Navigation Map | macro not available |
| |
No format | macro not available |
| |
Note |
|
| This is not a macro in the new editor and is inserted via “/” command. |
Opsgenie Incident Timeline | NO | macro not available | |
Page Index |
|
| |
Page Properties | NO |
| New editor: cannot be inserted |
Page Properties Report |
|
| The Page Properties Report macro is not displayed if it contains inline links (“Display inline” is the default setting). However, the macro works if the link output is changed to “Display URL”. |
Page Tree | NO | NO | |
Page Tree Search |
|
| Legacy editor: The search field is rendered, but the search is rendered very narrowly. New editor: Works, but the search is formatted strangely. |
Panel | macro not available |
| |
Popular Labels |
|
| |
Profile Picture |
|
| |
Recent Updates & Rec. Updated Dashboard |
|
| |
Related Labels |
|
| |
Roadmap Planner |
|
| |
Search Results | macro not available | NO | |
Section | macro not available | NO | Works rudimentarily, but using Sections and Columns inside tabs is not recommended. |
Space Details | macro not available | NO | Legacy editor: Works, but doesn't display the space logo. |
Spaces List | NO | NO | Legacy editor: Works but can't display icons. New editor: Endless throbber, switching tabs isn’t possible in the Tab group macro. |
Status |
|
| This is not a macro in the new editor and is inserted via “/” command. |
Table of Contents | NO | NO | Both editors: Nothing is displayed when the macro is placed within a macro. |
Task report |
|
| |
Team Calendar |
|
| |
Tip |
|
| This is not a macro in the new editor and is inserted via “/” command. |
Trello Board | NO | macro not available | Legacy editor: Trello boards can only be inserted as links. |
Trello Card |
| macro not available | Legacy editor: Trello cards can only be inserted as links. |
User List |
|
| New editor: Works, but the contents might be clipped. |
User Profile |
|
| New editor: Works, but the user icon is displayed strangely. |
View macros: | NO | NO | Both editors:
If you insert the attachments into the macro via drag & drop: The thumbnail is generated, but clicking on the macro will lead to the file directly (usually download via web browser) instead of opening the preview. Workaround: Insert the file in tabs with the Tab Content Layout (Beta) activated. |
Warning |
|
| New editor: It is not a macro and is inserted via “/” command. |
Widget Connector |
| works partly | Legacy editor: Twitter and YouTube are displayed ok, others are not. |
If you believe this list is incorrect or incomplete, please contact us.