🎥 'Intro to Confluence Databases' webinar follow up

[#1]

Hi folks! 👋 Thank you all so much for tuning into our latest webinar on Confluence databases. We had an overwhelming turn out and it was truly special to see so much passion and interest coming from our users. We didn’t get to answer all questions during the webinar so we brought together some of the most commonly asked ones in this post.

If you have any additional questions, feel free to drop them below in the comments and we’ll do our best to get back to them as soon as we can.

Also let us know if you’re interested in seeing a second webinar that goes beyond the basics, and into some more advanced database use cases.

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1. Can I link two databases? Can I join multiple databases?

Yes! You are able to link multiple databases/refer to other databases using the Entry Link field or Back Link field.

2. Can you set up automations/trigger a notification if the database is edited?

Currently we do not support any automations however this is something that is on our roadmap and we’re excited to bring to the product!

3. Do you support grouping rows/nesting rows?

Not yet, although this is something on our roadmap.

4. Is it possible to look at an earlier version of a database? For example, if I want to know what was in a database a month ago.

We are working on version history right now - this should be landing in the product soon.

5. How can we interact with Confluence databases through APIs, including accessing, updating, and integrating data with external sources/systems?

Today this isn’t possible however it something we plan to look into in the future.

6. Are there plans to enable text formatting options for text fields in databases?

Yes! We do have rich text support on our roadmap.

7. Can you embed a view rather than the whole database?

Unfortunately, at the moment, you cannot specify which database view gets embedded. You can however set a default view. The ability to embed only a specific view is something we’ve heard come up a lot in feedback so we’re looking into a solution for this!

8. If we edit the data in the database that is embedded on a page, will the changes also be reflected in the original database?

Yes, the embedded view is a reference to the source database, so changes made to the embedded state will reflect in the standalone/source database.

9. Is there an additional charge for Confluence Databases or is this part of the Confluence license?

No additional charges - databases are included in all Confluence plans.

10. Are frozen columns coming soon?

Yes we’re working on this functionality now!

11. Is there a limit for the number of columns or rows on a database?

Confluence databases do not have set size limit, because that can vary depending upon the types of data you are storing (different field types).  If you start to notice any performance issues, please raise a support request so the team can investigate the source of the problem.

12. Can you create Jira issues from a database?

Unfortunately this not possible today but it is something we’re keen to explore. 

13. Can you update attributes for Jira tickets from a database?

This isn’t possible to do yet, but it’s something we’re keen to bring to the product!

14. If I create a new Jira issue will it automatically get added to my data?

No today databases do not support this functionality, the user would need to manually pull in this data.

15. How are permissions set, especially if they are embedded or shared across spaces? Can I set restrictions on how can see certain views / who can edit certain parts of my database?

Permissions for databases work just as they do for Confluence pages & whiteboards. They are set at the object level (see the lock icon in the top right hand corner). If that database is then embedded on another page, it will always respect the inherited permissions so only those with access to the database can see the database.

Permissions cannot be set on specific parts of the database at this time.

16. How can I import Jira tickets? How can I bulk import Confluence pages? How can I find that Set up panel again?

Navigate to the three dot menu in the top right hand corner. Select ‘Templates and import’. Select either Jira or Confluence to bulk import Jira tickets or Confluence pages.

17. How can I pull in important page meta data (similar to a Page Property report macro)?

After adding a ‘page link’ field type to your database, add a ‘page details’ field type to your database and after linking these two fields you will be able to select from a variety of metadata details such as when the page was created, who it is owned by, what space it lives in etc.

18. Do databases support conditional formatting?

We unfortunately do not yet support this.

19. Do databases support charting/diagramming functionality?

We unfortunately do not yet support this.

20. Can you have fields that do calculations on other fields?

We unfortunately do not yet support this.

21. If Confluence is being used as a the company intranet, is there a way to make a Confluence database accessible outside one's organization, to the public?

Databases are not yet supported by Confluence’s public links feature.

22. If I have a database and I want to show data from one specific row on a certain page is that possible?

Users can reference databases in Confluence in multiple ways. They can embed the entire database by simply pasting the database URL on a page, or, they can embed a single entry (row) or a single cell by right clicking on the entry/cell and selecting copy link.

23. Do databases support any external/3P integrations?

At the moment databases do not however this is something we’re looking into!

24. I'm looking for Databases support in Data Center - when is that happening?

Currently Confluence databases only have plans to remain available on Confluence Cloud.

25. How can I set up time to speak with someone from Atlassian? How can I learn more about databases?

Head to the three dot menu in the top right hand corner of the database, select ‘Give feedback’. This feedback will flow into our monitored feedback inbox and we can stay in contact there!

26. Will you share the recording of this session?

Anyone who registered should have received an email with a link, however if you didn’t receive this you can head to this link and find the recording.

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Cheers,

Christina Ristevski | Confluence databases product manager

[thomas_ohrbom]

Thank you for a very thorough and detailed follow-up, @Christina Ristevski. I believe all but two of my questions have been answered now.

Maybe you have answers for these two questions as well:

27. Will you add support for custom page properties added with the Page Properties macro on pages?

28. Will you add support fo Confluence Databases in the Confluence Cloud mobile app?

Cheers, and continue the great work!

[Johan Theunissen]

Do you have a link to the webinar video, so we can look it back?

[Kirsten Coppo]

1. Can the database "page" have a Header for info about the database?
2. When can we get reporting & charts?
3. Can it connect to PowerBI?

[Rune Rasmussen]

I have a bonus question:

Are there any plans for a feature that would let you lookup values in another database and auto populate fields based on the lookup, similar to what can be achieved with VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP in Excel?

From the responses to my question here I understand that it can't be done today.
https://community.atlassian.com/forums/Confluence-Databases-questions/VLOOKUP-XLOOKUP-like-function-in-Databases/qaq-p/2962843

A lot of the use I see of Excel from my colleagues is mostly to satisfy this kind of data consolidation, so being able to do this in Confluence Databases would go a long way in "selling" the functionality to my colleagues.