Can you hide text from someone viewing a page, but make it visible to someone editing the page?

[Kelly Arrey]

If I were composing an html page, I could just use an html comment:

<! -- editors will see this but not viewers -->

Is there a functional equivalent in Confluence (Cloud) ?

Thanks,

Kel

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

Yes, but it's a bit of a pain to get to.

Confluence has templates which are simply pages with pre-populated text on them.  They're essentially the same as pages, but when you're editing a template, you have an additonal formatting option - you can flag content as "placeholder".

When you use a template to create a page, if you leave the placeholder text there, then you'll see it during create and edit, but not when viewing the page.

Problem though - the editor does not give you the option to add or flag placeholder text.  You have to go off to create a page from a template that uses it, or edit a page that has some, copy some of the content flagged as placeholder, then go back to edit the page you want to add it to, and paste it in, then change the content.

So clunky, as it's not quite what Atlassian intend placeholder text to be used for (they expect authors to replace it, not use it for in-line guidance), but yes, you can get there.

(For what it's worth, it's been the same in Server for many years, since before Cloud!  I'm glad they've not blocked placeholder text completely!)

[Kelly Arrey]

Thanks Nic, was hoping for something less clunky, but that will work!

[Mohana Sundar J · Accepted solution]

✅ How to Hide Content in Confluence (Visible Only in Edit Mode)

The Page Properties Macro makes this easy:

1. Insert the Page Properties Macro on your page.
2. Add your notes or instructions inside the macro box.
3. Tick the “Hidden” checkbox in the macro settings.

When the Hidden option is enabled, the content inside the macro will only appear in Edit mode and remain invisible in View mode.

[Kelly Arrey]

Well done @Mohana Sundar J ! Thanks!

[Mohana Sundar J]

Hello @Kelly Arrey

Thanks for raising this question, I hope you’re doing well.
I faced the same challenge earlier and completely understand how frustrating it can feel when you’re stuck. Discovering this workaround was such a relief for me, and I’m excited to share it with you because it might help others too.

Here’s what worked for me: The requirement I had was to hide the content in view mode and to be visible only while editing. I know my users didn't have any confidential content within this so I took this workaround. If there are any confidential data then we should be mindful because the page properties report macro can pull out the content.

It’s not a perfect fix, but it’s a practical way to achieve the goal without blocking progress. If you try it and run into any issues, feel free to share—I’d be happy to brainstorm more ideas together.

You’ve got this! Sometimes these little hurdles lead us to creative solutions that make us even stronger as a team. 🙌