Excerpt vs Synced Block

[Manuel Kroiß]

Hello Confluence users,

Can someone tell me whats the difference between

• /excerpt and /excerptInclude
• /syncedBlock

We are validating the usage of those features and I don't really understand when to use what. What are the advantages/disadvantages of each.

kind regards

Manuel

[Kris Klima _K15t_ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Manuel Kroiß 

The idea is the same, execution a bit different.

For starters, blocs are easy to track both ways (source <> target). They are easier to use, you simply copy past a bloc from the source to the target page. With excerpts, you need to track incoming/outgoing links.

Blocs also work in Jira (Jira - Confluence).

It's easy to turn a piece of content into a reusable bloc.

Managing the use of synced content is easier.

However... Where I found limits was in blocs' compatibility with marketplace macros and apps. Some apps can't process blocs content yet and/or you cannot place them into blocs. Some native Confluence macros might fall short of blocs compatibility too. So do test it.

I would also appreciate a wholsale management - for example, in Content Manager a column with 'synced bloc source' would be nice. In databases, you can display an excerpt that's on the page (only the first one...) but that's something. The last time I checked, there was no such option for blocs.

Hope this helps at least a bit.

https://support.atlassian.com/confluence-cloud/docs/create-and-use-synced-blocks/

[Barbara Szczesniak]

Thank you for the warning about this new feature not yet being compatible with marketplace apps, @Kris Klima _K15t_ 

Even though these new features have not yet been rolled out to my instance, once they are, I will put off using them until they are supported in Scroll Sites.

[Kris Klima _K15t_]

@Barbara Szczesniak - we're investigating the options. I think this goes for all marketplace partners.

As a writer, I'd very much welcome integration with Scroll apps.

[Kris Klima _K15t_]

@Barbara Szczesniak 

Scroll Sites are now compatible with Synced Block! 

https://help.k15t.com/scroll-sites/reuse-content-in-your-site#Synced-Blocks 

[Barbara Szczesniak]

Thank you for letting me (and everyone else) know, @Kris Klima _K15t_ 

[Vesa Purho]

Yes, there are some issues with the blocks still. I do like the concept though. 

For example, tables don't seem to behave properly inside a sync block. If you create a new table, you cannot make it not full-width. And if you copy-paste a non-full width table inside the sync block, it appears as full width file editing but after publishing, it gets aligned to the right instead of left on the source page and on the synced locations, it is rendered as a full-width table.

As mentioned, also some 3rd party apps don't work properly. For example, If I try to add a drawio-picture inside a synced block, it does not work. If it is part of normal body text, the diagram gets added outside the sync block. I can drag and drop it inside the sync block but only inside a table cell, not to the body text part. And if it is inside a table cell, it does not get rendered e.g. in Jira.

So basically the idea of having feature definitions (which contain tables and diagrams) in Confluence and using sync-block to render the content directly in the Jira description field, does not fully work yet. Yes, there naturally is a link from Jira work item to the confluence page if I add the jira ID to to the confluence page as a link but it is not quite the same.