Images automatically becoming 'inline images' when publishing

[Shantelle Duffy]

I use linked images as 'buttons' on pages to link to relevant subpages and until recently, I had the images in one two-column layout block, stacked under each other and each with their own alignment and size settings. I'm not sure if this is to do with the change to cloud editor, but suddenly all these images automatically change to 'inline images' upon re-publishing and completely change the formatting I originally had for the page. It's now much harder to modify the settings of these images, and using the page editor to change alignment doesn't seem to work. If I align them all centre, they switch back to left alignment upon republishing, or if I haven't used the enter button to place them all on their own line, they revert back to all being in line with each other. I can't drag and drop them to rearrange like I could previously, unless they're all in their own individual layout blocks, which I can't do on some of my pages due to other elements in the layout. 
Is anyone else experiencing similar, and how can I fix it/work around it? 

[Tomislav Tobijas · Accepted solution]

Hi @Shantelle Duffy ,

Have these always been in the new Confluence editor, or did you switch/convert from the legacy to the new one?

I know there's this suggestion when it comes to conversions: CONFCLOUD-83072: When converting pages from the legacy editor to the new Confluence Cloud editor, images are resized to dynamically 

Alignment, in general, is definitely not ideal in Confluence and most users strugle in a way. I have seen some even turning to Marketplace apps in some cases but that's if they want a fully customized 'frontend'

Anyway, you could maybe check with Atlassian Support to see why alignment isn't preserved even when you fix things manually in the editor. 👀

Cheers,
Tobi

[Shantelle Duffy]

I've switched/converted to the new one. Thanks for the advice Tobi!

[Gunjan Kumar · Accepted solution]

Hi Duffy, Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

This behavior is expected with the new Confluence Cloud editor. Images no longer reliably maintain manual alignment or spacing when placed inline in a paragraph, and alignment changes can occur after publishing.

To consistently display images side-by-side or in fixed positions, Atlassian recommends using Layouts (multi-column sections) or placing images inside table cells. These methods preserve structure and alignment in published pages.

Recommended approach:

Insert a two- or three-column layout and place one image per column, or use a table with one image per cell.

Atlassian documentation:

https://support.atlassian.com/confluence-cloud/docs/create-and-manage-layouts/

[Shantelle Duffy]

Thank you!