Scheduling changes for publication, but also add items before the scheduled publication

[Liesbeth Munnik - van Wensen]

I have a Confluence page with (>500) item numbers, some extra information about the article and their prices. This document is available for our customers. Prices change each year on Jan 1st. During the year items are regularly added to the page as they come available, several items each month.

I am currently struggling to find the most time-efficient way to keep the page up to date. In the last quarter of each year, we receive the new pricing for the next year from our different suppliers.
To avoid a lot of work in the last week of the year, I would like to update the pricing of the items as soon as we receive them from the supplier. This I can do with a draft that is then scheduled for publication on Jan 1st. The earliest draft with scheduled publication on Jan 1st could be early Oct.

However, if new items are added, I would like my customers to know as soon as possible. So if a new item is added end of October, I would like to add the item and publish the list with the current prices including the new item, but still keep the draft with the new prices (and the new item) scheduled for publication on Jan 1st.

I have considered:

- updating all prices in the last week of the year and schedule the publication for Jan 1st. This constitutes a lot of work at once during a time that is already busier than usual.

- creating a copy of the confluence page and update that with the new prices. Towards the end of the year, paste the copy back to the original page and schedule it for publication on Jan 1st. This would mean both pages will have to be updated when a new item is added. Since several people add items, updating the copy could easily be forgotten. Also copying the page might break bookmarks that our customers have created.

- only add new items to the draft that is scheduled for publication on Jan 1st. This is not ideal as we could have an item available for 3 months without our customers knowing.

I'm guessing I am not the first to encounter this issue and would love some advice/suggestions on how I can handle this most efficiently.

[Peter_DevSamurai]

Hi @Liesbeth Munnik - van Wensen ,

Scheduled publishing is great for Jan 1st changes, but drafts don't auto-merge new live additions, leading to the issues you mentioned. But in your case of static pages for catalogs, you can switch to a Database for items:

Databases let you store items as rows, then embed views on pages for live filtering/sorting. You can refer the below steps to avoid PDSf and preserves bookmarks.

1. Create the Database: Spaces > Databases > Create > Add fields: Item Number (text), Info (text), Current Price (number), New Price (number, hidden initially), Availability Date (date).
-> Import your 500+ items via CSV for quick setup.

2. Embed on Live Page: Insert Database macro on your customer page > View as table > Filter to show only current prices (e.g., hide "New Price").

3. Handle Price Updates: From Oct, update "New Price" in the database (doesn't affect live view). Use automation: Trigger "On date" (Jan 1st) > Action "Edit database row" > Copy "New Price" to "Current Price" for all rows. No drafts are needed as the changes apply instantly on schedule.

4. Add New Items: Add rows directly to the database. They will appear immediately on the live page (filter by Availability Date <= today). No duplicate updates; the database is the single source.

You can refer to the below links:

• Confluence Databases
• Automation for Databases
• Scheduled Publishing Limits

Hope everything works out for you!

Best,

Peter