"Continue Numbering" has been a feature in Word and other editors for ages, and a real thing in numbered lists forever. Where is this feature in Confluence?
Hello @Allan Brumer ! This is quite a useful request you have at hand. I was able to dig up a request that tackles exactly this:
[Confluence Cloud] Implement a feature that allows to continue numbering on numbered lists
The only workaround to that is using SHIFT+ENTER instead of only ENTER to break lines. Using SHIFT+ENTER will keep the numbering at the last value used. As soon as we use only ENTER to break a line, the next number will be used. The downside of using SHIFT+ENTER is that the text is now indented.
Here is how it works:
The best course of action, Alan, would be to vote and watch the report. Voting will help to increase the visibility and watching will keep you up to date with everything posted there.
I hope this clarifies the current situation! Looking forward to your reply.
Thank you @Diego,
I did vote on the feature request.
The workaround Shift+enter works well enough when I am only working with text; however, it fails completely when I try; for example, to enter a table in the middle of a section of numbered steps. I have found no good solution to this particular case aside from inserting the table outside the numbered steps.
Additionally, I find it embarrassing to have to explain to end-users that you have to use a cludgy work around (Shift+enter) to use numbering in an application in 2020. This was a 1990s problem and it has been solved.
Hello @Allan Brumer . Thanks for keeping this thread alive and being sincere about the repercussion of this within your company.
Also, good to know that the workaround helps you partially. I would also love to have your feedback there, within the report itself. This can help the people responsible for the development of our platform to better understand how and why the lack of any specific feature affects the customers.
Let me know your thoughts!
This is still problematic, as the other macros supported in Confluence default to inserting at the end of the numbered list. So while I can still enter standard text between numbered lists using the above SHIFT+ENTER technique, I cannot use any macros. I'm not sure why the numbered list won't allow the macros to be inserted between them? Is there any solution for that?
This is driving me crazy, as mentioned above, I am completely unable to create a step by step guide with a numbered list because of this. This needs to be addressed ASAP.
Came here looking for this. You're spot on this is a frustrating miss for this tool.
How is this still not added how many years later?
I agree! The Shift + Return is a work-around if you have ONE item to insert, but after that it doesn't work, How can Word be better at this than Confluence???
Yes, us Tech Writers & Editors now use this tool for most all company docs, so it's not just mainly for Devs anymore---it needs to have more features for us! After pressing Enter on a step, I used to be able to press the Backspace key to eliminate the step number and just have my text, screenshot, note, table, etc. be indented---not sure why, but that was removed sometime last year. So frustrating as now I always have to use Shift+Enter instead. Also, there are times my team wants to have headings or something in-between the steps that aren't indented---can't do this no matter what workaround I try---we need to have that Continued Numbering option pls!
It's flabbergasting to me that this isn't a default feature. Numbered lists are like documentation 101.
Confluence is great with the powerful widgets and organization, but I honestly struggle to want to use it because of the lack of exceptionally basic features like this, changing font type in numbered lists, etc. If I could perform the basic features that docs/word/literally any word processor program has in Confluence, it'd absolutely be my go-to for team documentation. Unfortunately, because of these pain points, it falls out of my recommendation, and I'll just keep using Google Docs.
A simple solution for this is,First, write down the entire list using numbering or bullet points.
Select those lines that you want to sub-list and press the tab key.
Eg:
1. This is the main note
2. This is the main note
3. This is a sub-note (Select this line and press tab)
4. This too (Select this line and press tab)
5. This is the main noteResult
3. This is the main note
Hope it will help
This is not a solution
This doesn't really work when inserting graphics or screenshots. This is the basic navigation for numbered lists with no breaks.
Unless we do it manually, you can't insert graphics and continue numbering. The issue is the continuation not the original formatting.
Yep. @ramdas that's a bogus suggestion on so many levels. On your "example" above, what happened to points 3 & 4? Point 3 should be what is labeled as point 5. So you just actually demonstrated the opposite, that the tool is grossly buggy, even when attempting a workaround.
It's quite shocking that a feature that's essential to ordered lists have not yet been implemented by the development team. Frustrating to say the least.
Since no one has fixed this since March 2022, it doesn't look like Atlassian cares much about what us tech writers want! We have to use this tool for 98% of our docs, and altho it's better than Google Docs/Word, it still needs more true documentation features. Ask us?I'm looking into a new online doc tool called BookStack---allows for reusable tags for words, steps, bullets, paragraphs, pages, etc. for single sourcing, and we may be able to work with the formatting. Check it out: https://www.bookstackapp.com/.Atlassian---pls ask us users what we need and care about our needs---this isn't just for Devs anymore! Thx!
I used a Table with the option of a Numbered Column.
It is a bit of a workaround for what you want, but it works fundamentally and keeps the presentation tidy too.
Hi Colin, - - Thanks for sharing your workaround.
I'm new here too, new to Confluence, and terribly frustrated that it contains no list-continue paragraph structure between list-numbered paragraphs.
I assume that you have developed content with this workaround for a while now. Would you please share a few of its pros and cons? For example, any formatting or numbering concerns for numbered sub-steps? Any quirks with adding content tables, graphics, bullets, etc.
Thanks again, -- Paul
So true...There are, of course workarounds, but when needing to use numbered steps with graphics, tables and other Confluence marker and steps, the workarounds are of no use.
This is the single most frustrating part of using Confluence. I'll give Bookstack a try. Thanks @Sandi Mathers
This is not meant to speak badly of the developers, but I need a fix to do my work effectively.
I was going to put sub-steps in the next column with the rest of the content for that step or perhaps in its own column. At least in a table form its easy to re-arrange.
Very creative, Colin. I'll be trying it. Thanks again.
I was looking though other atlassian boards hoping that there was light at the end of the tunnel and found this work around. all credit goes to the original poster, as they said. its not perfect but it works to get info boxes in place so that the only issue with my how to guides is that I'm horrible at it.
Here is a less-than-perfect workaround, but it will do in a pinch.After you create your Info box or what have you with the text that you want, take a cropped, screen capture of it. Go to your numbered list and do a Shift + Enter at the end of the line where you would like to insert your Info box, and paste your screen capture.Kludgy, but it works. It would be so much better if they offered an option to renumber though.
There are a host of consequences linked to this issue, none of which are resolved with the current proposed work around (Shift/Return). Here is a summary of a few of my favoritesL
I often find myself defending Confluence with the logic that the lack of features forces a rigor onto the interface that makes for a (more) common voice, and I support this approach. I have watched Atlassian over the years push the boundaries and ultimately retract features due to this use case, including this exact issue. Previous iterations address this but with consequences that were not scalable or sustainable. It is difficult for me to push this as an enterprise system due to this numbering issue. I would like to think other large companies have figured out how to use the system in a sustainable manner, but I have yet to find that solution.
One more point on sustainable solutions, for those proposing the use of apps to address the issue. Building an entire enterprise documentation system around a single point of failure app is a mistake - a fundamental flaw in this architecture approach. Not if, but when that app folds for one reason or another, you are soooo screwed. Budget cuts, support issues, development shift/direction...there are so many reasons that app might stop meeting your needs. How many thousands of documents will you have to go back in to repair?
There are common, core functionalities you expect in documentation systems. Common formatting should not be a feature. Whether or not this use case meets that criteria, you can decide for yourself - but either way, I don't think the Atlassian team has a solution they are willing to go forward with. I have yet to see a formal statement on this issue.
The work-around previously contained in this response post is not worth the read so I edited it to oblivion.
(expletive deleted)
Confluence also doesn't support
<ol start="X">
where X is the next number in the sequence. I went into text mode, added it to the HTML, applied the change, updated the page and it didn't work. In fact it was scrubbed out of the HTML. Oy.
C'mon guys.
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