Is anyone having issues with editing within Confluence?

Question

It's kind of hard to explain, but when I try to edit in Confluence right now, I am experiencing some technical difficulty. First, I'm having a hard time getting my text select cursor where I want it. It will go to the next line or very close to where I want it, but not the exact position (most often after or before a link). Even when I try to use the arrows on my keyboard instead of my mouse, it does the same thing. Then sometimes when I type, it will show the text select cursor in the right position, but it will show what I'm typing in the wrong position (about 4 spaces ahead). I've never experienced this before, but started having the issues yesterday. I gave it a day and restarted to see if it would make a difference, but I'm still having the issue.

Salvador Martin · Answer

Hi Mykenna.

Thanks for your answer. The editor of the "mature" confluent was changed around 2 years ago, so Confluence shows little respect for the people used to work "the old way". The same happened with the editor in Jira Service Desk, which used to work more or less fine, until the decission was to "tiktokize" it, adding emojis and simplifying it in a silly way, and changing the behaviour completely. Clicking in the three dots menu on top right there is still a "See the old view" option which lets you use the old version. Jira, tought, do not remember this choice or let you use it by default, so if you want to "See the old view" you have to do it every time you open every issue.

I realize I sound like a hater. I am not. I llike most of Jira/Confluent, but the editor is simply a broken piece of software that should be fully replace by an editor which respects basic editor behaviour standards.

Mykenna Cepek · Answer

I get it, @Salvador Martin. I'm not going to be an apologist for Atlassian, as I've been pretty outspoken about certain areas of their product line myself (e.g. Automation).

However, let's remember that Confluence is a "mature" product, which has advantages and disadvantages. I suspect that most of the problems you outline above are not only quite old in origin, but also fairly difficult to "fix". Any change to a mature product will encounter resistance and complaints from the many, many users who effectively use the product "the old way".

On the positive side, I tried the four examples you listed above in the latest WYSIWYG editor in Jira Cloud (for the "Description" field), and I think you'd be happy with how all of those work. They didn't misbehave as you described.

So I actually have hope that the lessons Atlassian is learning from their recent improvements in Jira (e.g. recent updates to the "New Issue Editing" experience) can be brought over to Confluence soon. Why have hope on this? Because a consistent editing experience across product lines is good for Atlassian and makes (even long-time) users happy.

Let's not hold our breath waiting. But I fully expect that in time Atlassian will improve the editing experience in Confluence.

Salvador Martin · Answer

I don't know you, but my heart beats with yours.