Editing a table cell inside an "expand" macro corrupts the page formatting

Question

Summary of the problem

When a table is placed inside an "expand" (ac:structured-macro name="expand") macro, editing any cell in that table by typing plain text - not pasting a link, just typing - causes the editor to nest the entire table inside the cell being edited. Since Confluence's storage/ADF model does not support a table nested inside a table cell, the result is immediately converted into an unreadable fallback block: an ac:structured-macro name="nested-table" (com.atlassian.confluence.migration extension) whose own embedded data includes the message "A table in a table cell can't be created or edited in the new editor."

In our case this corrupted four separate tables (roughly 65KB of trapped, escaped JSON) into a single cell of an unrelated table, on every attempt to type into any cell of the affected table.

Steps to reproduce

* Create a Confluence page with an "expand" macro.
* Inside the expand, insert a table with at least a couple of columns and rows.
* Click into any cell of that table and type plain text (a few characters is enough).
* Save.

Expected result: the cell updates normally; the table remains a flat table.

Actual result: the table gets nested inside the cell being edited and is replaced with an unreadable "migration" fallback block. The page's stored content balloons in size and the table can no longer be viewed or edited normally.

Mike Truong · Answer

I'm also experiencing this issue, but just with some tables nested within an expand. Please help fix!

Samuil Enchev · Answer

Hi Allen,

Thanks for reaching out.

After investigating, I’ve confirmed that this is a known issue rather than something specific to your environment. While there is an internal engineering ticket tracking this, it isn't publicly accessible.

To ensure you stay informed, I have created a dedicated support case for you: CES-198667. You will receive all future updates and progress reports directly via that ticket.

Best regards,

Samuil

Gabriela - LeanZero · Answer

Hi Allen,

Your four tables aren't gone. They're wrapped inside that nested-table block as escaped data, so the quickest way for you to get them back is page history rather than rebuilding them. Open ••• > Version history, tick the last version from before the edit and the one after it, use Compare selected versions to confirm it's the clean one, and then Restore this version. Restoring doesn't delete anything; Confluence copies the old version in as the newest one and the broken version stays in history. I built the same wrapped block on a test page, and restoring the earlier version brought back a clean Expand with the table inside it. Anything published after that version won't be on the restored page, so copy out any later changes you want to keep first, and publish or discard any open draft of the page before you restore.

On the cause, I couldn't find a ticket that matches your steps exactly, but two recent bugs look close. CONFCLOUD-85144 covers tables inside a single-column layout, where editing one cell pulls the following tables into it, and the workaround there is to remove the outer layout container. CONFCLOUD-85152 covers a table inside an Expand with coloured cell backgrounds, where the first keystroke shifts the table, and it suggests clearing the colours or moving the table out of the Expand.

Until one of them is fixed, I'd avoid typing into those tables in place. Whichever of the two fits your page is the one to vote on and watch. Does your page have a single-column layout or coloured cells anywhere?