Explore how Confluence Cloud differs from Data Center
Discover what’s new in Confluence Cloud. Learn how page types, shortcuts, search, and editing differ from Data Center.Home page
Both Cloud and Data Center have a common access point to the home page: the ‘Confluence’ logo at the top left. Most elements of the Cloud home page are also on the Data Center home page and are relatively straightforward to find. However, the home page itself has a very different appearance and layout, as you can see below.
Cloud
Data Center
Navigation
Navigation in Cloud is redesigned to help you find what you need faster. The top navigation is decluttered to streamline essential actions like search and create. Everything else lives in a customizable sidebar, giving you more control over how you move through Confluence. Read the blog to learn more.
- Collapsible sidebar: Hide the sidebar for a distraction-free, wider view of your content.
- Access the essentials. 'For you' allows you to discover trending content from across your site and updates from people you follow. 'Recent' & 'Starred' allow you to quickly jump back into content you've recently viewed, edited, or starred.
- Spaces: Browse all your spaces. Starred spaces are pinned to the top, and recently visited ones are just below.
- Apps & More: See and manage apps installed on your Confluence site. Note: Calendars and Analytics (Premium and Enterprise only) in your previous navigation bar are now located in this menu. Find apps like Teams (formerly People) under More—and pin them for easy access.
- Starred spaces: When you’re not inside a space, starred spaces appear here for quick access.
- Space content: When you’re inside a space, this section shows the space’s content tree in place of starred spaces.
- App switcher: Switch between Atlassian sites or apps, or collapse the sidebar for a distraction-free, wider view of your content.
- Confluence logo: Click the Confluence logo to return to ‘For you’ from anywhere.
- Search & Create: 'Search' allows you to find content, spaces, and people across Confluence. If enabled, paid editions get AI-powered, cross-app search with Rovo. 'Create' allows you to start any content type—live docs, pages, whiteboards, blogs, databases, smart links, or entire spaces—from one central spot.
- Rovo Chat: Ask questions and explore your company’s knowledge through an AI-powered chat interface. Rovo Chat is available on paid editions and must be enabled by admins.
- Notifications, Help, Settings, and your profile: Stay updated, get support, and personalize your experience.
General interface
Both versions include a sidebar for navigating space content, but some elements have moved. One key change: Space settings is now located under More actions (•••) next to your space’s name in the sidebar.
Editor
This is one of the biggest differences you’ll notice in Cloud, as we’ve made significant updates to the Cloud editor:
- Floating action toolbar: Frequently used tools—like comments and page details—now live in a dedicated floating toolbar on the right, so they’re easier to find and no longer buried in the editing toolbar.
- Pinnable editing toolbar: Choose how you work – let the toolbar follow you inline for faster editing, or pin it to the top for a more fixed experience.
- Macros: In Cloud, we’ve removed older macros (especially those that hurt performance) and replaced them with simpler, built-in commands. You can see a list of the removed macros and alternative methods here. Cloud does not currently support user macros.
Cloud
Data Center
Autocomplete keyboard shortcuts in Editor
One of the biggest changes that power users will pick up on is the autocomplete shortcuts used in the Editor. Those accustomed to the Data Center Editor may be very familiar with the wiki markup notation to insert macros. In Cloud, you’ll switch to using the / slash command—a single, streamlined way to access macros, elements, and tools as you type.
Action | Cloud autocomplete character | Data Center autocomplete character |
|---|---|---|
Tables | / | | |
Links | / | [ |
Images | / | ! |
Macros | / | { |
Headings | # | h1. |
Lists (unordered) | * | * |
Lists (ordered) | # |
TIP: Share the Confluence quick start guide with your users so they have easy access to the shortcuts above.
Other Editor changes
- Inline comment: In Cloud, adding inline comments works the same whether you're editing or viewing a page:
- Highlight the text you want to comment on.
- Click the 'Add comment' button that appears.
- Type your comment and hit 'Save' (Ctrl+S or ⌘+S).
- Anchor links: Anchor links are automatically created in Cloud for headings. Non-heading links still need to be specified by the Anchor macro.
- Adding attachments: To add attachments in Cloud, copy and paste the file’s link directly to the page. Keep in mind that users familiar with embedding or linking attachments from shared file libraries may need to adjust their workflows.
- Editing tables: Table editing in Cloud has been redesigned for a more intuitive experience. While this is designed to be easier in the long run, it may feel different at first—consider giving your team a heads-up.
Smart Links
Smart Links reveal important context about links within a Confluence page (or a Jira work item) without leaving that page. When you paste a supported link into the Editor, it automatically converts into a Smart Link, giving you a quick preview of key details.
Smart Links work with other Atlassian apps (like Confluence, Jira, Loom, Trello, and Bitbucket) and many third-party apps (like Google Drive, Figma, and Slack).
You can choose how each Smart Link appears—there are a few different display options:
Inline view
Card view
Embed view
Smart Link in content tree
Search
Search in Cloud is faster, more relevant, and flexible. If you are on a paid subscription (Standard, Premium, Enterprise), your search is powered by Rovo AI once an admin enables it, which enhances results with:
- Cross-app results from tools like Jira, Google Drive, and Slack
- AI-generated answers to natural language questions, complete with cited sources
Cloud
Data Center
Additional content types
Beyond pages and blogs, Confluence Cloud supports multimodal content creation to suit a variety of workflows:
- Live doc: Collaborate in real-time without the need to publish.
- Whiteboard: A digital whiteboard for brainstorming, diagramming, and mapping ideas visually.
- Database: Organize structured information in a customizable, filterable view. Track deliverables, manage resources, and centralize knowledge from across apps.
- Folders: Add folders to your space to keep related work together. Think of folders as simple containers for storing related work.
AI capabilities
With Rovo built in, Confluence Cloud makes it easier and faster to share knowledge and collaborate across teams.
- Find information faster: Search across the Confluence knowledge base and ask Rovo Chat questions in plain language to surface pages and information within seconds.
- Automate routine work: Use out-of-the-box agents to draft content, manage tasks, and streamline workflows.
- AI-assisted editing: Highlight text in a Confluence page, then invoke the AI editor with ‘Improve writing’ to quickly change tone, correct grammar, and add polish to your written content.
Company Hub
Available on Confluence Cloud Premium and Enterprise, Company Hub is a customizable central homepage where your entire organization can access key updates, announcements, and verified resources.
By default, only app and site admins can see and set up the Hub, but they can choose to delegate visibility and editing access to other trusted users.
To get started, eligible users can find Company Hub in the left sidebar and begin customizing it to reflect their company’s needs.
Visit our documentation for more details about the differences using and administering Confluence Cloud.
Differences using Confluence Data Center and Cloud | Atlassian Support
Differences administering Confluence Data Center and Cloud | Atlassian Support