Can the Wiki Component Be Edited Using Any Markup Language? How?

[Confused Newbie]

I think the subject says it. I'm comfortable editting html and several wiki markup languages. But I've been working at a company which uses confluence since April, and still failing to produce coherent, professional looking pages. Lists don't line up; list numbering restarts semi-randomly; creating code blocks produces laughable results, etc etc. I presume the problem is the WYSIWYG editor - I can't tell on which side of an invisible markup element I'm adding whatever I'm adding. And whenever I cut and paste enything, I wind up picking up unwanted format elements from it ;-(

I glanced at the docs, but the best I found was https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/CONF54/Confluence+Wiki+Markup+for+Macros

That page has the following frightening quote:

Note: You cannot edit content in wiki markup. Confluence does not store page content in wiki markup. Although you can enter wiki markup into the editor, Confluence will convert it to the rich text editor format immediately. You will not be able to edit the wiki markup after initial entry.

I hope this means that "rich text" is the native markup language, rather than that there somehow is no such thing, and pages simply cannot be editted in any such format. If so, where can I find a document describing the rich text syntax elements, and instructions on how to force the editor into some mode where I can see them?

[Davin Studer · Accepted solution]

HTML WYSIWYG editors have always been a mixed bag. Confluence uses a modified version of TinyMCE, which is one of the best out there, but there are always weird things that crop up. One thing that you can do to help with this is use the Confluence Source Editor. It is invaluable for those times when your just can't seem to figure out what is happening.

Another option is to highlight the wonky section and clear the formatting by using the clear formatting button in the editor bar. Then rebuild the formatting for that section.

[Bob Swift OSS (Bob Swift Atlassian Apps)]

You can use wiki markup using Wiki Markup for Confluence add-on. Most content can still be produced with wiki syntax, but, some content can only be provided with the WYSIWYG editor. However, it is easy to have pages with both types of content.