Changing Published Page Template

[Robert Mullins]

I published a blank page as a placeholder for future content with no template.

Now that I know how I want to build it out I want to add a template to the published blank page.

I have opened the editor but cannot seem to find anywhere the templates I can select 

[Riley Venable (Atlas Bench) · Accepted solution]

You cannot add a template to a published page. Templates are only available for unpublished drafts. If you want to add a template to your page, you will need to create a new draft and apply the template before publishing it.

[Dave Mathijs · Accepted solution]

Hi @Robert Mullins welcome to the Atlassian Community!

You cannot apply a template to an existing page.

If your "placeholder" page doesn't have any content as you say it's blank, just delete it and create a new page from a template and move it to the same location in the page tree.

[Robert Mullins]

Thanks Dave!  I've been pounding my head against a wall trying to figure it out.

LOL

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

You do not "add a template" to anything (except in Confluence, you add them to the global or space lists of templates). 

Templates are forms, molds, or patterns used to create a new thing.  They shape the new thing and then have nothing else to do with it.

So, in Confluence, you use a template to create a page, the page takes on the shape defined in the template and then gets modified by people later.  The template is irrelevant after the page creation.

Template changes can't be applied to pages created with them, it doesn't make sense.

[Robert Mullins]

Not to be 'contrarian' but if I publish a blank page, and want to come back and add a template to it later it makes PERFECT sense.

I understand it cannot be done, but whether or not something 'makes sense' is a matter of perspective.

Key Take-aways:
1.  It's a blank page
2. No other templates have been applied
3. Makes sense to come back later and apply a template.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

You are not contrarian at all!  I would have said "rightly questioning" because I failed to explain the empty content scenario you asked about. I am sorry for that.

Templates do not just cover content. They shape some of the metadata too.

You can't apply a template to an empty page because there is already something in the page data that the template might affect, not just the body of the content.

The easiest way to think of this is that the "blank page" is created with a built-in template called something like "empty page".  A page created with no content was still created with a template.  (That is actually how it works in the code, last time I looked - the "create blank page" uses a built-in template)

[Robert Mullins]

That totally makes sense. I try to be specific, but I understand completely, trying to provide good advice when a person can't see what the user is seeing.  Your response makes much more sense now.

Still learning, still figuring it all out. 

Thanks for the follow-up, it means a lot.  Loving Confluence!