Filtering Confluence Content

[Patty Blount]

Is there a way to filter documentation based on labels? For example, like shopping for shoes, users can filter a large list of search results by size, color, shoe type, etc., and reduce the list of results with each option. "I want to see all shoes that are red in size 9 with a high heel."

Is there a way to do the same in doc so we can filter a list of search results by user role, by software feature, content type? For example, "I want to see all wiki pages labeled Developer Documention for the Backup feature, of content type Troubleshooting."

It looks like there is only one filter that can be selected, not a series of filters. Do you have any suggestions?

[Matthew J. Horn · Accepted solution]

You can use boolean AND to match only pages that share one or more labels:

https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+Search+Syntax

According to that page, something like this will work:

labelText:backup AND labelText:dev_docs

As for "content type", you mention "Troubleshooting". If that's the name of the space, then you can search by space like this:

spacekey:troubleshooting

So, to put it all together, this might work:

spacekey:troubleshooting AND labelText:backup AND labelText:dev_docs

But I suspect you're looking for something a bit more robust and customizable.

[Patty Blount]

Yes, something that wiki users could pick and choose to help them find the right information. Ideally, I want users to be able to customize the content they see, based on the labels that filter the search results.

We're designing a labeling strategy. We have audience (Developer, Partner, Customer), feature (various), content type (administration, implementation, development, troubleshooting).

Would love your suggestions on aiding search.

[Matthew J. Horn]

Well, we ultimately abandoned the Lucene-based search in Confluence and paid for GSS (Google Site Search) for our sites. You can check it out here:

http://devcenter.verivo.com

The GSS search box is in the upper right; the search results pages look pretty good.

GSS uses Google search results, so the content you index with it must be public. But with GSS, you can use customize refinements, auto-complete, synonyms, restrictions, sorting, and other features. You can also use GSS for "federated" search, meaning you can search across multiple sites and content types (Confluence, JavaDoc, HTML, etc).