How to display content only in 'edit' mode (and so, not visible in 'read' mode)?

[Nicolas Casel]

(For Confluence version 5.8.18)

I am looking for a way (macro?) to propose this:

in a wiki page, inserting some content that is displayed only in 'edit' mode (indeed, it would be some guidelines about how to manage content in edit mode). But when in 'reading' mode, this content would not be displayed.

Is there a macro that does this kind of job?

Thank you!

[Michelle Oliveri · Accepted solution]

The Page Properties Macro helped me hide content.  

1) Add the Page Properties Macro.

2) Add notes or instructions within the macro box.

3) Check the "Hidden" box within the macro.   

The content within the macro will not show unless you are in Edit mode (as long as the Hidden box is checked).    

[Serge Stalnoff]

Great! 

The content within the macro does not appear on the page, but you can find the page with this content using confluence search.

Thanks!

[Scott Beeson]

Not the most elegant solution, but it works!

[Christo Mastoroudes [Adaptavist] · Accepted solution]

Yes you can do this. 

Use the Confluence Source Editor addon, edit the page, click the "<>" button and put the following code.

<ac:placeholder>This text will only be visible in edit mode
</ac:placeholder>

If the answer solves your question please mark it as accepted so that it might benefit other people.

[Nicolas Casel]

Great, it works well! Thank you.

[Micheal Planck]

You can also create the placeholder text while editing a template page, then just copy it from the template page and paste it to the regular page. From @Gabriel Points

[Greg Jewett · Accepted solution]

If anyone still needs this, and your Confluence installation has a "DIV" macro, then you can insert that DIV Macro and modify the property called "Style" and put:  "display: none;"

That will force a CSS style to not display the content in the DIV.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

There's another trick to this if you want to do it without add-ons.

Create a new template, and look carefully for the formatting for guidance or placeholder text.  Create some text and make it that type.

Create a new page from the template, so you end up in edit mode.

Highlight and copy some of the placeholder text.

Paste it into the edit page for the page you want it on and then update the text to what you need there.

[Deleted user]

Great! worked for me (though i had to copy whole paragraph which included "instruction text" not just one line)

[Brandon Valley]

@Nic Brough -Adaptavist-  what do you mean by "make it that type"?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Select the text and change the formatting.

[James Gentes]

The icon doesn't exist on normal pages.. it must be a template, and it looks like a piece of paper:

While this solution is a bit convoluted, it does work well once you've copied the instructional text to the new page.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Yep, that's why I said "create a new template"

[Steve Carter]

If you have the HTML macro then you can add it as a bona-fide <!-- HTML comment. --> I have used this for the use-case you described: notes to the updater.  

[Robert Reiner _smartics_]

This feature is supported by the Section Macro (Hide Parameter).

I assume that this can also be achieved by a user macro and there are probably many macros that allow to hide content (e.g. see here). I'd recommend to check if there is already a macro with a 'hide' feature installed on your Confluence. ;)

The one I provided a link for is part of a free add-on on the Atlassian Marketplace. Please note that I'm one of the authors of this add-on. 

[Nicolas Casel]

Thanks Robert for your feedback.

I cannot find the 'Hide' parameter with the 'Section' macro:

[Robert Reiner _smartics_]

Thank you for you feedback!

You would need the Section Macro from the Project Documentation Add-on (the name is the same as the one of the Section Macro provided by Confluence).

[Michael Eskin]

Gliffy seems to be able to render previews in edit mode without image markup in their macro body. Any idea how they accomplish this? Their macro rich-text bodies are empty if you examine the page storage format...