My saved draft file disapeared

[Isabelle Tran]

Hi,

I was working on a draft until Jan 27 and this morning it disapeared. I didn't delete it. It is not on the deleted section either. The ony file that are still there are the old drafts. 

How can I retreive this file? 

Thank you

[Max Foerster - K15t]

Hi @Isabelle Tran, welcome to the community!

So you cannot find the draft anymore in your recent works but only see others/old drafts there?

There are two different options that I see from experience:

• Did you accidentally already publish the page?
• Did you delete the unpublished page from the menu?

It's not like pages just vanish, so maybe you can recall what you did with that page the last time you were editing it. 🤔

Best, Max

[Isabelle Tran]

Dear Max,

Thank you for your prompt answer. 

Yes that is correct, I can only see old files and not the most recent one. I didn't publish it but I went to preview and edit again. That was the only thing I did. 

It is not on the steps from your screen shot nor on the deleted sections either.

If I had pubished it. Wouldn't I see it as published? I should see it somewhere right? 

I really don't understand why it's nowhere to be found. I alm super stressed because I had a lot written in this draft. 

Thank you for you help;

Isabelle 

[Isabelle Tran]

In case I published it by mistake. Where can i see the published items? 

[Max Foerster - K15t]

You could have a look at the "Created by me" tab or search for the page title you gave it for starters. 👍🏽 Also look in the exact space where you started working on it.

[Isabelle Tran]

I looked as well on these tabs, the file is not there. 

[Max Foerster - K15t]

Okay, that does not sound too good. Do you recall what you did in the document before it disappeared? Did it only disappear this morning?

[Isabelle Tran]

i was just continuing to fill it in. And indeed this morning it was gone. 
If I did it by mistake it could be found on the trash box right ? 
If I published it by mistake it should be available to see also right ? 
Are you able to check my account to see on your side ? 
thanks for your help 

Isabelle 

[Max Foerster - K15t]

Hey Isabelle,

If you or anyone else deleted the page after publishing it, you will find it in the "Trash" tab in the space settings:

• Delete, restore, or purge a page

If you published it, you would find it in one of the tabs that we already talked about: "Worked on" or "Created by me". You can still try the advanced search looking for pages you created. 

Are you the only one working in your Confluence instance, and are you on the free plan as you selected when creating the question?

Could someone else have published it and maybe moved it somewhere you can't access it?

I have no way to check your account. I'm not part of Atlassian. :) You are in the Atlassian community and I'm just one of the people helping others out here. But we can try to escalate this later on.

Best, Max

[Isabelle Tran]

Hi Max,

Thank you very much for your help. I appreciate you taking the time helping out in this community. 

I have indeed a free plan. I guess it might be why. I need to pay to retrieve it you think? 

I am the only one working on this file. And I went through all the steps you just recommended but nothing. It really disapeared. I can only see the old file. 

I am devastated because I worked so many hours on that Strategic plan. 

I think I can't have the support of a person from Atlassian  being on a free plan. 

Thanks 

Isabelle 

[Max Foerster - K15t]

You're welcome. But wait for a second, what do you mean by:

"I can only see the old file."

What old file can you see? Do you mean an "old" page like in an older version?

So it was not a draft in the sense Confluence uses it? A draft is a page that has never been published before.

There are also saved pages with unpublished changes.
Maybe we should start over again to make sure not to miss anything:

• Is the page already published or still a draft? That's easy to distinguish in the UI:
  

From what you're telling me I have the feeling we're talking about changes made to a published page? :)

Can you maybe check if you find what you're looking for in the page history?

Best, Max

[Isabelle Tran]

Hi Max,

Can you please explain the steps to go to the first screen shot and the secon because I don't see the same thing as you. I dowloaded the orderly database as i could see on your screenshot thinking that it could be there but not. 

I can't locate where to find the Page history. 

I am very sorry to bother you. 

Thank you for your help again 

Best 

Isabelle 

[Max Foerster - K15t]

Hi @Isabelle Tran

The first screenshot was taken from the regular page tree of a space in my private test instance.

It was not necessary to download Orderly Databases! 😅 That's one of our apps at K15t, but it has nothing to do with what we're trying to achieve. It's just part of the sidebar in the APPS section.

Let me add some documentation on drafts in Confluence:

• Drafts - Create, edit, and publish a page

If you have a draft (unpublished page) in the page tree, you will notice it. 

To get to the page history, you have to be on the page and click on the "More actions" button in the upper right corner:

But hey, you forgot to explain what you meant by "I can only see the old file." :)

Best, Max

[Isabelle Tran]

Dear Max, 

Sorry for my late reply, I was away on business trip. 

Maybe it is me who doesn't understand anything but I don't see steps of your the screen shots. 

By old file I am drafts that I are just there but I am not working on them. I started but decided to use a different template in the end.  So I tried to publish some of them to see if the same thing happens. I think you might be right. I may have published it not on purpose. But still I can't retrieve them through the steps you are showing me. I am quite ambarassed and feel stupid.  

Do I need to upgrade the account? I don't see the cost of the membership by the way....

Thank you for your help!!! 

[Max Foerster - K15t]

Hey @Isabelle Tran

Don't worry! :) And no, you don't need to upgrade the account. You can find a pricing overview here: Confluence Pricing 

But maybe you want to invest the time and watch the free training Confluence Fundamentals 

I'm sure it will help you to gain a better understanding of Confluence and its terminology and gain more confidence in using it.

I still have no full understanding of what happened with your document, but at this point, I assume you lost the information you put on that page, most likely by accident, or it's buried in an earlier version of the page. Please try to access the page history and check earlier saved versions. You can to that by being on that page and checking the red highlights from my screenshot or following the documentation I provided.

Best, Max

[Shannon S]

Hi @Isabelle Tran

Thanks for raising this on Atlassian Community. I created a support ticket on your behalf to look into the problem more.

Please check your email for a link to the ticket. To speed things along, visit the ticket from the Atlassian Customer portal, where you can approve Atlassian Support's access to your site. If you have trouble with that, please let us know in the ticket.

Take care, and we'll speak to you soon.

Shannon | Atlassian Community Support

[Isabelle Tran]

Dear Max, 

I apologize for my late answer. Again, thank you very much for your support. I think there is somethign wrong with my set up because I don't find the pages you are showing on the screen shots. I just don't see the 3 dots to find the page history, I don't see how/ where I can see the published pages. I don't see all the options you are sharing with me. 

How can I get in touch with their customer service on a free plan? 

This file must be somewhere, either on the published or the deleted page that I can retrieve surely. 

Thank you again Max. 

[Isabelle Tran]

Dear Max,

Are you on holiday? 

Would it be possible to have a call where I can share my screen with you or someone from Atlassian? Because with all honesty, I made the step by steps with my collegue and we don't see all what you are sharing on the screen shots. I am on a verge of a nervous breakdown as it is such an important file I worked on. 

If Max is away, can someone else help?

Thank you very much Isabelle 

[Max Foerster - K15t]

Hey @Isabelle Tran

Can you provide me with an email address or way to contact you outside of the community? :)

Best, Max

[Isabelle Tran]

Hi Max, 

Sure 

Thank you so much!!! 

Best