Two different types of tiny links? which to use?

[Mark de Bont]

When sharing a link to a page via Link Page / Share page results in two different links.

But both point to the same page.

When getting the link, using Share, the link changes with each revision change. While the other does not.

So what is the difference between the two (Tiny?) links and which one is best to use?

[Dominik Spescha]

Hello guys,

I asked Atlassian about the difference between the link that will be generated when you use the share button in Confluence cloud (it is always different after a page refresh) and the other "copy link" function next to the share button. I think it is a similar topic as the one you discussed here. They opened a feature request here. Probably this helps.

Cheers,
Dominik

[Chris Kite]

I wanted to post an update for anyone who stumbled upon this:

Comments I previously had posted reflected the Confluence interface/functionality at that time, and some things have changed since then:

1. On Confluence pages, there is now a small chain/link icon that copies the Tiny Link version of a page to the clipboard.
2. Atlassian since added the ability to create public links to non-anonymous pages when using the "Share" button which explains why the URL is different.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

It's better to use the tiny link, in my opinion.  If you move the page to another space, the standard URL will change to include the new space key, but the tiny URL will not change.

[Chris Kite]

He's not talking about the standard/full URL. I just noticed the same thing and found this via Google when looking for the answer.

In cloud when on a page and I click the blue "Share" button and choose "Copy Link", it uses a <mysite>.atlassian.net/l/cp/XXXX link where the XXXX part of the link changes every time I hit refresh. I do not need to revise the page for this link to change, I simply refresh the page in the browser, click Share then Copy link and it is different every time.

However if I click the 3 dots and go to Advanced > Page Information (or press "k" on your keyboard) then the Tiny Link uses a <mysite>.atlassian.net/wiki/x/XXXX format and does not change on refresh.

I didn't even realize the old /wiki/x style tiny links still existed. What's the point of the two different formats and why does one of them change?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Um, no.

They're different things.

The tiny link for a page is a unique and immutable link for the latest version of the Confluence page within the installation.

The shortened link for sharing a page is for sharing a page, it can be changed and it can go away.

[Chris Kite]

If you were sharing a page, why would you not want to share a unique, immutable link? What is the purpose of a secondary link not based off of the /wiki path?

In Confluence Server, when sharing a page it presented the tiny (static) link. Moving to Cloud it presents the /l/cp link, which is why when we moved to cloud I had no idea the /wiki/x/ tiny link still existed. I assumed Cloud did tiny links differently. 

Googling "confluence cloud tiny link" I can't find any page that talks about the actual tiny link. The ONLY page I was able to find about it was by searching google for

site:https://support.atlassian.com/confluence-cloud "tiny link"

And a single result https://support.atlassian.com/confluence-cloud/docs/delete-restore-or-purge-a-page/ comes up which barely mentions the tiny link. It doesn't mention quickly accessing it via the "k" shortcut nor does it mention how it differs from the Share button.

The "Share a page or blog post" article in the Cloud documentation also does not mention that this link differs from the tiny link OR that it can change on every refresh. And I'd assume it's immutable as well because there's no expiration settings nor does the documentation make any mention of the link ever expiring. And sharing doesn't automatically grant access to anyone being invited, so it's literally the exact same page as the Tiny Link but with a link that is unique on each refresh for no apparent reason? NO WHERE does it say the share link can go away and would only make sense if this had a permission/expiration sharing system ala OneDrive/DropBox etc.

So again, what is the purpose or use case for there being two different links when they both link to the exact same thing (it doesn't mask the page name, it simply redirects) with the exact same permissions and don't expire?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

The immutable tiny link is a url for the page within the application.

Sharing a page means you are creating a (possibly temporary) place for a page to be seen without someone having access to the application (including any other pages that might exist)

Browsing a Confluence system, and getting a shared page from someone are two totally different actions.

[Chris Kite]

Except that's not true.

Nowhere in the documentation https://support.atlassian.com/confluence-cloud/docs/share-a-page-or-blog-post  does it state that the link is "possibly temporary" so not sure why you keep mentioning that.

As well, the docs explicitly state:

When a page has view restrictions, sharing it with someone won’t automatically give that person access to the page. Before sharing, check the page’s permissions settings to make sure the person you’re sharing with will have access.

And then further down the page:

When you share content with someone outside Confluence Cloud, we send them an email inviting them to join your site. They’ll be prompted to create an Atlassian account before they can access your page or blog post.

When you invite an external user, you grant them access to Confluence, not just to your page. We add them to the default product group and start billing you for the new user.

I agree that it's better to use the Tiny Link but in that case why is it not just used as the Share link? Or why is it not intuitive to access unless you happen to know the keyboard shortcuts? Both link types redirect to the normal full URL. And neither grants special permissions. The page still has to either be anonymously accessible or the user has to have a log in with permissions to view the space/page. So how exactly are they two "totally different actions"? The literally don't do anything different except Share let's you enter in some recipients and it will automatically send them an email.

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

A share might be temporary because you can revoke / remove it.

Shares and fixed pages are different things.  When you use the share link, it's a URL to a thing that you are sharing.  The tiny link is a URL that points to the page in the application.  (The latest version of it)

[Chris Kite]

How exactly do you revoke or remove a shared link? I see nothing regarding that in the documentation nor have I seen any interface for that.