Smart buttons for automation in Confluence
A smart button is a control that lets a user launch an automation flow. Flows are automated workflows constructed in an “If This, Then That” format.
Contributors with edit permission on a page can add smart buttons that let users trigger automation flows from the current page. One use for this would be to let you automatically notify a reviewer that the page is ready for them to read.
Each flow is made by combining different types of steps: triggers, conditions, branches, and actions. Think of steps as the building blocks of a flow. (If you’ve used automation in other non-Atlassian products, you may have also seen this described as the ingredients that make a recipe.)
Smart buttons in Edit mode
While editing a page, you can add, remove, or copy automation smart buttons.
Add a smart button
Select the pencil icon () to enter Edit mode.
Select the insert menu ( icon) from the toolbar or type
/smart buttonto bring up the insert menu from the page.Select Smart button.
The smart button panel opens on the right side of the screen. From this panel, choose a template.
The smart button panel shows the selected template. Edit the values in each step to set up how your flow will run.
Select Save button to activate the button on the page.
Select Publish or Update to let readers use the new button.
Remove a smart button
To remove a smart button:
Select the pencil icon () to enter Edit mode.
Hover your cursor over the Smart button and select Delete (trash can icon).
Using smart buttons in page templates
You can add a smart button to a template, but it can only be configured after the template has been applied to a page.
Select the insert menu (+ icon) from the toolbar or type
/smart buttonto bring up the insert menu from the page.Select Smart button.
Save the template.
Navigate to a space and create a new page.
Select the smart button.
Select the pencil icon to enter Edit mode.
The smart button panel opens on the right side of the screen. From this panel, choose a template.
The smart button panel shows the selected template. Edit the values in each step to set up how your flow will run.
Select Save button to activate the button on the page.
Select Publish or Update to let readers use the new button.
Copy a smart button
To copy a button:
Select the pencil icon () to enter Edit mode.
Hover your cursor over the smart button and select Copy (files icon). The smart button will be copied to your clipboard.
Navigate to a different page or blogpost.
Select the pencil icon () to enter Edit mode.
Paste the contents of your clipboard (Cmd + V on Mac or Ctrl + V on Windows) into the editor.
Select Update to let readers use the button.
The copy of the button will refer back to the same flow as the original button. Edits to the flow will affect both the original button and the copy.
Run a smart button automation on a page
Anyone with view permissions to a page can hover their cursor over the smart button to see what actions it will take.
Hover over the button to see a preview of what the automation flow will do.
Select the button to run the flow.
The button will briefly show a loading state and progress message and then return to its original state.
While a user with read access to the page and its space can select the button, the automation flow will still respect that person’s permissions when editing or adding content to Confluence. If a user doesn’t have edit permission for the space where the flow runs, it will fail.
Managing smart buttons
Global and space admins can copy, edit, and delete the flows associated with a smart button in the Automation panel.
Changing or deleting a flow can disconnect it from any smart buttons that run the flow. Deleting a flow will not delete the smart button from the page.
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