Custom Decorator Malfunctioning
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian apps on the Data Center platform.
Note that this KB was created for the Data Center version of the product. Data Center KBs for non-Data-Center-specific features may also work for Server versions of the product, however they have not been tested. Support for Server* products ended on February 15th 2024. If you are running a Server product, you can visit the Atlassian Server end of support announcement to review your migration options.
*Except Fisheye and Crucible
Symptoms
Confluence is running and accessible, but some parts of the GUI are not accessible, or produce system errors.
You may see some ParseErrorExceptions in the atlassian-confluence.log file similar to the following:
2013-08-07 15:41:09,214 ERROR [http-8090-6] [opensymphony.webwork.dispatcher.VelocityResult] doExecute Unable to render Velocity Template, '/spaces/permissions/viewspaceperms.vm'
-- space: XXXXXX | url: /spaces/spacepermissions.action | userName: username | referer: BASE_URL/display/SPACEKEY/Home | action: spacepermissions
java.lang.RuntimeException: Error rendering template for decorator root
at com.atlassian.confluence.setup.velocity.ApplyDecoratorDirective.render(ApplyDecoratorDirective.java:186)
at org.apache.velocity.runtime.parser.node.ASTDirective.render(ASTDirective.java:175)
at org.apache.velocity.runtime.parser.node.SimpleNode.render(SimpleNode.java:336)
at org.apache.velocity.Template.merge(Template.java:328)
...snip...
Caused by: org.apache.velocity.exception.ParseErrorException: Encountered "#elseif" at @SPACEKEY/decorators/space.vmd[line 31, column 5]
Was expecting one of:
<EOF>
"(" ...
<RPAREN> ...
<ESCAPE_DIRECTIVE> ...
<SET_DIRECTIVE> ...
"##" ...
"\\\\" ...
"\\" ...
<TEXT> ...
"*#" ...
"*#" ...
<STRING_LITERAL> ...
<IF_DIRECTIVE> ...
<STOP_DIRECTIVE> ...
<INTEGER_LITERAL> ...
<FLOATING_POINT_LITERAL> ...
<WORD> ...
<BRACKETED_WORD> ...
<IDENTIFIER> ...
<DOT> ...
"{" ...
"}" ...
at org.apache.velocity.Template.process(Template.java:141)
at com.atlassian.confluence.util.velocity.ConfigurableResourceManager.loadResource(ConfigurableResourceManager.java:364)
at com.atlassian.confluence.util.velocity.ConfigurableResourceManager.getResource(ConfigurableResourceManager.java:305)
at org.apache.velocity.runtime.RuntimeInstance.getTemplate(RuntimeInstance.java:1400)
at org.apache.velocity.app.VelocityEngine.getTemplate(VelocityEngine.java:422)
at com.atlassian.confluence.util.velocity.VelocityUtils.getTemplate(VelocityUtils.java:110)
at com.atlassian.confluence.util.velocity.VelocityUtils.renderTemplateWithoutSwallowingErrors(VelocityUtils.java:94)
at com.atlassian.confluence.util.velocity.VelocityUtils.getRenderedTemplateWithoutSwallowingErrors(VelocityUtils.java:73)
at com.atlassian.confluence.setup.velocity.ApplyDecoratorDirective.render(ApplyDecoratorDirective.java:182)
... 281 moreCause
When Customizing Site and Space Layouts, it's possible to break certain GUI operations. This happens when the Velocity engine is unable to parse the custom decorator.
Resolution
You can use one of the following resolutions:
Remove or edit the offending layout by going to "Layouts" in Confluence Admin.
Alternatively, you can edit the decorator by hitting the URL directly. Use the following URL, replacing in the correct base URL and decorator name:
Global
http://<BaseURL>/admin/editdecorator.action?decoratorName=decorators/main.vmdSpaces
http://<BaseURL>/admin/editdecorator.action?decoratorName=decorators/main.vmd&key=SPACEKEYIf neither of the previous two solutions work, then you can remove the relevant row(s) from the decorator table directly, using SQL. Confluence must not be running whilst making any SQL changes:
Please prepare a full backup of your database and
<confluence-home>directory, prior to applying any queries-- Get a copy of the decorator in case you want to still modify it select body from decorator where decoratorname = 'decorators/main.vmd'; -- Remove the decorator delete from decorator where decoratorname = 'decorators/main.vmd';
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