Keep inline comments while editing Confluence Pages
Platform Notice: Data Center Only - This article only applies to Atlassian products 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
Summary
Confluence allows uses to comment on specific text selections via Inline Comments.
If the commented text is cut-pasted into another location, the inline comments will disappear.
Environment
Confluence versions 6.x, 7.x and newer.
Cause
Confluence compares Page versions after an update (previous vs. current) looking for changes.
If a piece of text that originally contained an inline comment is cut from its original location and pasted somewhere else, Confluence identifies that piece of text as Deleted and will Resolve the inline comment:
The comment itself is preserved and can be checked via Resolved comments, but it will not be visible in the Page's body anymore.
đź’ˇ There is an open Suggestion to preserve inline comments when text is moved around: CONFSERVER-42726 - Cutting and pasting an inline comment in editor resolves the inline comment.
Solution
An easy way to preserve the inline comments while editing is to use the Confluence Source Editor, which allows users to edit Storage Format directly.
⚠️ The App is marked as Server only, but will work just fine on Data Center versions as well.
ℹ️ Disclaimer about Atlassian Labs.
Steps:
Install the Source Editor
Navigate to a Page that contains inline comments
Click on Edit to enter Page Edit mode
Click on < > (Open in source editor) in the upper-right corner
Make the necessary changes and click on Apply
Click on Update to save the Page
While editing, make sure to select both the opening and closing 'ac:inline-comment-marker' tags:
In the example above, the word "fermentum" contains an inline comment.
Cutting lines 4, 5 and 6 (and then pasting it anywhere) will move the text and preserve the inline comment.
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