Unable to delete row from a Confluence table

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

Problem

There is a single or multiple number of rows in a table on a Confluence page that can't be deleted. The row itself may have no content or may have dummy text, but it still can't be deleted.

Diagnosis

  • You can't add a new row above or below the affected row.

  • Highlighting the affected row to remove it doesn't work.

  • Clicking on the 'Remove row' button to remove the affected row doesn't work.

Cause

This is because the colspan and rowspan values are negative. This can be found in the storage format of the affected row:

1 <td class="highlight-green" colspan="-2" rowspan="-8">

Solution

Resolution

  1. Install Confluence Source Editor if you don't already have it installed.

  2. Edit the affected page(s).

  3. Click on the <> symbol on the top right corner of the page editor.

  4. Search for the text inside of the affected row to locate its storage format. If the row is blank, add some dummy text into the row and search for the text in the Confluence Source Editor popup.

  5. Locate the colspan and rowspan values for that row.

  6. Change any negative values to positive values. For example, this will work:

    1 <td class="highlight-green" colspan="1" rowspan="1">
  7. Click on 'Apply'.

  8. Try to remove the row – you should be able to now.

Updated on April 2, 2025

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