Customise Space Layouts
You can modify Confluence's look and feel by editing the layout files. This page tells you how to customise the layout files for a space. You will require need space administrator permissions for that space.
If you're a Confluence system administrator, you can also customise the layout of your entire Confluence site. For more information, see Customising Site and Space Layouts. Site layout customisations modify the default layout of all spaces in the Confluence site.
Any space layout customisations will override the equivalent site customisations.
If you modify the look and feel of Confluence by following these instructions, you'll need to update your customisations when you upgrade Confluence. The more dramatic the customisations are, the harder it'll be to reapply your changes when upgrading. Please take this into account before proceeding with any customisations.
For more information on updating your customisations, please refer to Upgrading Customised Site and Space Layouts.
To edit the layout of Confluence, you will need to modify these decorator files. A decorator file is a .vmd file and is written in a very simple programming language called Velocity. Learn more about Velocity. Once you become familiar with Velocity, you can edit the decorator files to personalise the appearance of Confluence.
The decorator files in Confluence are grouped into the following categories:
- Site layouts: These are used to define the controls that surround each page in the site. For example, if you want to make changes to the header and the footer, you will need to modify these layouts.
- Content layouts: These control the appearance of content such as pages and blog posts. They do not change the way the pages themselves are displayed, but they allow you to alter the way the surrounding comments or attachments are shown.
- Export layouts: These control the appearance of spaces and pages when they are exported to HTML. If you are using Confluence to generate a static website, for example, you will need to modify these layouts.
Learn more about using decorators.
To edit a decorator file:
Go to the space and choose Space tools > Look and Feel from the bottom of the sidebar
- Choose Layout (Layout is displayed only if you are a Confluence system administrator.)
You'll see a list of the layouts for the space - Click Create Custom to edit the default vmd file
This will open up the vmd file in edit mode. If you only want to view the vmd file, click View Default. - Make any changes and click Update
You can't update the layout templates if your space is using the Documentation theme.
Screenshot : Edit Layouts Example
