Confluence Best Practices
The Power of Icons in Confluence
Visuals speak louder than words. That’s why we’re going to show you how to elevate
People remember just 20% of what they read, but a staggering 80% of what they see. That’s why icons in Confluence are so powerful. A simple Confluence emoji or a well-placed icon can quickly communicate information, making your content more engaging and memorable.
Let’s dive into how you can leverage icons to take your workspace to the next level.
Let’s dive into a detailed guide for using icons, emojis, and special characters within Confluence.
Edit your page: While editing your content, navigate to the toolbar and click on the emoji icon.
Select your emoji: A selection box will appear with a range of emojis for you to choose from. Just click on the one you want to add, and it will appear in your text!
You can speed up your emoji usage by using keyboard shortcuts. Here’s how it works:
Mac: Press CMD + CTRL + Space to quickly access emojis.
Once the emoji picker is open, simply type the name of the emoji (e.g., “heart” for ❤️) to find the emoji you want.
Want to spice up your pages with your emojis? Confluence lets you upload custom emojis to add a personalized touch to your content. However, custom emojis are not cross-platform compatible, meaning they might not show up well if shared outside of Confluence.
To add a custom emoji:
Click the emoji icon in the toolbar.
Click “Add your own emoji” from the dropdown.
Name your emoji and select the file. Then, click Choose File, find your image (it must be JPG, PNG, or GIF, and under 1MB), and upload it.
Click Open, and your custom emoji is ready for use!
These custom emojis are set to a standard size of 20×20 pixels. They’re an easy and fun way to bring personality to your pages, but remember, they may not be viewable on other platforms outside Confluence.
Once you’ve uploaded a new emoji, you can easily insert it into your content by using its keyboard shortcut. This is especially handy when the emoji menu isn’t readily available, like in inline comments.
Emoji shortcuts always start and end with a colon (:). For instance, if you’ve added a custom cat hand, you might type :cat: to insert it.
Screenshot: The keyboard shortcuts for our original emoticon set
If you’re looking for even more style ideas, there’s another third-party option: Aura.
Aura is a suite of powerful Content Formatting Macros designed to supercharge your Confluence experience. With Aura, you can effortlessly elevate the visual appeal and interactivity of your Confluence pages. This macro suite includes tools like Buttons, Cards, Dividers, Panels, Expands, and Karma Pro, allowing you to create visually stunning, user-friendly content that grabs attention and boosts collaboration.
Aura macros make it easy to design content that’s as functional as it is beautiful.
One of the standout features of Aura’s Content Formatting Macros is the ability to use Custom Icons. With Aura’s Custom Icons, you can upload up to 40 SVG icons and integrate them seamlessly into Aura macros like Buttons, Cards, Dividers, Panels, Expands, and Karma Pro.
Here’s why Aura’s Custom Icons feature can make a real difference:
Personalized Visual Appeal: Custom icons give you the flexibility to match your icons with your brand’s identity.
Organized and Secure Storage: Icons are securely stored as attachments within a dedicated Confluence space-
Editable Color Scheme: You have full control over your icon colors.
If you look in the Aura Settings, you will see the new Custom Icons entry. But everything still looks like this:
Setting up and using Custom Icons in Aura is easy. Here’s how to get started:
Create the Database: The Confluence Administrator needs to create a dedicated space called Aura Database Space to store the icons. Make sure that the space is accessible to everyone in your Confluence instance, and that the content inside remains unchanged.
Within the newly created Aura Database Space, create a page named Custom Icons. Now, the settings page has changed:
Upload Custom SVG Icons: Once your space is set up, head to the Aura Settings and navigate to the Custom Icons section. Click on the “Upload Icon” button to upload your custom SVG files (up to 40 icons). These icons will be securely stored as attachments in the Custom Icons page within your designated space.
Now that you’ve set up Custom Icons in Aura, you’re ready to start using them in your Confluence pages to create visually stunning and engaging content. One of the most effective ways to leverage these icons is by incorporating them into Aura Cards.
Insert an Aura Card Macro:
First, open the page you want to edit in Confluence. Once you’re in the editing mode, navigate to the Aura macros dropdown and select Card. This will insert a Card macro into your page.
Choose the Custom Icon for the Card:
With your Aura Card in place, you can now choose a custom icon to represent the card’s theme or content. To do this, click on the Card Settings and look for the Icon field. This is where you can select an icon from your Custom Icons library.
Once you’re happy with the placement and design, save the page and preview your Aura Card. The custom icon will now appear on your card, adding that extra visual touch that makes your content stand out.
While Confluence’s built-in emoji feature is convenient and fun for light content, Aura’s Custom Icons offer a whole new level of flexibility and professional polish that you just can’t achieve with standard emojis.
By adjusting the fill attribute in the SVG file, you can make icons match your Confluence page color schemes or even change them dynamically for different contexts. This means that your icons can adapt as needed, maintaining a consistent and polished look across your pages, without needing to upload different versions of the same icon.
Aura stores all your custom SVG icons in a dedicated Confluence space which keeps everything organized and secure. You can easily manage your icons, upload new ones, and delete the ones you no longer need. Plus, this centralized system ensures that your icons are always available for use, reducing the need to upload them repeatedly across multiple pages.
So, why settle for the standard when you can have custom, flexible, and brand-aligned icons that make a lasting impression?
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