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How to Make Text Bold in Confluence (Ctrl+B, Toolbar & Markdown)

· 3 min read

Bold text is one of the most common formatting actions in Confluence — for headings, callouts, and emphasis inside paragraphs. There are two ways to do it: the toolbar button / keyboard shortcut in the standard editor, and Markdown syntax inside Enhanced Markdown for Confluence. This guide covers both, plus the common "why isn't it working" cases.

What you'll learn
  1. The standard editor method — B button or Ctrl+B / Cmd+B
  2. The Markdown method — **bold** syntax
  3. Bold vs italic vs strikethrough
  4. Fixing bold that renders as literal asterisks

How to Add a Block Quote in Confluence (3 Methods Compared)

· 5 min read

A block quote sets a passage apart from the surrounding text — usually indented with a left border — to indicate that the words are quoted from another source. Confluence does not have a dedicated "quote block" button, but there are three reliable ways to create one. This guide walks through each and helps you pick the right one.

What you'll learn
  1. The native method (toolbar Indent) — no app required
  2. The Markdown method (> syntax) — fastest for keyboard users
  3. The macro method (Content Formatting) — most styling control
  4. How to nest quotes and add attribution

Forge vs Connect: What Atlassian Admins Need to Know in 2026

· 10 min read
Quick Answer

Forge and Connect are the two frameworks Atlassian Marketplace apps can be built on. Forge runs on Atlassian's own infrastructure; Connect runs on vendor-hosted servers. Starting January 1, 2026, Atlassian applies a penalty to Connect apps in Marketplace rankings and requires Forge for new Cloud Fortified status. For admins evaluating apps in 2026, Forge is the safer, more future-proof choice where a capable option exists.

What you'll learn
  1. The real architectural difference between Forge and Connect
  2. What the 2026 Connect penalty changes for app discovery and trust
  3. How to tell which framework an app uses before you install it
  4. A practical decision framework for evaluating apps in 2026

If you administer Jira or Confluence Cloud, every app you install from the Marketplace runs on one of two frameworks: Forge or Connect. For years the difference was mostly an implementation detail that admins could ignore. In 2026 that changed. The Connect penalty, the Cloud Fortified requirement, and Atlassian's clear strategic direction mean the framework an app uses now affects its security posture, its discoverability, and how long it will keep working. This guide explains what changed, why it matters, and how to make better app decisions because of it.

How to Choose a Markdown Editor for Confluence

· 6 min read
Quick Answer

Confluence has no native Markdown editor. To write pages in Markdown you need a Marketplace app. The right choice depends on how your team works: occasional converters need a simple paste tool; engineering teams writing specs, docs, and equations daily need a full Markdown macro with live preview, math, and diagram support.

What you'll learn
  1. Why Confluence needs a Markdown app (and what happens without one)
  2. The four categories of Markdown tools for Confluence
  3. A decision framework for picking the right one
  4. What features matter most for technical vs non-technical teams

Developers, technical writers, and data scientists think in Markdown. READMEs, API docs, pull request descriptions, and design specs are all written in it. But Confluence — where most of that knowledge ends up living — has no native Markdown support. Pasting Markdown into the WYSIWYG editor produces broken tables, literal asterisks, and lost formatting. This guide walks through the options so you can pick the right Markdown approach for your team without trial and error.

How to Evaluate an Atlassian Marketplace App: A Security Checklist

· 10 min read
Quick Answer

Before installing any Atlassian Marketplace app, run it through this checklist: verify Cloud Fortified status, confirm whether it is Forge or Connect, review the OAuth scopes it requests, read its privacy and data handling disclosure, and check its install count, ratings, and release cadence. Apps that pass all five are low-risk; apps that fail any of them deserve a closer look before they touch your production site.

What you'll learn
  1. The trust signals Atlassian exposes on every Marketplace listing
  2. How to read an app's permission scopes before installing
  3. Why Forge and Connect carry different security burdens
  4. The questions to ask a vendor during a security review
  5. A copy-paste checklist you can run on any app in under five minutes

The Atlassian Marketplace has thousands of apps, and installing the wrong one can expose your Jira and Confluence data to a vendor you have never vetted. The good news is that Atlassian surfaces most of what you need to make a safe decision directly on each listing — if you know where to look. This guide is a practical checklist for evaluating any Marketplace app before it lands on your site, written for the admins who get asked "is this app okay to install?" and need to answer with confidence.

Jira vs Confluence: What Each Is Actually For (with Examples)

· 9 min read
Quick Answer

Jira and Confluence are two different Atlassian products that are often bought together but solve fundamentally different problems. Jira tracks work — issues, sprints, backlogs, and workflows. Confluence documents knowledge — pages, decisions, specs, and team context. They connect natively so an issue and the page explaining it stay linked. Use Jira for "what are we doing and who is doing it," and Confluence for "why are we doing it and how does it work."

What you'll learn
  1. The core purpose of each product (with a one-line definition you can repeat)
  2. What Jira is good at and bad at
  3. What Confluence is good at and bad at
  4. How they connect natively
  5. A practical decision guide: which tool for which task

Jira and Confluence are the two products most people picture when they hear "Atlassian." They are frequently sold together, deeply integrated, and yet regularly confused — even by teams that use both every day. This guide explains what each is actually for, where each one shines and struggles, and how to decide which tool a given piece of work belongs in. The goal is to give you a mental model you can apply to any task, not a feature checklist.

Atlassian Marketplace App Selection Criteria for Enterprise

· 7 min read
Quick Answer

Enterprise teams evaluating Atlassian Marketplace apps should check ten criteria: Cloud Fortified status, Forge vs Connect framework, OAuth scopes, privacy disclosure, Bug Bounty participation, data residency, vendor viability, support SLA, adoption signals, and release cadence. This guide walks through each so your security and procurement teams can make confident decisions.

What you'll learn
  1. The 10 criteria every enterprise should check before approving an app
  2. How to assess vendor viability and long-term risk
  3. What documentation to request from vendors during procurement
  4. A scoring rubric you can apply to any app in under 10 minutes

Installing a Marketplace app in an enterprise Atlassian environment is not the same as installing a browser extension. The app gains access to your Jira issues, Confluence pages, and potentially your entire collaboration surface — so the evaluation process needs to be rigorous. This guide covers the ten criteria that security, procurement, and IT teams should check before approving any app for enterprise deployment.

Mermaid vs PlantUML vs Graphviz for Confluence: Which Diagram Tool to Choose

· 7 min read
Quick Answer

Mermaid, PlantUML, and Graphviz are the three most popular text-based diagramming languages. Mermaid is the easiest to learn and covers the widest range (29 diagram types). PlantUML excels at detailed UML with precise notation control. Graphviz is best for technical network and dependency graphs. Most Confluence teams should start with Mermaid and add Graphviz for network diagrams if needed.

What you'll learn
  1. The strengths and weaknesses of each tool
  2. Which diagram types each one supports
  3. How easy each is to learn and use
  4. A practical recommendation for Confluence teams

Text-based diagramming — writing a few lines of code that render into a diagram — is how modern teams keep diagrams in sync with their documentation. No more drawing boxes by hand in Visio, exporting screenshots, and pasting them into Confluence where they go stale. With text-based diagrams, you edit the source and the diagram redraws instantly.

But there are three major text-based diagramming languages, and they are not interchangeable. Each has different strengths, different syntax, and different ideal use cases. This guide compares Mermaid, PlantUML, and Graphviz so you can choose the right one (or combination) for your Confluence team.

What Is Atlassian Rovo? (And How It Differs from Atlassian Intelligence)

· 10 min read
Quick Answer

Atlassian Rovo is the cross-platform AI layer for Atlassian Cloud. It does three things: Search across Jira, Confluence, and connected SaaS tools; Chat that answers questions grounded in your organization's knowledge; and Agents that carry out multi-step tasks autonomously. It is different from Atlassian Intelligence, which is the in-product AI engine — Rovo uses that engine and extends it across your entire toolchain.

What you'll learn
  1. What Rovo actually does (Search, Chat, Agents, Studio)
  2. The precise difference between Rovo and Atlassian Intelligence
  3. Which data sources Rovo can reach
  4. How Rovo Agents work and what they can do
  5. What Rovo means for admins and how to prepare your content for it

If you have heard the name "Atlassian Rovo" and are not sure whether it is a new product, a rebrand of Atlassian Intelligence, or something your team should adopt, you are not alone. The naming overlap confuses most teams. This guide explains what Rovo is, how it relates to the AI features you may already be using, and what it changes for the people who administer Atlassian Cloud.

How to Build Modern Confluence Pages in 2026: Hero Sections, Medium-Style Articles, QR Codes, Surveys, and More

· 9 min read
Who should read this
  • Confluence admins and space owners who want their intranet, portal, or knowledge base to look professional
  • Marketing and product teams building landing pages, announcements, and product updates in Confluence
  • Anyone who has ever thought "I know what I want this page to look like — I just can't make Confluence do it"
What you'll learn
  1. How to make a Confluence page read like Medium (drop caps, clean typography, bilingual mode)
  2. How to add a proper hero section with CTAs — something the native editor doesn't have
  3. How to style tables without fighting the editor
  4. How to add QR codes, collect survey responses, and define glossary terms inline — all without external tools

Take a look at your most-visited Confluence page right now. Does it look like it belongs on the modern web — or does it look like internal documentation from 2015?

If your answer is the latter, you're not alone. Teams across thousands of Confluence sites tell us the same story: "I know exactly what I want my page to look like. I just can't make Confluence do it."

In this guide, we'll show you six concrete ways to level up your Confluence pages — from Medium-style reading layouts to interactive surveys — all without leaving your editor.