Basic Field Types are perfect for easily capturing and storing information and metadata such as team members involved, a due date, or short descriptions. Since they require almost no configuration, a database is quickly set up and ready to use.

You can build your database from the following field types.

Text

The text field is great for short summaries or descriptions. For example, if you want to describe what a project is about.

OptionsDescriptionScreenshot
Allow line breaksEnabling this option is very convenient for longer texts such as descriptions. On the other hand, if you are documenting short strings such as license keys, you may want to disable this option.

Select

Select lists offer the possibility to provide users with predefined options to choose from. This allows entries to be described in more detail with keywords or assigned to specific categories such as teams.

OptionsDescriptionScreenshot
Add item

Within this option, you can create your selectable items, e.g., labels. 

Additionally, you can change the color of the items by clicking on the colored square and choosing a color.

Enable create optionActivate this option if you want to be able to create new selectable items within the database or macros on-the-fly.
Enable multi select

You can enable this option to select more than one option per entry.


User

In many cases, assigning specific users to each entry is very useful. Add a user field type to assign project owners to the respective projects.

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Enable multi select

You can enable this option to add more than one user to an entry and field.

Date 

With the date field type, you can add dates to every entry. Communicate important deadlines for projects or creation dates of new submissions. 

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Adding datesTo add dates to your entries, create the date field type and easily select dates from the drop-down menu.

Number

The number field can be used for values that should only contain numerals in a consistent format – for example, the expected project costs in dollars.

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Format

The format configuration defines in which format a number is displayed after it has been entered. It offers four presets for common formats: Number, Percent, Dollar, and Euro. 

Select the custom format if you need more control over how the number values are shown. This provides six additional settings:

  • Minimum fraction digits – Set the minimum number of digits after the decimal separator.
  • Maximum fraction digits – Set the maximum number of digits after the decimal separator.
  • Thousands separator – Select the character used to separate thousands.
  • Decimal separator – Select the character used to separate your decimal steps.
  • Prefix – Set a custom prefix shown at the beginning of your number.
  • Suffix – Set a custom suffix shown at the end of your number.

Image

Within the image field, you can add visual assets to your database, e.g., logos or pictures of team members.

OptionsDescriptionScreenshot
Insert imagesInsert images by creating the field and adding images per drag and drop or by clicking on the entry and selecting files from your device.

To connect your entries to external links outside of Confluence, the link field type comes in handy. You can link articles or pages from other tools to your Confluence documentation.

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Automatic link textBy enabling this option, the link text will be automatically drawn from the title of the linked web page. Otherwise, the link is displayed as a URL.

Enable multi select

You can enable this option to enter multiple links per entry.


Page link fields can link entries to existing Confluence pages as well as create new pages on-the-fly. For example, when managing projects, you can link and create a more detailed, project-specific page with each project entry directly in the database.

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Enable page creation 

Check this option to create new pages from the page link field. After that, additional settings are available that define the location and content of the newly created pages.

Page location for new pages

Choose between three options for the location of newly created pages:

  • Under fixed parent page – Select a fixed parent page for all pages created in this database.
  • Under dynamic parent page – If you have added the database as a macro to a Confluence page, this page serves as the parent page. This way, the page's location is aligned with the location of the macro. If the macro is deleted, you can still choose a fallback parent page for new pages.
  • Based on field value – The option requires at least one more page link field to be present in the database. Linked pages in that field of an entry are then used as parent pages for newly created pages. A fallback page selection is available if the referenced field does not contain a page link.


Initial content 

Set the initial content for each newly created page and choose between:

  • None – Created pages are created empty.
  • Database entry macro – This option adds the Orderly Entry macro at the top of each newly created page. The macro serves as an overview and displays all fields of the entry.
  • Templates – Select any Confluence template or blueprint as the initial content.




Enable multi selectYou can enable this option to link multiple pages within one entry and field.

The entry link field gives you the opportunity to link to entries from another database. For example if you have a customer database and database for customer projects, you can then link a customer project in one database with a customer from the other database. 

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Database

After giving the entry link field a name (e.g. customer), you can select the database you want to reference with this option.

When you have selected the database, you can enter the referenced entries by clicking into the entry box and selecting them by either choosing from the drop down menu or by typing.

The linked entries are then displayed based on the name of their title field in their original database.

Enable multi selectYou can also reference several entries from other databases within one entry of your currently worked in database by enabling multi select.

Jira Issue 

The Jira issue field allows you to link your database entry to one or multiple Jira issues. For example, if your team uses Jira to track their development efforts, you can use the Jira issue field to create a simple roadmap in Confluence.

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Jira Instance

This field type requires Confluence to be connected to a Jira instance. To learn more, please read Confluence-and-Jira.

You can use the Jira instance selector to pick the right version if you have multiple Jira instances connected.

Note: On some Confluence instances, it is not possible to select a Jira instance. In this case, the Jira instance configured as the primary application link is always used.

Enable multi selectYou can enable this option to link to multiple issues within one entry and field.

Additional Settings

Some settings are available to most field types.

OptionDescriptionScreenshot
Default value

Select a default value in several field types for new entries, for example, today's date or the current user.

Field descriptionAdd a description to a field for more context about the purpose or how it should be used. The description is displayed when you hover over the name of the field.