How a value appears on the page
A variable on a page reads like ordinary text. It sits inline in the paragraph at the same size as the text around it, and text, number and date values take the colour of the sentence. A User value shows the person's name.
#What readers see
Situation | What appears | Tooltip |
|---|---|---|
The reader can view the variable | The value | None |
The reader cannot view the space that holds the variable | [unavailable], muted | You do not have permission to view this value |
The variable was deleted, or the reader has no access to it | [unavailable] | This value was deleted, or you do not have access to it |
The reader is not signed in and the space is not public | [unavailable] | Sign in to view this value |
The value could not be loaded, even after a retry | [unavailable] | This value could not be loaded. Reload the page to try again. |
The macro has no variable chosen yet | Nothing | None |
#What authors see while editing
Situation | What appears |
|---|---|
No variable chosen | Choose a variable, muted |
The chosen variable cannot be shown | The variable's name with an Unavailable lozenge, and the same tooltip as readers get |
#When a change appears
Each time a page loads, the value is read fresh, as the person viewing it. When you save a new value, every page shows it the next time it is loaded or refreshed. Nothing is cached on the page itself, no page version is created and watchers are not notified.
If Confluence is busy or the network drops, the value is retried once after a short pause before [unavailable] is shown.
#A few things that catch people out
[unavailable] is usually not a fault. It is what a reader sees when they are not allowed to read the value, which keeps values in restricted spaces out of other people's pages.
The editor preview and the Capable Search side panel can show a value up to about 30 seconds old.
A variable inserted from the byline sits in its own paragraph. To put a value mid-sentence, insert it in the editor.
#Related
Reads like the sentence around it.
