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How is a Space Different From a Page in Confluence?

Understanding the difference between a space and a page in Confluence.

This article applies to: Confluence

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Spaces in Confluence

In Confluence, content is organized into spaces. There are two types of spaces:

  • Global spaces are areas on your site into which you can place content items (pages, attachments, news, etc) based on any theme or topic of your choice. For example, you may want separate areas on your site for each team or project within your organization. In Confluence, you can set up a different space for each team or project. You can build content for each of these spaces individually and decide who its users are.
  • Personal spaces belong to particular users, and rather than being listed on the Dashboard, are available from the Directory. Personal spaces are automatically created for Cornellians. The non-Cornell user is added to the people directory when they log in for the first time, but they still have to update their profile and create their personal space. Personal space can contain pages and news items. They can be searched and browsed. Personal spaces can be kept private, or opened up so the whole world can view and edit them, just like global spaces.

Confluence treats each space as an independently managed wiki. Each space functions autonomously within your site.

Each space:

  • has its own pages, news items, comments, RSS feeds and mail (mail applies to global spaces only).
  • has its own access control settings so you can set different levels of access to different spaces.
  • can be separately exported to PDF, MS Word, HTML, or XML.

Pages in Confluence

Pages are the primary means of storing and sharing information in Confluence. Pages are the building blocks of spaces.

In Confluence, pages are:

  • created easily from anywhere within the site
  • written using the editor
  • organized hierarchically via parent-child relationships between pages
  • navigated through flexible linking within and between spaces
  • tracked through page notifications
  • controlled through page security restrictions
  • are searchable, including attachments
  • exported to PDF, MS Word, HTML, or XML or e-mailed

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