Write in One Space Using Page Restrictions

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Another approach to versioning is to use a single space for both authoring new documentation and publishing released documentation.

To version your documentation by writing in one space using page restrictions, start by creating an initial Confluence space for your documentation. For example "Docs". Your team can work together to author within the documentation space, writing documentation for your initial product release.

Major Versions Documentation

  1. When the first major version of your product is released, you can begin using the Docs space for publishing.
  2. To make an archive of this version, copy the space and name it after the version it represents. For example: "1.0 Archive".

  3. To begin working on the next version, within the same Docs space, copy any page you want to change naming it after the next version. For example: If the original page is "Create an Account", copy the page and title it: ".Create an Account 2.0"

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    Even though the page is restricted, it will still appear in Confluence search results. Because search results appear in alphabetical order, appending a period in the page title causes it to display near the end of the results. This is a good way to hide the content in search, if users read your documentation on a help site.

  4. Move the new page so it's the child of the original within the page hierarchy. Then, restrict view and edit access for the new page. This ensures only your team can access the draft content.
  5. Do this for all changes you want to include in the next version.
  6. When you're ready to release the next version, for each new child page, copy the content on the page, paste it in the original page, and delete the child page. In this way, pages in the Docs space contain the updated content for the newest version.

Minor Versions Documentation

  1. Changes for minor versions are handled the same way as changes for major versions. Be sure to name the copy of the page with the number of the version. For example: ".Create an Account 1.1".
  2. Releases are handled the same way as well.

Keep in Mind

  • This approach works well because your team is always authoring in one space, which you also use for the publishing of your latest documentation.
  • This approach can become burdensome when it's time to release the next version, as your team must manually copy and paste content and then delete pages.