---
title: "Confluence user permissions"
canonical: "https://support.appfire.com/space/CPCL/645334813/Confluence%20user%20permissions"
format: markdown
---
> Macro (aura-html)


## Overview

Space administrator permissions are required in the source and target space to configure publishing.

Confluence **view** and **edit** permissions in the source space and the target space are required to publish and sync a page. These permissions are required when

- publishing a [single page](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/646578988) as a page editor
- [publishing all the pages](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/647038008) in a space as a space administrator

Adding a page restriction to a page in the source space or a page in the target space affects its ability to be published by anyone not included in the restriction.

Publishing in a space can be configured to [use the Comala Publishing app add-on user permissions in the target space](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/1433075760) instead of the publishing user’s permissions. This allows pages to be published without needing specific user permissions in the target space.

## Confluence permissions to configure publishing

Space administrator permission is required in the source and target space to set up and configure publishing.

**Source space**

In the [publishing dashboard](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/646252290) of the selected source space, a space administrator can:

- use the publishing setup wizard to** Configure Publishing** in a space (space must not currently be in use as a source or target space)

![cpc_publishingdashboard_extract_configurepublishing_initialsetupwizardoption.png](media://f99ec2d9-dcaa-4eaa-a344-adc5dfea960b)

- manage the [publishing configuration](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/646252290) for an existing source space

![cpc_publishingdashboard_selectuserpermissionsforpublishingoption_targetspace publishingspacepublic_spacepublished.png](media://dc738057-a1fb-48af-9a04-a7b1aa0104df)

- use the ellipsis menu option **Clear Publishing configuration**

![cpc_publishingdashbaord_ellipsismenu_clearpublishingconfiguration.png](media://ad0ddf87-23b0-4737-bf8a-d9ebf2e4ccdd)

- [publish all the pages in the space](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/647038008) using **Publish space**

> 📝 For a space publishing action, the space administrator requires** view** and **edit** permission for all the pages in the source space and the target space. Page-level restrictions that do not include the space administrator may affect the ability to publish the page. The **Select user performing publishing action** option can be set to use the app add-on user permissions in the target space when publishing instead of the space administrator user permissions.

**Target space**

Setting up linked spaces for publishing requires space administrator permission in the target space as well as the source space.

In the [source space dashboard](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/646644089), when a space administrator chooses a target space where they do not have the necessary administrator permissions

- a warning message confirms they do have enough permissions in the target space
- the **Next** option is unavailable and greyed out

![cpc_spacepublishingdashboard_add_targetspace_no_requiredpermissions.png](media://b07f11c5-81ff-45f6-ba8c-b20ffd2f7620)

If the space administrator is changing the target space in an existing source space linked for publishing and does not have the necessary permissions in the new target space

- selected target space is greyed out
- a warning message is displayed confirming the user does not have enough permissions in the target space

![image](media://a116526a-070c-4354-b6f8-621aa2d788d4)

If you select a target space where you don’t have space administrator permissions, all other publishing configuration options are greyed out and inactive.

> ℹ️ When the permissions warning is displayed, you can refresh the dashboard to return the source space publishing configuration to the existing target space.

## Confluence user permissions for publishing

A user publishing a page from the source space to the target space requires **view** and **edit** permission in both spaces. Page-level **view** or **edit** restrictions for the publishing user also affect publishing.

You need at least the following [space permissions](https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Space+Permissions+Overview) in the **target space** to publish a page:

- **View All**
- **Add and Delete Pages**
- **Add and Delete Attachments**

![cpc_confluencespace_group_user_permissions_highlighed_min.png](media://46bae0a7-68b9-45f7-9d75-2c5a857cce8b)

> ℹ️ If you want to restrict your users from editing pages in the target space, publishing can be configured to use the [Comala Publishing add-on user target space permissions](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/1433075760).

**View** and **edit** permissions are required

- as a page editor [publishing a single page](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/646578988) using the publishing dialog box on a page

![cpc_publishingpopup_outosync_sourcespace_publishbutton.png](media://b60c8d15-f321-4ce9-ab1b-f551c6dfd45a)

- as a space administrator, publishing all the pages in the space using [space publishing](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/647038008)

Pages with **view** and **edit **restrictions for the user are not displayed in the [publishing report](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/1072562207):

### User without edit permission on a source space page

If a user only has **view **permission for a page in the source space

- the publishing state byline is not displayed
- there is no access to the publishing dialog box on the page
- the user cannot publish the page using [single-page publishing](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/646578988)

When a space administrator does not have **edit** permission on a source space page, the page is not included in a [space publishing](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/647038008) action

> 📝 The unpublished page is not reported or included in the list of '**Pages not published**' in the [whole space publishing report](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/647004645).

### User without edit permission on a published page in the target space

When the target space page has a page-level edit restriction, in the source space, a user with edit permission on the source space page:

- can view the publishing state byline
- can open the publishing dialog box

![cpc_publishingpopup_no_publishbutton.png](media://9eb7cb29-98a1-4601-b655-3a65f5d44acf)

However,

- they cannot publish the page - the **Publish** button for single-page publishing (if enabled in the space) is not displayed
- the page is not included in a [space publishing](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/647038008) action by a space administrator when they do not have edit permission on the target space page.

> ℹ️ The **View Published Version** button is displayed in the publishing dialog box on the page, but the link is unavailable unless you have view permission on the target space page.

As a space administrator, you can configure the **User Permissions for Publishing** setting in the source space to [use the Comala Publishing for Confluence add-on user’s permissions in the target space](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/1433075760). This allows pages to be published without needing specific user permissions in the target space. This setup is helpful for compliance needs, as it prevents users from editing published pages in the target space.  

## Publishing using the app add-on user permissions in the target space

Publishing in a space can be configured to [use the Comala Publishing app add-on user permissions in the target space](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/1433075760) instead of the publishing user’s permissions. For new spaces, the app-add-on user is selected by default in the **Select user performing publishing action** setting.

![cpc_publishingdashboard-selectuserperformingpublishingaction_setting_extract.png](media://f90e1832-5596-424a-ba78-239dfd8c7654)

This allows pages to be published without needing specific user permissions in the target space. The **Comala Publishing for Confluence Cloud** app add-on user permissions in the target space are used for publishing actions.

 The **Select user performing publishing action** option is set using a dropdown menu.

![cpc_selectuserforpublishing_appuser_selected_dropdownoptions.png](media://f9f0dcfe-88f5-4ef1-a826-1b512cd88155)

- **Comala Publishing for Confluence Cloud **app add-on user
- **User responsible for the action**

Using the app add-on user for publishing lets you remove user edit permissions in the target space and can support compliance with published documents.

The Comala Publishing app add-on user is added to all the spaces in the Confluence Cloud site by default with the following permissions:

![cpc_confluencespace_user_publishinguser_permissions_highlighed_min.png](media://2bae0a87-43d2-494c-9a01-3cc845885e43)

> 📝 You should not change the space permissions for the app user! The app add-on user permissions are used, for example, when publishing using an applied Comala workflow.

## Publishing permission conflicts and errors

#### Error - user with ONLY VIEW permission in target space

A user is unable to publish a new page in the source space  if they have

- **view** and **edit** permission in the source space
- but only **view** permission in the configured target space

![cpc_targetspacepublishingerror.png](media://92d87da5-4cee-4839-aec4-67bb9f8dbe0c)

#### Error - user without view or edit permission in target space

A user is unable to publish a new page in the source space  if they have

- **view** and **edit** permission in the source space
- but no page permissions in the configured target space

![image](media://8f8c2bf2-27db-418f-b640-6e82f1b5e5d3)

#### Error - when permissions change on an existing published page in the target space

If a page has already been published and synced to the target space, subsequent publishing actions are affected if the page-level permissions change and cause a publishing conflict.

> Macro (excerpt)
> 
> If the user publishing the page has **view** and **edit **permission on the source space but
> 
> - only **view** permission on the target space
>   - an error message is displayed when trying to publish a page
> 
> ![cpc_error_message_couldnotcopypage.png](media://e9dd58b1-91ef-457f-bbd6-197d2705a04c)
> 
> In some cases, the page can be published as a new page in the target space without an error, and the page name can be appended with a number in brackets
> 
> ![cpc_projectteams_page_name_displayed_with_brackets_sidebar.png](media://c23a1711-f9cf-4516-9d9b-7c6c7adb0623)
> 
> > 📝 The publishing user does not see the original published page in the target space - they do not have **view** permission.
> 
> For example, when publishing a source space page, **Project Teams **with an existing target space page with added page restrictions that affect the publishing user
> 
> - a duplicate target space is created and synced **Project Teams (2)**
> 
> ![Screenshot 2024-07-26 at 17.55.21.png](media://53ebf353-afb1-43e1-8cb6-2943e5f9abf8)
> 
> > 📝 To see both pages in the target space, the user must have at least **view** permission for each page.
> 
> - subsequent publishing actions sync to this new page
> 
> The previously published page in the target space displays the last publishing state byline before the publishing conflict occurred and a **View source** link in the publishing popup. However, it is not synced for publishing.
> 
> One of the target space pages must be removed to prevent publishing conflicts:
> 
> - if the original **<Pagename>** is removed, a subsequent publishing action removes the appended number brackets on the alternate **<Pagename>(2)** page
> 
> Publishing conflicts and errors can be generated when:
> 
> - someone with no page restrictions for the original target space page publishes the source space page
> - removal of the page restrictions without removing the alternate page
> 
> You must remove one of these pages to solve this publishing conflict and clean up your target space.

> Macro (excerpt)
> 
> You can resolve the publishing conflict by deleting one of the linked target space pages.
> 
> For example:
> 
> - delete the original target space page
> - publish and sync the source page again
> 
> The target space page name is updated, and the appended **(2)** is removed.
> 
> > ⚠️ If the publishing user has **view** and **edit** permission for the **Project Teams** page and the **Project Teams (2)** page, the source page cannot be published, and an unexpected error message is displayed.

See [https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/1163624974](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CPCL/pages/1163624974) for details on how to resolve this publishing conflict.