---
title: "Pro tips"
canonical: "https://support.appfire.com/space/SUPPORT/89138650/Pro%20tips"
format: markdown
---
> ✅ **<span style="color: #000000">Have a tip of your own to share?</span>**<span style="color: #333333"> </span>[Drop us an email](mailto:support@appfire.com?Subject=SQL%20for%20Confluence%20-%20Pro%20Tip)<span style="color: #333333"> </span><span style="color: #000000">and we will reward you with some SWAG ;-)</span>

<span style="color: #000000">Eleven years, day in and day out, into this application, you learn a thing or two. We polled our team and asked them for their </span>*<span style="color: #000000">top 5 pro moves</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> while using </span>*<span style="color: #000000">SQL for Confluence</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> and here's what they said:</span>

## <span style="color: #000000">1. Start with a valid SQL</span>

<span style="color: #000000">Where possible, test your SQL using a native database client. This allows you to validate and optimize your statements before you use it in a </span>*<span style="color: #000000">SQL</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> macro.</span>

## <span style="color: #000000">2. Copy + paste </span>

<span style="color: #000000">When using </span>*<span style="color: #000000">SQL</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> macros on a page, it's often easier to copy and paste an existing </span>*<span style="color: #000000">SQL</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> macro and use it as a template. This saves time and it is ensured that the configuration works.</span>

## <span style="color: #000000">3. Cache for better performance</span>

<span style="color: #000000">If your Confluence pages have many visitors, you can drastically improve the page performance by </span>[caching](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/org.swift.confluence.cache/server/overview) <span style="color: #000000">your </span>*<span style="color: #000000">SQL</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> macro and reduce costly database round trips.</span>

## <span style="color: #000000">4. Use application data source profiles</span>

<span style="color: #000000">For larger environments, we strongly encourage that you configure our app to leverage</span> <span style="color: #000000">application data source profiles</span> <span style="color: #000000">and</span> <span style="color: #000000">data source profiles. Although there is slightly more configuration work, performance improvements can be quite significant. The following table lists where you can find this information:</span>

| **Version** | **Links to configure:** |
| --- | --- |
| <span style="color: #1d1c1d">11.x</span> | [Application data source profiles](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/x/eQBOCg) | [Data source profiles](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/x/ywFOCg) |
| 10.x | [Application data source profiles](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/x/fg5uB) | [Data source profiles](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/x/iw5uB) |
| 9.x | [Application data source profiles](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/x/-hRuB) | [Data source profiles](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/x/3BRuB) |
| 8.x | [Application data source profiles](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/x/zQxuB) | [Data source profiles](https://appfire.atlassian.net/wiki/x/6xNuB) |

## <span style="color: #000000">5. The Future is bright</span>

<span style="color: #000000">Our favorite pro tip is to leverage the</span><span style="color: #172b4d"> </span>[Future Macro](https://bobswift.atlassian.net/wiki/x/F4C1I)<span style="color: #172b4d"> </span><span style="color: #000000">for</span><span style="color: #000000"> Confluence pages that are busy with one or more </span>*<span style="color: #000000">SQL</span>*<span style="color: #000000"> macros or external calls. This macro allows your Confluence users to render some content right away while the server works its magic to present the remainder of the page in its entirety.</span>