Metadata macro

The Metadata macro renders a single piece of workflow- or page-related data inline in the page body. Each macro shows one field; place multiple macros for multiple values.

Configuring the macro

Inserting Aura Workflows Metadata from the editor’s macro picker opens a configuration dialog split into Page Data and Workflow Data. Page Data items read from the Confluence page itself: Page author, Page owner, Page version, Page ID, Page title, Page URL, Last modification date, Last updated by, Publish link, and Variable value. Workflow Data items read from the workflow attached to the page: Workflow status, Expiration date, Date status reached, and Date status approval.

Most items commit as soon as you pick them. Five carry their own settings panel, indicated by a gear icon on hover. Variable value asks for a workflow variable name. Date status reached and Date status approval ask for one or more state names and whether to take the first or last occurrence; the approval variant also asks whether to count approvals or rejections. Expiration date asks whether to read the current state or a specific named one. Publish link has no settings but behaves directionally — on a source page it links to the published copy, on the published copy it links back.

Every item except Publish link offers a Base value on original page toggle. On (default), the macro reads from the source page and its workflow at the time of publishing, falling back to the current page when no link exists. Off, the relationship reverses. This matters mostly for publish-flow workflows where a draft is mirrored to a published space.

What it does not do

Caution

The Variable value option only renders workflow variables — the @-style placeholders defined under Variables in the workflow sidebar. It does not render values from Additional Metadata fields. There is currently no way to surface a metadata field’s value inside the page body with this macro.

The values are still visible in the byline’s Page variables modal and indexed by Confluence search. The practical workaround when in-page rendering matters is to store the same datum as a workflow variable instead.

Rendering and types

Output is plain inline text in every case except Publish link, which renders as a link. Dates are formatted in the viewer’s locale with a long month name. Users render as their display name; Variable value pointed at a users-type variable joins the resolved user and group names with commas. Numbers and text render verbatim. Workflow status renders the current state name as plain text — the styled badge belongs to the dedicated Status macro.

Empty, missing, and stale states

The macro is forgiving: when there is nothing to show, it renders nothing rather than an error. A Variable value macro pointing at a name that does not exist, an Expiration date on a state that has no expiration, a Date status reached for a state the page has never entered, or any field on a page that is not running a workflow all collapse silently. Expiration date is the exception — when the workflow signals a reason (such as an indefinite expiration), it renders that message instead of a date.

Renaming or deleting the referenced variable or state leaves the macro pointing at a name that no longer resolves; it then renders nothing until reconfigured. Configuration is stored on the macro instance, not on the workflow, so it survives workflow edits but does not migrate with renames.

Live updates and multiple instances

Values are read fresh whenever the page renders — there is no per-page caching. A transition, a new approval, or an edited variable shows up on the next page load. A page can carry as many Metadata macros as needed, each configured independently — a typical summary block might combine Workflow status, Expiration date, Page owner, and a Variable value side by side.

See variables and metadata fields for background, or the macros overview for the full set.