@Ethan - do you know when this feature will be available in Jira Cloud? Is there a routine process for editor changes to be 'ported' over to Jira?

Hi all, late update to inform y'all that this ticket is being closed. The feature was rolled out to production earlier this year and has implemented the scope outlined in the description of the ticket.

I have created a separate ticket to capture the follow-up requests to maintain numbering across split numbered lists: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFCLOUD-77081

As of now, the work for this follow-up ticket is unlikely to be picked up anytime soon. However, the team will continue to monitor the ticket for customer demand to inform future prioritisation.

Thanks all,
Ethan

I believe there is a better workaround than inserting a line break.

My solution involves inserting an actual paragraph into an <li> element.

I do not know whether this solution works on Cloud. I have only used it on Server.

Let us assume that you wish to include some additional content inside an <li> element. This content might be simply a paragraph, an image, or a macro.

To do so:
1. When you are at the end of the line in a list item, press Ctrl+Shift+D. This shortcut opens the Insert markup window. Obviously, you can also open the window from the menu but it takes more time.
2. In the Insert markup window, enter any text (for instance, 'asd') and click the Insert button.

Now, the text that you have entered is added as a paragraph which is part of the <li> element. You only need to backspace the random text and replace it with the desired content.

Disclaimer: Once again I emphasise that I have only tested this solution on Server. Thus, if you use Cloud, you need to double-check it there. This is particularly important if you use Confluence to generate output in various formats. In such a case, test the output to see whether the solution works as intended.

@Piotr Starzyk

Thank you for posting your .gif. I didn't think to try to delete and manually re-type the first number in each section to re-adjust the numbers. I was right clicking on the numbers trying to find some menu for restarting them and couldn't find an option. The fact that we can do what you are showing makes the situation much more tolerable, and I feel better about this update. I do wish the separate sections stayed in sync, but this is still much welcome progress!

@erik.unangst I checked it out and you're right.  The link between the numbers gets lost, and you do have to manually adjust the first number in each disparate section.  Yes, it is a bit disappointing, but after all these years, at least it's some progress.  I made a gif of the lost link issue:

I'm excited to see that some progress has been made here!

However, I am finding an issue with the implementation.

From what I can tell, you can now insert items like tables/macros/pictures into a numbered list and keep the numbering. Unfortunately, this appears to break the link between the numbered items preceding the insert and the numbered items following the insert. So, if I want to add/delete another number above a macro insert, then the numbers below the macro insert will not update.

With the current implementation, it seems like any modifications to a numbered list like this would necessitate re-creating most if not all of the list. Maintaining long lists used for technical documentation would seem to be a nightmare with the way it works now. Am I missing something?

Don't get me wrong, it is great to see this progress to the editor, but I am disappointed that it still does not appear to offer the same numbered list functionality as other common text editors. 

Hey 6e687f59fb46 thanks for reaching out. There are some loose ends we're still looking to wrap up with regards to mobile support, however we've actually silently rolled this feature out to the majority of Atlassian customers using Confluence Cloud. We anticipate in some cases, this feature may be able to assist with the migration of content from Confluence Server, with some slight restructuring of the original document. However, I can't guarantee this will work in all cases. 

Hi Ethan - do you have an update on availability of this server functionality in Atlassian Cloud?
Are there any plans to leverage this feature to render content migrated from Confluence Server or Jira Server?

Is adding a table into a numbered list going to be something implemented here? The shift + enter method doesn't seem to be working on any of the cloud instances I've tried it on. 

Plain text markdown does this by default... Just sayin...

Hey 9eae0e898c91 no configuration required on your end to opt in to the EAP, more a matter of us making sure to turn it on for the right instance(s). If you're still interested I encourage you to book some time in my calendar to chat through this and get the process going.

•  Email: eyew@atlassian.com
•  Calendly: https://calendly.com/eyew/30min

Hey 75f3e0bc41b1 I notice you've posted this comment across a few other editor-related tickets as well. My team and I are open to listening to any of your concerns (relating to this feature request or otherwise) which may or may not have already been raised with our Support team. 

Dear Atlassian,

My IT VP just stopped by my desk (again).  He and I are both pro-Confluence (Server version). He and the leadership team are, however, VERY CONCERNED about the user experience and significant loss of functionality since our move from Server to Cloud.

WARNING

There's talk of moving our 600+ users off of Confluence Premium, cancelling, and moving to another platform.  (This isn't a threat. I'm just passing along honest information from our decision-makers.)

Atlassian, please take quick action on this and other Confluence editor issues! Please, AT LEAST give us back the functionality we had in the Server version.

Thank you,

Mark

If it's as easy as toggling some feature checkbox in settings on our end, then we'd be interested (we're using cloud version of Confluence)  If it's more involved than that, we'll just wait a few more months I guess.  Thanks.

Hey 9eae0e898c91 optimistically within the first half of this year, we're still ironing out some issues which affect cross-platform usage (i.e. editing in mobile). That being said, if there is sufficient interest from customers like yourself in trying out this feature earlier, we are exploring the possibility of turning this on for select customer instances as part of an early-access-program (EAP). Caveat of course being fixes for some edge cases may not have landed yet (i.e. mobile editing). If this interests you, definitely leave a comment here, or reach out via my email at eyew@atlassian.com

@Ethan Yew  I can't believe after all these years we are finally seeing actual progress. What's the ETA on this being available to use?

Hi all, providing a quick progress update from my team to enable continuous numbering in the Editor. You can see a preview of the upcoming functionality to start an ordered list from any number, and not breaking the sequence of the list, in the videos below.

Screen Recording 2023-02-07 at 1.40.48 pm.mov

Screen Recording 2023-02-07 at 1.31.02 pm.mov

The team is currently dogfooding this functionality on our internal instances and performing quality assurance testing to ensure that what we release to production is of a high quality. This may take a few months to reach your instance, and we will share more details on this closer to the time of the actual rollout.

If you have any further questions or feedback to share on this topic, feel free to reach out to my team and I via email, or my Calendly link below:

•  Email: eyew@atlassian.com
•  Calendly: https://calendly.com/eyew/30min

At present this problem affects Jira Cloud too. We consider this 'gap' (Server functionality not available in Cloud) a blocking issue for our Jira Cloud migration. For us the ability to resume list numbering (e.g. a table or code block inside a numbered list), means description and comment text is not properly migrated.

This was being tracked in JRACLOUD-75310 but that bug has been closed as a duplicate (although is not linked to this ticket).

Really pleased to see  this is being progressed. If it is not possible to include a 'Continue numbering' feature in the Confluence Wiki editor can you at least ensure that the MS Word Import feature respects 'continued' numbered lists created in Word documents and imported in. Personally, this would solve most of my own issues. Thanks! 

Hi all,

Officially transitioning this Suggestion ticket to "In Progress".

Plugging my 30 minute meeting link once again for folks to reach out and chat with my team and I on our planned approach. Definitely want to make sure we're operating under valid assumptions and that our solution addresses the pain points you're actually facing!

Thanks all and stay safe,

Ethan

@Ethan Yew 

This is probably relevant too: https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFCLOUD-25836

thx for the update, Ethan

Hi all, 

This is Ethan from the Atlassian Editor Team. As always, thank you for the continuous feedback on how we may improve the editing experience in Confluence, and the wider Atlassian product suite. I wanted to share that our team has been reviewing the feedback for this issue, and are keen to solve for ways of enabling authors to format lists to their liking, without breaking the numbering of an ordered list. 

We recognise this issue presents a significant challenge to create professional looking documentation, particularly when more complex sequencing of content is required. The current workaround of using shift + enter to create a newline to support the insertion of content without disrupting the numbering isn’t suitable for nodes which can’t currently be nested in lists at all (e.g. tables, panels, expands etc.).

From the feedback, we are focusing on addressing the following use cases:

1. Ability to start an ordered list from any number
2. Ability to continue the numbering in lists when split 

What is not under consideration for the scope of this current project is to support nesting of more content types in lists. Whilst there may be legitimate use cases to support for additional nesting (e.g. macros in lists), we recognise the core of the problem is primarily not wanting to break the sequence/count of a numbered list, especially with non-text content.

My team and I are exploring a few backwards compatible approaches at the moment that are aimed at not breaking existing content/storage formats, and aligned with interaction patterns you’ve come to expect from other notable rich-text editors. To ensure we’re on the right track, I invite you to schedule some time with my team and I to provide feedback on our approach and working assumptions using my 30 minute meeting link.

Thanks all and stay safe,

Ethan

And while I joke about using the pandoc format itself (as it won't solve the issue), consulting with the pandoc developers would surely be a wise move, as document storage formats and conversions between them are their bread and butter: 

https://pandoc.org/

It's not the core that's the problem.  Even the old confluence wiki format supported this. If anything, it's likely the need to try to maintain cross-compatibility between multiple different storage formats, which is why adding more would only exacerbate the problem.

The current core storage format is JSON-based I believe.  There's no textual markup format that will compete with that for flexibility.

It's not really a disagreement.  More of a misunderstanding and frankly, I think reading this again would probably help clarify: https://inessential.com/2009/07/30/anatomy_of_a_feature. A key thing the author of the article missed, is backward compatibility and cross-compatibility, which alone could fill scores of articles of the same length. 

Also, why would I apologize if I wasn't sorry, lol. What an odd accusation. 

Sorry for the snark

No you're not, but it's fine. Feel free to disagree with me.

It just seems like whatever core implementation the current "new" editor is built on is questionable. Commonmark is battle-tested. GFM is battle-tested.

The new new editor...  Why not build it on top of Pandocs?

I don't think adding yet another internal document format is the way forward here.  Sorry for the snark  

Firstly, you can do this in HTML. Which doesn't mean it's easy to build into the editor, but it sets the stage for user expectations.

Secondly, I think that what the original requestor asked for in 2007 is the wrong thing to implement. Resetting the list at 1 is the right thing to do according to the screenshots posted above.

However, if the admonition (e.g., info/warn/error block) were nested under the list item, then (a) the association between the admonition and the list item would be clearer, and (b) this whole problem of having to reset numbers goes away.

As such, see CONFCLOUD-58656, CONFCLOUD-68137, and CONFCLOUD-67862 which could all be solved by (or, at worst, made easier by) basing the core of your editor implementation on GitHub-Flavored Markdown.

And for any non-engineers who say "this is easy": First, calm yourself. Second, read https://inessential.com/2009/07/30/anatomy_of_a_feature.

I'm not suggesting that building atop GitHub-Flavored Markdown would be easy. However, as a Principle Software Engineer, I can say that there is a compelling argument which suggests that doing so is the right thing to do for the longevity of the Confluence content editor.

Totally agreed, this is a basic feature that needs to be in there. I understand it may be hard to do with the "rich text editor", but frankly I don't like these rich text editors. They try to make things simple, and end up being a pain to implement and maintain. I would way rather use a format like enhanced markdown where it's not a mystery how to do things, and where things like this can be more easily done.

+1

+1 Absolutely necessary feature!

Seriously? This lack of a basic feature comes from the time of the release of Windows Vista?! That is like the computer equivalent of the Neolithic.

I totally agree with the previous comments. I actually can't believe this hasn't been picked up earlier, this is basic text edition we're talking about - this clearly shows that people managing Confluence improvements priorities don't actually use it themselves, otherwise it would have been done a long while ago !

> Solving continuous numbering on numbered lists is on our priority list

Wow.  If an issue that's been sitting on the back-burner for 15 years is on their priority list, I'd hate to see the time-to-fix for issues relegated to other queues.  I also wouldn't hold my breath as far as them ever getting around to fixing it.  What are some good alternatives to Confluence that have this basic feature implemented?

Anxiously waiting for this to be fixed

Pressing shift+enter to insert sentences between two steps is workable, but if I intend to insert a table, the table will just go to the last step.... Is it possible to insert a table between two steps?

I agree with Gen.  After 15 years, could we at least get a quick fix and be able to set numbering values on a list?  It wouldn't be as dynamic as picking up the list from where the previous one left off, but it would at least all me to quickly and easily fix it myself.

Fifteen years is a long time for an issue to remain open. Users should be able to insert non-list elements within a list and continue numbering; this is a basic expectation for a dynamic workspace. At the very least, let users set the numbering values when the list numbering is restarted.

This is the way. 

Please implement this. Inexcusable that such basic functionality is not found in Atlassian products.

Please take care of this feature. Every complex documentation can benefit from it. Thanks!

This feature is a must for my team. We're using confluence for documentation and not being able to continue the numbers is a pain! 

It's so sad!

I was wondering why the screenshots are looking so old! Then I noticed as well that the issue was reported in 2007

Re: Status update Feb 2022 

Progress definition of:

an expression of action in making steps towards a goal, e.g. this ticket (not). 

Still stuck since 2007 on 'gaining interest'...

OMG... just noticed that according to this ticket, the issue was reported in 2007..!!!!

This feature would be very helpful.  Please consider implementing this soon.

At this point I don't think Atlassian even care anymore.

@pavelpigalov .... I hear you brother

@Nicholas Wade, I'm just tired of stumbling on all these over and over...

@pavelpigalov.... so we can take it you are a 'little' upset mon ami?

Blah-blah-blah, and still this is not resolved, moreover it's even UNASSIGNED.

Such a shame making your users to wait basic stuff for ages

I 100% agree with @Nicholas Wade on this. He described the problem very well.

Well I'm glad to see that finally after a couple of years, this problem is being taken seriously. But the images shown, do not fully document the problem:

• You should not have to do a soft return to incorporate anything in a list (which is the current method)
• You should be able to include insert /note, and insert /several other objects elsewhere in a list, such as a code block (not just text formatted as code) or paragraph text
• You should be able to incorporate tables in a sequentially numbered list
• You should be able to include pretty much any other object that you would normally expect in a sequential list
• You should be able to include bulleted lists in any sequentially numbered list

Sequential lists are used primarily for logical order i.e., instructional steps. Instructions require information supporting the instruction i.e., tables, bulleted lists, graphics, etc.. It may mean that a table in a sequentially numbered list is followed by a bulleted list before returning to the numbered list. It may mean that a sequentially numbered list is followed by an insert /code snippet or insert /note. The point being, that to resolve this numbering problem properly, the team must think of the various ways the list may be used.

I would add, that Confluence could also do with paragraph and heading numbering. There are many instances where numbered paragraphs and numbered heading are required for official regulatory documents. 

Adding a Better Code Block, for example. The block cannot be moved into the list

(( I don't have permission to add a screen shot ))

That's great when first making something, Matthew, but as things change and get updated, it isn't always possible.

The trick is to make sure you have a number after the location you want to insert text/image/etc.

1. Step one
2. Step two (step I want to insert after)
3. Step three

1. Step one
2. Step two (step I want to insert after)
   Note: Obligatory note text.
3. Step three

This is not an acceptable work around because if you start a section that has special notes in it or code insert or other things you cannot continue your numbering scheme. I know there are times it works but there are a lot of times that it doesn't.

It takes a little getting used to but the Shift+Enter is a totally acceptable workaround. 

Talk about a bummer. This is very basic functionality. I'm really concerned that it has been allowed to go unaddressed for so long. My org is planning to migrate from confluence server to cloud soon, and this has me questioning my choice to store test documentation in Confluence. We also have access to Sharepoint, which does not have this issue...

We also have this issue.

I also have this issue. Please make it happen soon!

Yeah, it's a sh!tty workaround. I had a rant about it two weeks ago. 

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/michaeladdison101_implement-a-feature-that-allows-to-continue-activity-6890137597079887872-ZYt7

The status update from yesterday suggests Atlassian might fix the problem. Only taken 15 years!

I know it sounds ridiculous as a work around, but I've taken screenshots of what I wanted to put there and the user doesnt know the difference. Basically just taking a picture of what I want to put in there. Again, I know its ridiculous to have to do it.

Also, the above work around (shift-enter), doesn't seem to work for adding notes/info/warning/error panels etc. These always get re-directed to the end of the list. I find this the most frustrating part of this issue as there doesn't seem to be a work around, and sometime it is very important to associate a warning with a particular line item in an instruction list. I often need to resort to bullet points, instead of numbered lists in this case which isn't ideal.

@Lance

That seems to work okay for pictures, but not for Note Panels, Info Panels, Tables, or other objects I might want to insert between numbered items.

@kathy - I have managed to get around similar needs with shift & enter. May want to give it a try.
Make the list of multiple items, then shift + Enter, then add your pic.  

I need to be able to insert images, code snippets etc. in a list (without those images or snippets being numbered) and then continue the numbering for the next item in the list. This is a really important feature and the lack of it is seriously hampering.

@attlasian do something

Back to word for documentation I guess. almost 5 years and 200+ votes and it's not even to the point of being reviewed? Even MediaWIKI can do this!

As others have mentioned, it's a huge pain to break numbered lists. This also breaks down copied content from other tools that's pasted into Confluence. I'd like to use macros in between numbered items, including adding images/screenshots in between steps without having to make it a sub-item of the list to get the numbering to stay (though I've found that only works for images, not for macros – and our team especially relies on the /info macros).

I want to clarify something and add a use case.

First: it's not just a matter of being able to insert a table or image between numbered items and have the numbering continue. What's really needed is the ability to START NUMBERING AT ANY NUMBER. For example, to start numbering at "4" instead of the default "1."

USE CASE: I have an "include" that lists the first two steps in a procedure. There are several different procedures that begin with these two steps, after which they diverge. So I use the include for the first two steps then continue with regular text for the variations. Example:

To do the thing:

1. Do the first step.
2. Do the second step.
3. Do the third step in variation A, which involves apples.
4. Do the fourth step in variation A, which involves apples.

To do the thing:

1. Do the first step.
2. Do the second step.
3. Do the third step in variation B, which involves oranges.
4. Do the fourth step in variation B, which involves oranges.

In the above two examples, the RED stuff is a reusable include. But I cannot achieve this numbering in Confluence Cloud because steps 3 and 4 are outside of the include, so they reset back to "1." I would like to be able to override the non-include "1" by replacing it with "3."

How about a numbered list with different levels, done in MS Word using tab:

I wish to add my voice to clamor for this feature! The lack of flexibility with numbering makes it extraordinarily tedious to make good documentation. 

I want this:

1. blah
2. blah
3. blah

(macro)

4. blah. 

and the 4th blah will automatically indent, like it does with Microsoft Word. Basically I want Microsoft Word, but online. 

It doesn't work any more when inserting a Note (screenshot-3)...

Any idea plz?

Atlassian really seems to be dropping the ball on basic features AND on listening to their users. Come on folks...

The original request for this feature (https://jira.atlassian.com/browse/CONFSERVER-1929?error=login_required&error_description=Login+required&state=c0fb33a7-cd2c-4c45-8bd4-a217c0a51ea0) is from 2004.  Which means this feature will finally be an adult next year. Perhaps Atlassian is just waiting for it to move out so it no longer needs to support it.

I just copy/pasta'd from OneNote, was sad that this doesn't work, and ended up here. Hopefully the recent interest in getting this basic functionality online get some traction.

It still amazes me that "This suggestion needs more unique domain votes and comments before being reviewed by [someone who cares and has actual power on the Atlassian] team." FWIW, here's the Atlassian Community thread (https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Confluence-questions/How-to-continue-a-numbered-list/qaq-p/349318) that seems to have the most critical mass even though Atlassian seems to be ignoring it because it's "Solved".

P.S. It's sad that the way to add an inline link in Jira is still from more than a decade ago.

P.P.S. It's really sad that the screenshots for this suggestion appear to be from Windows XP.

Hey, Atlassian!

You know where this works?

IN ONENOTE!!!

And it's effortless.

embarrassing...

14 YEARS LATER

The SHIFT+ENTER does not work with the new editor, so there is no work around anymore.

1. I need to have a list

Then a bunch of text and images

1. Then the list needs to be continued. Simple enough!

Get it DONE!!

This is really a blocker. Please fix this soon

This is a major blocker for us. We write technical documents with procedure descriptions in Confluence and the continuation of numbered lists after certain style elements is a very basic editor feature. Is there any plan to fix this soon?

Basic text editors are able to have macros or other data inline, and it is an indictment of how poor Confluence is built to be used as any tool for documentation. Even this COMMENT doesn't allow for what is being asked, but Confluence cannot do this? I don't understand the priority and the lack of care for implementing something so easy.

1. a

   Heading 1	Heading 2
   Col A1	Col A2

1. b
2. c
   My title

   Some text with a title

1. d

I'm confused by what exactly the new editor was supposed to improve if not these glaring design issues?   I was under the impression that the reason Confluence Wiki format markdown was removed was precisely because it doesn't support nested macros well (due to the syntax that lacks closing tags).  Now I don't have a clue.  Was is just because you wanted to use the new flexgrid layouts?

I'm a fairly new user to Confluence and been working on converting some of our documents and have been disappointed that this feature isn't working properly.

As dan mentioned, the usage of Info Panels loses a lot of value when the numbered list is broken whenever it's inserted, since having all the panels at the bottom of a longer How-To tutorial with several pictures is pointless if the information I want to highlight can be hidden several pages down.

I can see that this issue was first raised in 2007 and has still not been fixed inspite of this being a very basic request.

I use Confluence Cloud. Inserting any of the following in a numbered list breaks the numbering:

• Tables
• Info, Note, Success, Warning and Error panels
• Expands

Using the Source Editor for Confluence leads to conversion issues, hence is not an acceptable solution.

Since I cannot attach images to this ticket, I am posting a URL with the images https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Confluence-questions/Re-Re-Numbered-lists-restarting-at-1-after-bulleted-lis/qaq-p/1483173/comment-id/188973#M188973

@mkhairuliana why is this marked as Gathering Interest?

The Atlassian supported `How-to Article` Template recommends using info panels to highlight important information saying the following in the Steps instructions:

Highlight important information in a panel like this one. To edit this panel's color or style, select one of the options in the menu below.

If Atlassian's maintained help-text is directs users to do something that is non-functional, then either this should be converted to a bug, or the `How-to Article` template has a documentation bug.

I recommend we do one of the following:

• convert this issue to a bug
• create a linked issue for the the `How-to Article` Template to improve its documentation to better reflect the available features.

We are using code block macro's with info following the code block - before going on to the next 'numbered' step and cannot do consecutive numbering, it always goes back to 1.  My team uses the numbering to reference which step to go to next or if someone has an issue with a specific step...so a section that should be listed in numbered sequences - becomes the same.  

The workaround does not work when you all an info note to the step. This is
extremely annoying and I am really disappointed about the way you guys
prioritize development tasks. This is not a feature, it is a critical
Bug!!!!! I expect you guys to treat it as such.

I am creating an online help system and need to be able to insert a table (for if/then scenarios) within a numbered list and have not been able to find a solution for this. This makes creating professional documentation impossible. Can we please have a solution for this?

I need to be able to restart numbering with a different number. Will this feature support that requirement?

The shift+Enter doesn't allow me to format the image in there either - I need the images to be centered within the text block but if I use Shift+Enter it inherits the same as the paragraph before which is left-justified. The workaround doesn't work!

The workaround Shift+enter works well enough when I am only working with text; however, it fails completely when I try; for example, to enter a table in the middle of a section of numbered steps. I have found no good solution to this particular case aside from inserting the table outside the numbered steps.

Additionally, I find it embarrassing to have to explain to end-users that you have to use a cludgy work around (Shift+enter) to use numbering in an application in 2020. This was a 1990s problem and it has been solved.

Just about everything restarts the numbering, even an empty paragraph!

What about this issue? Is it going to be fixed? I don't want restarting numbering of my list in layout's second column.

Any Update on this? 

TL;DR summary: page editors should be able to specify what number a numbered list starts with.

Need to be able to specify the start number for any ordered (numbered) list directly in Confluence Editor. This capability is supported in HTML 5 via the start attribute of the ol tag, so clearly it is implementable.

Note: Using the Source Editor Plugin to go into the page's HTML source as a workaround to the Confluence Editor, however, is not viable since the start attribute is not supported by the plugin either!. See SOURCE-214 for that issue.

Any update on this? I'd like to be able to add headings at certain sections of a numbered list. For example, a priority list:

Immediate Priority:
1.) Do A
2.) Do B

High Priority:
3.) Do C
4.) Do D

Medium Priority:
5.) Do E
Etc...

I've not yet found a way to do this, without manually numbering. Thoughts! Thank you!!