A customer has raised concerns regarding the accuracy and completeness of the Additional PDF Export Settings documentation.

During a recent support case, it was found that the current documentation does not explicitly differentiate between the PDF export behavior for Legacy Editor and Fabric Editor (New Editor) in Confluence Cloud.

This has led to confusion and unexpected results when attempting to apply background images via CSS for PDF exports. The customer has requested that the documentation be improved to clarify these differences and provide accurate guidance for both editor types.

Problem Statement

1. CSS Behavior Discrepancy Between Legacy and Fabric Editors

• The customer attempted to use CSS settings from the official documentation to apply a background image when exporting a Confluence page to PDF.
• However, the expected behavior was not achieved, particularly in pages that had been migrated from Confluence Server (Legacy Editor).
• It was later discovered that the same CSS rules behave differently depending on whether the page is using the Legacy Editor or Fabric Editor.

Example

The customer initially applied the following CSS, which worked in Fabric Editor but did not apply in Legacy Editor

   @page {}
   .ak-renderer-document {
     background-image: url('https://example.com/background.png') !important;
     background-repeat: no-repeat !important;
     background-position: center;
     background-size: contain;
     height: auto;
   }

• In Fabric Editor, the background image was applied correctly.
• In Legacy Editor, the background image did not appear at all.

2. Documentation Lacks Clear Differentiation Between Editor Types

• The Additional PDF Export Settings documentation does not specify that some CSS properties behave differently depending on whether the page was created with the Legacy Editor or the Fabric Editor.
• Without clear guidance, other users migrating from Server/DC to Cloud may encounter the same issue.

Proposed Improvements

To prevent similar issues in the future and provide a better experience for customers using PDF export customization, the following improvements to the documentation are recommended

1. Clarify Editor-Specific CSS Differences

• Add a clear distinction between the behavior of CSS settings in the Legacy Editor vs. Fabric Editor.
• Provide example CSS code that works specifically for each editor.

Suggested Documentation Update:

For Fabric Editor

   @page {}
   .ak-renderer-document {
     background-image: url('https://example.com/background.png') !important;
     background-repeat: no-repeat !important;
     background-position: center;
     background-size: contain;
     height: auto;
   }

For Legacy Editor

   @page {
     size: A4;
     margin: 20mm;
   }
   .wiki-content {
     background-image: url('https://example.com/background.png') !important;
     background-repeat: no-repeat !important;
     background-position: center;
     background-size: contain;
     height: 297mm;
     max-height: 297mm;
     overflow: hidden;
   }

• This explicitly shows that `.ak-renderer-document` works only in Fabric Editor, while `.wiki-content` is required for Legacy Editor.

2. Update the Existing Example Code in the Documentation

• Ensure that the CSS examples reflect the latest working configurations for both Legacy and Fabric Editors.
• Include a note that some CSS properties (such as `background-image`) may require different approaches depending on the editor.

3. Explicitly State That the Existing CSS Examples Are for Fabric Editor

• If the documented CSS settings are intended for Fabric Editor only, make this explicitly clear to avoid confusion.
• Provide a separate section with recommendations for Legacy Editor users.

4. Include a Troubleshooting Section

• Add a troubleshooting guide for common issues when applying background images in PDF exports.
• List potential workarounds and their applicability based on editor type.

By implementing these documentation updates, we can ensure that customers migrating from Confluence Server to Cloud have accurate, reliable guidance when configuring their PDF export settings.

Would appreciate input from the documentation team on this improvement request.