Summary

When configuring the Assets macro in Confluence, if the specified AQL currently returns no results, there is no way to preconfigure which columns/attributes should be displayed once the query starts returning data in the future.
Today, column selection is only available after the AQL returns at least one object. This prevents users and admins from fully preparing the macro layout in advance for queries that are expected to return results later (for example, when data is populated, objects are created, or conditions become true over time).
This limitation makes it impossible to design and finalize the table structure (which attributes to show) for “future-looking” AQL queries that are temporarily empty.

Suggestions for Improvement

• Always expose column configuration even when the AQL result set is empty, allowing users to select attributes/columns based on the chosen schema and object types.
• Persist the chosen column configuration with the macro, so that once the AQL starts returning results, the table immediately uses the preconfigured columns.
• Optionally, show a clear “no results yet” message in the preview while still allowing column selection, so users understand that the layout is set but the current query returns no objects.