Confluence search is broken for data within content elements, such as URLs in links, parameters in macros, image names on pages

In Confluence 3.5.x and earlier, it was possible to search a space or site for macro parameters, URLs in links, and other markup elements, because they were part of the wiki markup and thus part of the page content. This is no longer possible in Confluence 4.

Root cause: Metadata (parameters) for content elements is hidden from the global search.

Problem specification:

• While it is possible to search for macro names using the macroName search field, this functionality is obscure, and the usage of that field is tricky. See "How to search Confluence for usage of a macro": http://ffeathers.wordpress.com/2011/11/04/how-to-search-confluence-for-usage-of-a-macro/
• It is not possible to search for macro parameters.
  • This means, for example, that you cannot discover where a particular excerpt or page is included into another page (CONF-23775). Scenario: I want to remove a page or update its content, but I need to find out first where it is included into another page.
  • Another scenario: I have changed a page name, and now I need to fix all the macros that refer to that page. Note that Confluence will fix links, but not the page names inside macros. Examples of macros that need fixing: children, excerpt, excerpt-include, anchor, pagetree, pagetreesearch, plus any number of user macros and macros added by plugins.
• It is not possible to search for URLs used in links (CONF-24079). Scenario: Our website has moved to a different server and we want to fix all the links in the documentation that point to our website.
• It is not possible to find all the pages that use a given image (or other attachment). You can search for attachments by filename using the filename field, but you can't search for their usage. For example, I can find out where "myImage.png" is attached to a page, but I cannot find all the pages that display "myImage.png". Scenario: I want to remove/update a screenshot, but first I need to know where it's used. Note that this problem is made even more urgent by the fact that the Confluence editor now links to the original source of an image, if you copy content from one page to another by copying and pasting.

Please refer to the following comments on our customer feedback pages:

• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=271944755#comment-271944755
• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=272597237#comment-272597237
• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=272597238#comment-272597238
• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=272597259#comment-272597259
• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=272597304#comment-272597304
• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=273285457#comment-273285457
• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=273285792#comment-273285792
• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=273285799#comment-273285799
• http://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Confluence+4.0+Editor+-+Customer+Feedback?focusedCommentId=274563818#comment-274563818

Note: This issue is about the Confluence search function, not the search within the editor. For similar issues related to search within the editor, please see CONF-23560, CONF-23561, CONF-23667.