Public Access to Confluence
Asked by Raoul Kaiser:

Can you make confluence pages viewable by non confluence users?


Answers:
author: TomC
body: Hi Raoul,

I noticed you said 'confluence *pages* viewable by non confluence users'. We have well over 100 spaces and due to security reasons do not allow anonymous access for spaces BUT we can and do '(make) pages viewable to non-Confuence users' by utilizing the 'Export to Word' or 'Export to PDF' feature under Tools.

If the page is such that it doesn't export well (for example, fancy tables or what have you), have used Snag-It's scrolling capture feature to take a picture of the page and then save it in a suitable format (PDF, PNG, etc.).. I have no connection to Techsmith's Snag-it other than being an avid user of it....like Confluence, I find reasons to use it almost every day. There are versions available for PCs and Macs.

Cheers,

Tom

comments: author: Raoul Kaiser
body: Tom you bring up a great point about security. I would only want people in my company to be able to view these pages. If anonymous then google might be able to index them. Also if we could have a specific non-confluence user group or tied to our IP address so the average person can not see our proprietary data.


author: Raoul Kaiser
body: By the way - we already use the export and that just slows us down and creates more paper for the non confluence users.


author: Nic Brough -Adaptavist-
body: Then you have a problem. How can you identify someone as a member of your company if they do not log in? Anonymous access does mean "anyone". If that is no good for you, then you have to identify the users somehow. The only option in Confluence (and most applications in fact) is to get them to log in. The other options you have are probably network based - ip limitations (easy to bypass I should mention), secured VPNs with the main system firewalled off from the internet, access control on the gateways, certificates and so-on.


author: Paula Silveira
body: Hi Raoul,

There are two levels of permissions that need to be set to allow anonymous access to a Confluence space, global and space. First, set the global "Use Confluence" permission to be true. Secondly, give the **View** permission to anonymous users in each space you want to make public.

1. Log in as an administrator. At the top right of the screen, choose the **cog icon** ![](https://extranet.atlassian.com/download/attachments/2035616019/CogIcon.png?version=1&modificationDate=1349230910866)**\> Confluence Admin**.
2. Select **Global Permissions** in the **Users \& Security** section. The settings for Confluence will appear.
3. Click any **Edit Permission** button and change the **Anonymous Access** setting to **can use** to allow anonymous access to your project's wiki.
4. In the space, go to **Browse \> Space Admin \> Permissions**. Configure the anonymous access setting as needed.

Thanks and regards,  
Paula Silveira


author: Patrick Metzdorf
body: To add the point:

The standard Export to Word and Export to PDF features are practically unusable. The formats are distorted and section representation is very very different than what the page would look like on Confluence.

And I am not even using any "fancy tables", unless you mean normal tables by that.


author: Raoul Kaiser
body: Thanks everyone. Looks like it is either a log in or access to everyone.


author: Raoul Kaiser
body: Is there a way to do the same with confluence questions. I can get people to view it but can not find a control to allow them to ask a question.


author: Raoul Kaiser
body: Thank you everyone for the quick answer.


author: Nic Brough -Adaptavist-
body: Yes, use "anonymous" in the space permissions for "view". Then people don't need to log in to see the space.


author: AnnWorley
body: Yes, you may enable anonymous access.


Tags: cloud

confluence-cloud