Full text search for article list on confluence page
Asked by Steffen Heller:

Hello,

we have an article list in Excel that we would like to integrate in confluence. What is important is that the list

* can be updated easily
* can be searched with the results being highlighted

I thought about the following options:

1. include the excel on the confluence page with a macro (couldn't test it since none of the macros has beeen activated yet)
2. set a link from the confluence page to the original excel file
3. copy all the entries from the excel file and include it as a table in confluence

I wanted to use variant 3 but wasn't happy with the search function. I included Livesearch, Page Tree Search and Search Box but all these searches seemed to be good for site wide searches but not for browsing a list on a single page. What seemed better still was the normal browser search (because it only searches the current page and can highlight results)

So here are the questions:

1. Is there a better search function for searching a list on a single page
2. Is there an elegant way to use the browser's search function instead, something like a search field on the page that activates the browser's search
3. Any other ideas

Thanks


Answers:
author: Adam Laskowski
body: I think the browser's "Find on page" search will be the best option. Since you're searching specific page content and want hilighting, this is the only way to really accomplish that effectively.

I think copying entries from the file and dropping them into the table could be a little tedious as it's not a "live" edit, and would require curating if you need to change content. You should be able to instead add the Excel doc to the page as an attachment, embed the attachment, and then edit the file in Excel using [Confluence's WebDAV plugin](https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Configuring+a+WebDAV+client+for+Confluence) (comes bundled and enabled by default). I'm not exactly sure if it fits the use case exactly, but it might save you some effort and pain on your "can be updated easily" requirement.

comments: author: Steffen Heller
body: Hi Adam,

thanks for your response. Your idea sounds interesting. I am just not familiar at all with WebDAV. How would that work exactly:

* How would I embed the Excel? Will I need a macro for this or is that part of the WebDAV setting?
* How will the embedded Excel appear on the page? Is it just a link or will the table with the entries appear on the page?
* How will an update be like? Can I just open the EXCEL from the confluence file, update it and save and then it is done or will I need to temporarily store the Excel somewhere else and reinclude it as a new attachement?

Thanks for your help.


author: Adam Laskowski
body: After you upload the attachment, you can use the [Viewfile Macro](https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/View+File+Macro), which will embed the document content onto a page. Confluence also support editing of Office docs in a page, and if your browser supports it, you should see an Edit Document link above the file content. If not, you can edit the file directly by opening the file from its [WebDAV location](https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/DOC/Configuring+a+WebDAV+client+for+Confluence). Editing a file via WebDAV and saving over the original will create a new version of the file in Confluence just as if you had uploaded it via the UI.


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