Multi-Link Excerpt Macros
Asked by Christopher Juda:

I am wondering if there is an enahnced Macro that will update data in multiple locations regardless of where the updat is entered.

Example: I have a source/base page with a multiexcerpt designated on it, say for a date in a schedule. I am pulling that date with the multiexcerpt include function to 2+ separate pages. Currently I can only update the source/base page to populate the other pages.

Is there a way to set up a macro to where I could update the date on any of the three linked pages and it would update accross all of the pages?

Thank you


Answers:
author: Davin Studer
body: This could be done with something like the [ConfiForms add-on](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/plugins/com.vertuna.confluence.plugins.confiforms/server/overview). You could create a ConfiForm that could have its data structure edit from many pages.

comments: author: Christopher Juda
body: Thanks Davin. Would you have to create a whole now page/template or would there be a ConiForms macro that would be used in place of the Multiexcerpt and Multiexcerpt include macros? I am looking for a solution that could be easily integrated into our current forms/templates.


author: Davin Studer
body: If I understand your use case correctly you could create a ConfiForm on one page that would actually hold the data that you want to be editable from multiple pages. Then on the other pages you would add a ConfiForm view macro that would display the data from the source page ... along with an edit button that would allow you to update the data on the source page. You could put the view/edit macro on as many pages as you want and since they all edit the one data source the same value would be shown on all the pages.

I would suggest installing the ConfiForms add-on into your system with the 30-day trial and then you could evaluate if it would do what you need. It's not a free add-on, but the price point is pretty reasonable for all the things that it is capable of doing. What I have described above is only a small subset of the many things that ConfiForms can do.


author: Christopher Juda
body: Okay, thanks Davin. I will give the trial a shot. Just to ensure I am understanding, say I have a source Coniform data set that is populating to 3 separate pages via the view/edit macro. Could I make changes to any of those 4 pages (including the data source) and the value would populate accross all locations? The intent on this is for schedules to ensure key dates are being pulled through. Not all dates are needed in all locations so I would construct each page as needed using the macro.


author: Davin Studer
body: That is correct. You could edit the data on the page that the form lives on or any other page it is referenced from and all the edits end up updating the source page.


author: Christopher Juda
body: Would it just update the source page or if I updated one of linked pages it would update the source page and the other linked pages as well?


author: Davin Studer
body: The data would technically live on the source page, but could be viewed and edited from any page ... as opposed to the excerpt macro where is has to be edited on the source page.