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Applying schemes to spaces

Applying a scheme to a space tells the Better Content Archiving app to use that scheme when processing the space. If you apply a content status scheme, that scheme will determine how content statuses are updated. If you apply a notification scheme, emails will be sent the way specified by that scheme. If you apply an automation scheme, the app archives or deletes contents as configured in the scheme.

If you want all your spaces to use the default scheme, you do not need to do anything. The only exception is if you plan to set another scheme as default later, but you want a space to keep using the current default scheme even after that. In this case, you can assign the default scheme to the space explicitly.

In order for a non-default scheme to affect a space, it must be applied to that space. You can apply any scheme to any space.

Ways of applying schemes

From a user privileges standpoint, schemes can be applied to spaces in two ways:

  1. From Confluence Settings (Confluence administrator privileges required): you can apply schemes to spaces in bulk here.
  2. From Space Settings (Confluence administrator or Space administrator privileges required): you can apply a scheme to a single space here.

From a technical standpoint, there are also two ways to do this:

  1. Applying a scheme to a space implicitly (if the scheme is the default scheme): this concept refers to a lack of an explicit assignment between the space and any scheme. By default, this is true for all spaces, and as a result, all spaces use the default scheme. If another scheme is set as the default, spaces having the default scheme assigned to them implicitly will start using the new default scheme.
  2. Applying a scheme to a space explicitly (regardless from whether the scheme is the default scheme or a non-default scheme): an explicit assignment means that regardless from which scheme is the default, a space always uses the scheme that has been assigned to it.

Applying the default scheme to spaces

When applying the default scheme, it is important to distinguish between implicit and explicit assignment:

  1. Implicit assignment of the default scheme: if the default scheme is applied to a space implicitly, that space will always use the scheme set as default at any given time. If another scheme is set as default, the space will use the new default scheme. When first installing the app, all spaces are assigned the default scheme implicitly. The default scheme is assigned implicitly to any newly created space as well.
  2. Explicit assignment of the default scheme: if the default scheme is applied to a space explicitly, then the space will keep using that scheme even after another scheme has been set as default. Technically, this is done the same way that any other scheme would be assigned to the space.

Apply schemes from the Confluence Settings

To apply schemes from the Confluence Settings, you need Confluence administrator privileges.

Apply schemes explicitly (default and non-default schemes)

Go to Confluence Settings (cog icon "⚙" in the top right) → Apps → Better Content Archiving. In the Configuration section, select the type of scheme you want to manage. The list of schemes is shown.

Find the scheme you want to apply to spaces. Click its Apply to spaces link to edit scheme assignment. The scheme assignment editor is opened. It lists your Confluence spaces, and shows the scheme currently assigned to each. A "Default" lozenge indicates that the space has the default scheme applied to it implicitly. The list does not contain spaces that are excluded from content lifecycle management.

Use the text filter above the table to narrow down the space list if needed. Use the checkboxes in each row to specify which space you want the scheme to be newly applied to. For spaces already using the scheme, the checkbox is checked and disabled. Click Apply when you are done, or Cancel to go back to the scheme list without making any changes.

You can click Apply to spaces for the default scheme as well. In this case, the default scheme is explicitly assigned to spaces, just like any other scheme. This is useful if you want the default scheme to be applied to the space even after another scheme has been set as default.

Note that when opening the Apply to spaces list, the checkboxes are checked and disabled for spaces to which the scheme has already been applied. To change scheme assignment for these spaces, click Apply to spaces next to a different scheme, or apply the default scheme to them implicitly.

Apply the default scheme implicitly

To apply the default scheme to spaces implicitly, click the ... icon at the top of the scheme list, and select Apply the default scheme to spaces.

Select the spaces you want to apply the default scheme to implicitly, just like when applying it explicitly.

Apply a scheme from the Space Settings

To apply schemes from the Space Settings, you need Confluence administrator or Space administrator privileges.

Open the space, click Space Settings → Integrations → Better Content Archiving. You can see a tab for each scheme type.

A read-only view of each scheme is shown here, displaying the scheme's details and whether the default scheme is applied implicitly (indicated by the "Default" lozenge).

In the top right corner, you can find the Choose a new scheme button. Clicking it opens the Scheme assignment modal.

Select the new scheme from a dropdown list.

On the top, there is a separate option labeled (Default Scheme). Selecting this will assign the default scheme to the space implicitly.

Below it, you can find the list of schemes. In this list, you will also find the default scheme, with (Default Scheme) appended to its name. Selecting this will assign the default scheme to the space explicitly. Selecting any other scheme simply results in assigning that scheme to the space (also explicitly).

If you have Confluence administrator privileges, you will also see Manage schemes below the dropdown list of the schemes. Clicking it takes you to the scheme management screen.

Note that even though the scheme management screen is shown under Space Settings in this case, your modifications still have a site scope effect, meaning all other spaces using the scheme will be affected as well. In other words, managing schemes here has the same result as if you managed them from Confluence Settings (cog icon "⚙" in the top right) → Apps → Better Content Archiving → Configuration.

A note on changing schemes or assignments

Depending on the type of the scheme, assigning a different scheme to a space or modifying an existing scheme in use may require some follow-up actions for the scheme change to fully take effect. In particular, changes to content status schemes take full effect only after the next scheduled execution of the Refresh Content Statuses job, or sooner if you run the job manually before the next scheduled execution.

For more information, see the detailed description of each scheme type.

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