How to delete a page in Confluence

Confluence's key features are essential for creating and sharing information and documentation. Content is created using pages and there is no limit to the number of pages you can create. When the data becomes stale and redundant, you can also delete the page depending on your permissions.

In this article, we will show you how to delete normal pages, create temporary space to move pages, and the workaround to delete multiple pages.

How to delete a page in Confluence

Deleting a page in Confluence will move it to the space's trash. It will stay there until the trash is purged. However, you will only see the "Delete" option if you have permission to delete the page. Check child pages or inbound links before deleting them. Here's how:

1. Open confluence.
   
2. Navigate to the space where the page you want to delete is located.
   
3. Select the page you want to delete in the "Pages" section in the left pane.
   
4. At the top left, click the three-dot “More actions” icon.
   
5. Click "Delete" and you will be prompted to confirm.
   
6. Click OK. The page will go to the space trash.
   

If you want to delete a parent page with child pages, the child pages will move to the nearest parent page. Therefore, to keep child pages under another parent, you will need to create a temporary space, move the parent to it, and then delete the space.

To do this, you first need the “Create space” global permission. To create a new temporary space:

1. Click on “Spaces”, then on “Show all spaces”.
   
2. Go to “Create a space”.
   
3. Select a type of space, then “Next”.
   
4. You will need to enter the space details. It doesn't matter how you fill in the following sections, as the space will be removed.
   
5. Select permissions for the space, then "Create".
   

Then move the parent page to the new space – the child pages will follow. Here's how it's done:

1. Navigate to the space where the parent page you want to delete is located.
   
2. At the top left, click the three-dot “More actions” icon.
   
3. Choose "Move", triggering the Move Page dialog box.
   
4. Find the new parent page via the page tree by selecting the "Browse" tab. Or click on the "Search" tab if you know the name of the new parent's page.
   
5. Click on the name of the new space.
   
6. Select the new parent page or drag your page to the new space.
   
7. Choose "Move" after choosing the new parent page.
   
8. Now delete the temporary space.
   

How to delete a child page in Confluence

Follow these steps to delete a child page:

1. Open confluence.
   
2. Navigate to the space where the child page you want to delete is located.
   
3. In the left pane, click the chevron next to the parent page of the child page you want to delete.
   
4. Click on the child page.
   
5. At the top left, click the three-dot “More actions” icon.
   
6. Click "Delete", you will be asked if you are sure.
   
7. Click on OK. "
   

How to delete a page from a space in Confluence

Follow the steps below to delete a page from a space:

1. Open confluence.
   
2. Navigate to the space where the page you want to delete is located.
   
3. In the "Pages" section in the left pane, choose the page you want to delete.
   
4. At the top left, click the three-dot “More actions” icon.
   
5. Click "Delete", you will be prompted to confirm.
   
6. Click OK. The page will go to the space trash.
   

Is there a way to delete multiple pages? Not directly, but here is a workaround

At the time of writing, there is no direct way to delete multiple pages. The current workaround is to create a temporary space, move all pages to be deleted into that space, and then delete the space.

First, here's how to create a new space:

1. Click on “Spaces”.
   
2. Go to “Show all spaces”, then “Create a space”.
   
3. Choose a type of space, then “Next”.
   
4. You will need to enter space details. It doesn't matter how you fill in the following sections, as the space will be removed shortly after.
   
5. Select permissions for the space, then "Create".
   

Next, start moving pages to the new space:

1. Navigate to the space where the page you want to delete resides.
   
2. Click the three-dot "More Actions" icon at the top left.
   
3. Select "Move". The Move Page dialog box will appear.
   
4. If you want to find the new parent page via the page tree, click on the "Browse" tab. Or click on the "Search" tab if you know the name of the new parent's page.
   
5. Select the name of the new space previously created.
   
6. Drag your page to the new space.
   
7. Choose "Move" after choosing the new parent page.
   
8. Repeat steps 1-8 until all the pages you want to delete have been moved to the temporary space.
9. Delete the temporary space.
   

Confluence unable to delete page

If you are unable to delete a Confluence page, it is usually because page or space restrictions apply. In this case, the "Delete" option will be absent from the "More actions" menu at the top left. These restrictions are in place to prevent the deletion of content from the space. Contact the space admin for details.

Cleaning at Confluence

Confluence is a collaboration tool designed to help teams manage their documentation and information. For reliable use, it is important to keep the stored content relevant and up-to-date by removing redundant pages.

The tool makes it easy for anyone with the proper permissions to delete a page. When pages are deleted, they remain in the space's trash until purged. Currently, there is no functionality to delete pages in bulk. However, moving them to a temporary space and then deleting them is particularly useful for deleting parent and child pages.

What type of content do you create in Confluence? Do you think its current features and functionality help you get the job done? Let us know in the comments section below.