Guide · from Atlassian's own documentation, checked 14 October 2026
How to export Confluence to PDF: a single page, a page tree or a whole space
To export a whole Confluence space to PDF on Cloud, open Space settings, choose Export space, then PDF. You get one PDF of the pages you can view. Blog posts and comments are left out, and on Data Center so are attachments other than images. A single page exports from its ••• menu (Cloud) or Tools menu (Data Center). Below are the exact steps for both editions, how to export just a page tree, and when a PDF is the wrong format.
| You want | Cloud | Data Center |
|---|---|---|
| One page | ••• › Export › Export to PDF | Tools › Export to PDF |
| A page tree or some pages | Export space › PDF › choose specific content | Content Tools › Export › PDF › Custom export |
| A whole space | Export space › PDF › all content you can view | Content Tools › Export › PDF › Normal export |
Export a single page to PDF
- Cloud: on the page, live doc or blog post, choose •••, hover over Export, then choose Export to PDF.
- Data Center: on the page or blog post, choose Tools, then Export to PDF. Anyone who can view the page can do this.
On both, only the published version is exported, so unpublished edits in progress aren't in the file. A single-page PDF picks up the space's PDF stylesheet but not its title page, headers or footers. To get those on one page, Atlassian suggests exporting it with the space export method below and selecting just that page.
Export a whole space, or a page tree, to PDF on Cloud
- Next to the space's name in the sidebar, choose More actions (•••), then Space settings.
- Open the General menu and choose Export space.
- Choose PDF. Then take all the content you can view, or choose specific content items. To export a page tree, select that parent page and its child pages in the content list.
- Choose Export space, and download the PDF when it's ready.
Atlassian says space exports are for space admins. The PDF contains only content you can view, and Cloud space PDFs leave out blog posts. Comments are never included in a PDF, and Atlassian says Cloud exports don't include Team Calendars. Your organisation's admins can also block exports. The default page orientation is portrait; changing it takes a PDF customisation.
Source: Export a space's content as Word, PDF, or data files, Atlassian Support (Confluence Cloud).
Export a whole space, or a page tree, to PDF on Data Center
- Go to the space and choose Space tools, then Content Tools, at the bottom of the sidebar.
- Open the Export tab and choose PDF.
- Choose Normal export for the whole space, or Custom export to pick pages, such as one page tree. Tick Include page numbers if you want them.
- Review your selection, choose Export, and download the PDF when it's ready.
You need the space's Export Space permission. The PDF contains only the pages you can view. A normal export leaves out blog posts, comments and non-image attachments, and a custom export leaves out comments. Data Center can't add page numbers through CSS, so use the checkbox.
Sources: Export Content to Word, PDF, HTML and XML and Customize Exports to PDF, Atlassian documentation (Confluence Data Center 11.0). Menu names can differ slightly between versions.
What a Confluence PDF keeps and leaves out
| Space export to PDF (Data Center) | |
|---|---|
| Pages you can view | Yes |
| Images shown on pages | Yes |
| Other attachments (files, spreadsheets, documents) | No |
| Blog posts | No |
| Comments | No |
| Unpublished changes | No |
| Restricted pages | Only those you can view |
| Page numbers | Optional on Data Center; on Cloud, through PDF customisation |
From Atlassian's Data Center "What's included in the export?" table and its Cloud export page. The Cloud page doesn't publish the same table; it says comments and blog posts are left out of PDF space exports, and doesn't say how images or attachments are handled. Neither page lists page history for PDFs. Atlassian doesn't document how each macro renders in a PDF either, so check pages that use macros before you rely on the file.
Large spaces and failed exports
- If a PDF export fails, the export screen names the page that caused it, usually an unrecognised customisation.
- On Cloud, Atlassian says exporting about 100 pages should generally finish within a few minutes. If a bigger export is slow or fails, export smaller groups of pages to find the page causing it.
- Atlassian's Data Center docs say tables wider than the page, particularly ones with images in them, might be cut off, and point to an article with suggested workarounds. Atlassian's Cloud help lists an article titled "Wide tables may be cut off in PDF export".
Style the PDF: title page, contents, headers and footers
Space admins can add a title page, a table of contents, headers and footers, and their own CSS. On Cloud, open Space settings, then the Look and Feel menu, then PDF export. On Data Center, a Confluence administrator can set a site-wide layout under General Configuration, PDF Layout, and space settings override it completely. On both editions, the title page, headers and footers apply only to space exports.
Source: Customize exports to PDF, Atlassian Support (Confluence Cloud), and the Data Center page above.
When a PDF is the wrong format
A PDF is good for a printable manual, a handover document or a file to send someone outside Confluence. It's a poor way to move to another wiki: pages arrive as one long document, other attachments are missing, and nothing imports it as a set of pages. To move or keep a usable copy, export instead to:
- HTML, for rendered pages with their attachments, which other wikis can import. Our guide to exporting Confluence covers it step by step.
- XML or a site backup, to move into another Confluence or keep a complete copy. Export all Confluence spaces covers whole-site exports.
- If you need page source with macros as definitions rather than rendered output, see Confluence storage format.
Whatever you export, keep it, and keep your Confluence site, until you've checked the copy.
Moving off Confluence?
Tablewide runs Docmost, an open source wiki, at one flat price with unlimited users, from $49 a month. The free preview takes a Confluence HTML export (not a PDF) of one space and puts it into a private Docmost wiki, with no card. The preview is deleted after 7 days unless you subscribe. Comments, page history and permissions don't come across from a Confluence export, and formatting, macros and attachments may not transfer exactly. Through the form, we aim to have your preview ready within two business days of your upload, on a best-efforts basis. The preview terms say where your export is stored and when it's deleted.
Organizations in the EEA, UK or Switzerland: please use the form and don't upload an export. We'll build your preview from your public pages instead, or tell you if that isn't possible (preview terms).
Get a free preview How to export to HTML
Atlassian and Confluence are trademarks of Atlassian. Docmost is a trademark of its developers. Tablewide is not affiliated with or endorsed by either. Steps and menu names are summarised from Atlassian's published documentation on the date above and can change.