Ochrestack
Sortlatch quick start
Your first page tree kept in order, step by step. Back to the Sortlatch product page.
Install (Confluence Cloud)
- In Confluence, open Apps > Explore more apps, search for Sortlatch for Confluence (once the listing is live), and choose Get app. A Confluence admin installs it for the whole site and approves the permissions, each explained on the product page.
- There is nothing to set up. Sortlatch appears in every page's ••• menu as Sort child pages, in Space settings as a Sortlatch tab, and in Confluence admin settings as Sortlatch.
- The first time you open Sort child pages or the Sortlatch tab, Confluence asks you to allow Sortlatch access. Sortlatch uses it only to check that you may edit the page, and to count the child pages you can see.
1. Preview and sort a page's child pages
- Open the page whose child pages you want in order, for example Customers, and choose ••• > Sort child pages.
- Pick an Order: Title A→Z (numbers in natural order: Release 2 before Release 10), Title Z→A, Newest first or Oldest first (by creation date).
- Pick a Depth: This level (the child pages of this page) or All levels below (every level of the page tree under it).
- Read the Preview. It updates with every choice, lists each level in its new order, marks each page that will move with "moves (now #n)", and says how many will move.
- Choose Sort once to sort now and save nothing, or Keep sorted to save the choice as a rule on this page and sort now.
- Progress shows in the dialog, then a line such as Moved 12 pages under "Customers". Refresh Confluence's page tree to see the new order. You can close the dialog while it runs.
Only people who can edit the page can sort its child pages or save a rule. Anyone else sees You can't sort these pages and the reason.
If some child pages are restricted
If page restrictions keep Sortlatch out of some child pages you can see, the preview says how many. Tick Sort the pages Sortlatch can see, and leave the others where they are to go ahead: the pages Sortlatch can see are sorted among themselves, and the hidden ones stay put. Child pages you are not allowed to view are sorted with the others but only counted in the preview, never listed.
2. Pin pages to the top or bottom
In the same dialog, pick pages in Pin to the top and Pin to the bottom, for example an Overview first and an Archive last. Pinned pages keep their place; the rest are sorted between them, including pages created later. Pins are picked from the first level, up to 50.
3. Let it keep the order
Under a page with a rule, these go back into the order within a few minutes, with nobody pressing a button:
- a page that is created, renamed, moved in or copied in;
- the child pages, after someone drags them out of order;
- a page restored from the trash, if Confluence puts it back under that page.
Confluence tells apps about page changes up to 3 minutes after they happen; on our test site, each change was in place 11 to 17 seconds later. A daily check puts back anything that was missed. A level already in order is left alone.
4. Check the space overview
Open Space settings > Sortlatch. Each rule in the space has a row:
| Column | What it says |
|---|---|
| Parent page | The page the rule is on, linked |
| Order, Depth, Pins | The rule's choices |
| Status | In order, Sorting with progress, Paused, or Needs attention |
| Last run | When the rule last ran and how many pages that run moved |
| Actions | Sort now, Pause or Resume, Undo last sort, Restore original order, Remove |
Below the table, a panel for each rule that needs attention says why in plain words: a level skipped because a folder is among its child pages, child pages Sortlatch can't see, or a page Confluence refused to move, with Confluence's reason. Each action needs edit permission on the rule's page.
5. Undo, restore, pause or remove
- Undo last sort (in the dialog or on the overview) puts every page the latest run moved back where it was, and pauses the rule so the next check doesn't sort them again. Choose Resume to keep sorting.
- Restore original order puts back the order the pages had before the rule first sorted them, then removes the rule. Pages added since stay next to the page they follow now.
- Pause and Remove never move a page.
On the space overview, Undo last sort, Restore original order and Remove each ask for confirmation first.
For Confluence admins
Confluence admin settings > Sortlatch lists every rule on the site, with its space, parent page, order, depth, status and last run. Anyone who isn't a Confluence admin is refused, and space admins are pointed to their own Space settings tab.
Where to put a rule
- On the page whose child pages should stay in order. One rule per level: a page with its own rule keeps it, even under an "All levels below" rule higher up.
- Not on a page whose child pages include a folder, whiteboard, database or smart link: that level is skipped. Move those elsewhere, or order the level by hand. For pages you keep in a folder, put them under a page inside the folder and put the rule on that page.
- Not on the top level of a space: use Space settings > Manage content > Reorder there. "All levels below" on the home page still sorts every level beneath it.
Limits
- A few minutes, not instantly: Confluence sends page changes to apps up to 3 minutes late.
- Up to 1,000 child pages under one page; up to 5,000 pages in one "All levels below" rule.
- Folders, pages inside folders, whiteboards, databases, smart links, blog posts and the top level of a space are not sorted.
- Decimal numbers sort like version numbers: "Fee 1.5" before "Fee 1.25". Full-width digits are not read as numbers.
- A page restricted after a rule was saved is reported only when someone opens the overview or the dialog.
Privacy
Sortlatch calls only your site's Confluence API and sends nothing anywhere else. Its rules and the orders kept for undo are stored in app storage inside Atlassian. See the product page for what is stored.
Support
Email [email protected] with your site URL, the page with the rule, and what the space overview says about it.