Readtrail for Confluence: documentation
Readtrail asks people to confirm they have read and understood a Confluence page, records which version each person confirmed and when, reminds the people who haven't, and keeps a record you can hand to an auditor.
Where to find it
| Where | What |
|---|---|
| A banner at the top of a page | Shown only to people asked to read it: the version, the due date, an optional quiz and the Confirm button. After confirming, one line says which version you confirmed and when. |
| Page byline: Read confirmations | "Read 7 of 12". People (who confirmed which version, when, who is overdue), Settings (who is asked, due date, edits, quiz), Record (check and export). |
| Space sidebar: Read confirmations | Pages, Overdue, People and Policies for the space, and CSV exports including the full record. |
| Apps > Readtrail | My reading for everyone. Confluence admins and compliance managers also get the site report, a lookup for one person or a whole group, and site policies. |
| Confluence administration > Readtrail | Get started checklist, compliance manager groups, who may ask, defaults, reminders and escalation. |
Ask people to read a page
- Open the page and choose Read confirmations in the byline (under the title).
- Search for people or groups and add them.
- Pick a due date, or leave it empty to give everyone the default number of days. People added later (for example someone who joins the group) get that many days from the day they are added.
- Choose what happens when the page is edited (next section), optionally add a quiz, and press Ask for confirmations.
Readtrail checks straight away that everyone can view the page. People who can't are marked "Can't view the page" and are not reminded until that is fixed.
When the page is edited
- Major changes ask everyone again (default). A new version asks everyone to confirm it unless it is marked minor: put #minor in the version comment when you publish (or start the comment with "minor"). Confirmations of the new version or any later one count.
- Every new version asks everyone again.
- Edits keep confirmations. Use Ask everyone again on the People tab when you decide.
A confirmation is always for the version the reader has open. If the page changes while they read, the button refuses and asks them to reload.
Quiz
Add up to three multiple-choice questions on the Settings tab. Readers answer before they can confirm. The right answers never reach the browser. Wrong attempts are written to the record; readers can read again and retry.
Anyone may confirm
Tick "Anyone who can view the page may confirm it too" to show the banner to every reader. People who confirm on their own are added to the list.
Policies
In a space's Read confirmations > Policies (space admins, compliance managers), or Apps > Readtrail > Site policies for every space (compliance managers, Confluence admins):
- Every page with a label, for example "policy".
- A page and every page under it (paste the top page's link).
Choose who must confirm, the days to confirm and what edits do. Saving applies the policy at once; after that it runs every day: new matching pages get a request, and pages that no longer match lose the policy's people (their confirmations stay on record). People asked by hand are never removed by a policy.
Reminders and escalation
Once a day Readtrail posts one page comment that mentions everyone still to confirm, starting a few days before the due date and repeating every few days, up to a maximum (Confluence administration > Readtrail). Confluence sends the notifications. By default only the latest reminder comment stays on the page. When someone is overdue by the escalation threshold, a comment mentions the person who asked and the page owner with the names. Remind everyone not done on the People tab sends one now (once an hour at most).
Reports and CSV
- Page: People tab, CSV with each person's status, confirmed version and time.
- Space: Pages, Overdue, People tabs; Pages, Overdue, People and Full record CSVs.
- Site and lookups: Apps > Readtrail (compliance managers, Confluence admins).
Reports only list pages you can view. CSV files are built in your browser. If your browser blocks the download from the app frame, copy the text from the dialog instead.
The record
Every request, change, reminder, escalation, confirmation and failed quiz attempt on a page is appended to that page's record. Each entry stores a hash of the entry before it, so editing, inserting or deleting an entry breaks the chain. Check the record and export it on the Record tab verifies the whole chain and gives you a CSV with every hash. Readtrail records acknowledgements; it is not an electronic signature system.
Who can do what
| Action | Who |
|---|---|
| Confirm | People asked (and everyone, if the page allows it), if they can view the page |
| Ask, change, remind, ask again, stop asking | People who can edit the page (or only space admins, if admins choose), space admins, compliance managers, Confluence admins |
| Space report and space policies | Space admins, compliance managers, Confluence admins |
| Site report, lookups, site policies | Compliance managers, Confluence admins |
| Settings | Confluence admins |
Licensing
Without an active subscription, new requests, policies and reminders pause. Confirming, reports, exports and the record keep working.
Privacy
Readtrail runs entirely on Atlassian Forge and stores its data in your site's Forge SQL. Nothing is sent to Great Work or anyone else. Closed Atlassian accounts are erased weekly. See the privacy policy.