Introducing iFinder Confluence Search for Atlassian Cloud: Installation Guide and Overview

Introduction

The iFinder Confluence Search for Atlassian Cloud is a powerful app that enhances your Confluence experience by providing an Enterprise Search engine as a SaaS service. This guide will walk you through the installation process, help you understand the product, and provide answers to frequently asked questions. Whether you're evaluating the product or ready to install and use it, this guide will be your go-to resource.

iFinder Confluence Search for Atlassian Cloud is an app that provides a dedicated SaaS iFinder Enterprise Search engine to enhance your Confluence Cloud search experience. It comes with three main components:

1. iFinder Confluence Search App: A plugin available in the Atlassian Marketplace that needs to be installed on your Confluence Cloud instance.
2. SaaS iFinder Enterprise Search Engine: Automatically rolled out when the "start indexing" button is pressed for the first time in the iFinder Confluence Search app.
3. iFinder Browser Extension: Must be installed on each client device to access the new iFinder search UI.

If you need assistance, have any questions, or would like to request a demo, please contact us at atlassian@intrafind.com.

Prerequisites for Installation

To use the iFinder Confluence Search app, it is necessary to install it in your Confluence cloud instance. However, before installing the app, there are a few requirements that need to be met:

• To install the iFinder Confluence Search app, you will need to install it in your Confluence cloud instance.
• The app requires an Atlassian trial key for installation.
• To enable full indexing, an administrator account with access to all Confluence content is necessary. This account can be a confluence-administrator or site-administrator.
• In addition, you will need an API token for the administrator account.
• To display the new iFinder search input field, it is also necessary to have the iFinder browser extension installed.

Important Notice: Please note that search results are limited to content that is authorized by the indexing administrator account. User rights management is also integrated, which restricts search users to finding content on which they have user rights. If you wish to prevent personal information from being indexed and searchable, select an administrator account that does not have access to the Confluence category "userinfo".

Step-by-Step Installation Guide

Installing the iFinder Confluence Search App

The iFinder Confluence Search App  can be easily installed by following a few simple steps:

• In Confluence, go to Apps > Manage Apps > Find New Apps > Search in Marketplace.
• Search for iFinder Confluence Search, install it.

After installation, a 30-day trial license will automatically begin. If you do not wish to continue with a subscription after the trial period, you can uninstall the app or end the trial before the 30 days are over.

Installing the iFinder Browser Extension

To use the iFinder Confluence Search App in confluence, you'll need to install the iFinder browser extension. It's easy to do and will provide you with a more streamlined and efficient search experience. Once installed, you'll be able to easily access all of the powerful features of iFinder within your Confluence instance.

• Google Store: Chrome Browser Extension
• Mozilla Store: Firefox Browser Extension

Configuration

In order to fully configure the iFinder Confluence Search app, it is necessary to enter login and API token information for a Confluence administrator account that has read-user rights to all content that should be searchable. Follow these steps to complete the configuration process:

1. Open the app iFinder Confluence Search and go to the tab “Configure”.
2. Enter login/email of the Confluence administrator account (confluence-administrators or site-administrator), which has read-user rights to all content which should be findable via iFinder Confluence Search.
3. Enter the API token for the Confluence administrator account. See Manage API tokens for your Atlassian account for more details. Please take care, that the admin API token will not expire or be deleted. Otherwise, the daily re-index process is not working and then the index is not up to date.

The iFinder Confluence Search app offers an optional feature that allows you to list the Confluence Spaces that you want to include or exclude from the search index. This is particularly useful for those who want to test the software quickly or limit the search to specific spaces:

• If no spaces are listed in either the whitelist or blacklist, the app will perform a full indexing of all content in Confluence, making all content searchable.
• To limit searchable and indexed content to specific spaces, enter their space keys in the whitelist. To get a complete index quickly for a test, only store some space keys in the whitelist.
• To prevent specific spaces from being searchable, add their space keys to the blacklist. This will exclude them from indexing and searching.

Indexing and Reindexing

After configuring the iFinder Confluence Search app and setting up the whitelist or blacklist for spaces, you can start the indexing process to make the content searchable.

1. By clicking on "Start Indexing," a custom iFinder enterprise search environment is automatically deployed, and it becomes available after approximately five minutes. At this point, the new iFinder search bar will be accessible in the Confluence cloud.
2. The indexing process starts automatically after clicking on 'Start Indexing.'
3. You can monitor the current deployment and indexing status by clicking on 'System Status.'

Important Notice: Indexing your Confluence content can take several hours or even days, depending on the volume of data and document sizes. During this time, the search results list may not be complete. For a quick software test, use the space whitelist with fewer space keys to obtain a faster and complete index for the selected spaces. To check the number of search results available based on your user rights, use an asterisk search (*) in your new iFinder search bar.

After indexing your Confluence content, it's important to keep the index up-to-date to ensure that the search results are relevant and accurate. The iFinder SaaS provides a reindexing process that automatically updates the index with any changes made in Confluence, such as permission changes or new, modified, or deleted content. This process can also be executed manually by clicking on "start indexing" in the app.

Uninstall and Reinstall

If you uninstall the app, your Confluence Cloud will revert to its original state, and the standard Confluence search bar will appear. The iFinder enterprise search SaaS engine will be deleted immediately, and any existing backups will be automatically deleted after 90 days. Additionally, please ensure that you delete the iFinder browser extension from your client PC.

Before reinstalling the app, please wait for about 15 minutes after uninstalling to ensure that the iFinder SaaS engine is completely deleted. This guarantees that you will have a completely new iFinder SaaS instance.

iFinder Confluence Search: Search Infrastructure and Data Protection

IntraFind provides a dedicated iFinder server infrastructure for each customer through the Google data center located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The app has no impact on Confluence content and does not modify Confluence or its default search.

Upon uninstallation, the associated iFinder enterprise search engine and its data are also deleted, and any existing backups are automatically deleted after 90 days. IntraFind does not use any customer data or share it with any third party. Additionally, user and search behavior are not tracked, analyzed, or used in any way. Please review our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy for more information.

Limitations of iFinder Confluence Search - Cloud Edition

Optimized for Atlassian Confluence Cloud, the iFinder Confluence Search app has limited customization and extension options. The search UI layout and design cannot be modified, and anonymous users are not supported. Additionally, adding other data sources, applications, or cloud services to the search is not possible. While most Confluence apps are compatible, some may require customization, especially those that alter the front-end layout of Confluence Cloud, such as Refine or Mantra. If you encounter such issues, the search bar may not be displayed or appear in the wrong location.

Our goal is to enhance your Confluence experience with iFinder Confluence Search - Cloud Edition, and your feedback is essential to achieving this aim. Please share your suggestions and thoughts on how we can improve the search experience by emailing us at atlassian@intrafind.com.

FAQ

What languages are available for the iFinder Confluence Search UI, and how can they be set?
The iFinder Confluence Search UI is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Japanese. The language setting can be done through the Atlassian user profile of each search user.

Will iFinder Confluence Search index and search through Confluence Cloud archive content?
No, iFinder Confluence Search will not index Confluence Cloud archive content, and it will not be searchable.

What should be done if the iFinder search bar is missing in Confluence Cloud, and what could be causing this issue?
If the iFinder search bar is missing in Confluence Cloud, it is necessary to install and activate the iFinder browser extension (Chrome or Firefox), which initiates the initial index process and enrolls the dedicated iFinder enterprise search engine.

In particular, apps that change the front-end layout of Confluence Cloud, such as Refine or Mantra, can cause the search bar not to be displayed or to be displayed in the wrong place. Temporarily disabling these apps may help display the iFinder search bar.

What happens if the iFinder enterprise search engine is unavailable?
In the unlikely event that the iFinder enterprise search engine is unavailable, the iFinder search bar will automatically fall back to the Confluence standard search bar, allowing users to continue working seamlessly.

What should be done if the indexing process is not working?
If the indexing process is not working, it is recommended to provide the app with an Atlassian trial key to enable indexing to begin.

How long does indexing in iFinder Confluence Search typically take, and how can users test index completeness?
Indexing in iFinder Confluence Search can take hours or days, depending on the amount of data and document size. During this time, the search results list may not be complete.

To test the completeness of the index, users can log into Confluence with the index admin account and search using an asterisk (*) in the new iFinder search bar to see how many search results are already available based on their user rights. For a quick test of the software, users can use the space whitelist with fewer space keys to get a complete index for those spaces.*

What should I do to ensure the daily re-index process is working properly?
Make sure that the admin API token is not expired or deleted as this could cause the daily re-index process to fail, resulting in an outdated index.

What could be the reason for missing search results in iFinder Confluence Search?
If some content is not found, it could be because the selected index admin account does not have the necessary user rights to that content, and therefore it was not indexed.

How can I control what content is indexed in iFinder Confluence Search?
You can use the index admin account to control which Confluence content should be indexed. However, be careful not to give this account reading rights to content that should not be indexed or found via the iFinder search, such as the Confluence person profiles.

How should I enter space keys in the Blacklist/Whitelist feature of iFinder Confluence Search?
When entering space keys in the Blacklist/Whitelist feature, use only space keys and not the space name. The space key is part of each space URL and can also be found under space settings -> space details.

Does iFinder Confluence Search support anonymous users?
No, anonymous users are not supported by iFinder Confluence Search.

We hope this information helps you in evaluating, installing, and using iFinder Confluence Search – Cloud to its full potential. If you have any questions or need assistance, don't hesitate to reach out. We're always here to help you get the most out of your Confluence experience. Happy searching!