How to Create Custom PDF Templates in Confluence

If your team exports Confluence pages to PDF regularly, you've probably run into this problem: every export looks different. One person adds a cover page, another doesn't. Headers are inconsistent. Some PDFs have page numbers, others don't. When the document goes to a client or a regulator, it looks like it came from three different organizations.

The fix is a shared template. Create it once, and every export from the instance uses it automatically — no manual configuration each time.

This guide covers how to set up PDF export templates in Confluence using PDF Exporter for Confluence.

Prerequisites

PDF Exporter for Confluence installed from the Atlassian Marketplace
Confluence admin access (templates are configured in Confluence Settings)

Regular users can apply templates but cannot create or edit them.

Step 1 — Open Template Management

Go to Confluence Settings (gear icon, top-right)
In the left sidebar, find PDF Exporter
Click Templates

You'll see the template list. New instances have three built-in templates: Default, Report, and Minimal. You can edit these or create new ones.

Step 2 — Create a New Template

Click New Template and give it a name. Use something descriptive — "Client Deliverable," "Internal Report," "Compliance Archive" — so team members know which template to pick.

Add an optional description explaining when to use this template.

Step 3 — Configure Page Layout

Under Page Layout, set:

Page Size — A4 for international use, Letter for North America, Legal for formal legal documents
Orientation — Portrait for most documentation, Landscape for wide tables or diagrams
Font Size — Medium is the default and works for most use cases; Large if the document will be read on screen rather than printed

Step 4 — Set Up the Cover Page

Cover pages are one of the most visible differences between a professional-looking PDF and a bare export. Turn them on under Cover Page.

Style options:

Style	When to use
Classic	General internal documents
Corporate	Client-facing deliverables with a formal tone
Modern	Product documentation with a contemporary feel
Executive	Board reports, executive summaries
Bold	Team-facing reports where visual impact matters
Minimal	When you only need the title and author, no decoration

Customization:

Accent Color — set a hex value to match your brand palette. The default is Yamuno purple (#504DC4); change it to your company's primary color
Subtitle — optional text below the page title (e.g., "Confidential — Not for Distribution" or "Version 2.1")
Author — appears on the cover. Use a team name ("Solutions Engineering") rather than a person's name if the template will be shared
Logo — upload a PNG, JPG, or SVG. The logo is stored per template and appears on the cover automatically

The template editor shows a live preview as you configure, so you can see exactly how the cover will look before saving.

Step 5 — Configure Headers and Footers

Headers and footers appear on every content page (not the cover).

Header:

Enable it and add text — typically a document title, project name, or team name
Position: Left, Center, or Right

Footer:

Enable it and add text — typically a confidentiality notice, date, or department name
Position: Left, Center, or Right

Page Numbers:

Enable separately from the footer
Format options: 1, 1 / 10, or Page 1 of 10
Position: Left, Center, or Right

A common layout: document title centered in the header, page numbers right-aligned in the footer, confidentiality notice left-aligned in the footer.

Step 6 — Add a Watermark (Optional)

Watermarks are useful for draft reviews, confidential documents, or compliance archives.

Enable Watermark, enter the text (e.g., "DRAFT," "CONFIDENTIAL," "FOR REVIEW ONLY"), and set the opacity. The default opacity of 0.15 is visible without dominating the content. Go lower for a more subtle mark, higher if the watermark needs to be unmissable.

Step 7 — Table of Contents

For multi-page exports, a table of contents makes the document navigable.

Enable Table of Contents and set the depth:

Depth 1: H1 headings only
Depth 2: H1 and H2
Depth 3: H1, H2, and H3

For technical documentation, Depth 2 is usually the right balance. Depth 3 can make the TOC longer than some sections.

Step 8 — Page Breaks

Under Page Breaks, you can configure the exporter to insert automatic page breaks before H1 and/or H2 headings. This keeps major sections starting on a fresh page, which looks significantly cleaner in multi-topic exports.

Enable "Break before H1" at minimum. Enable "Break before H2" for documents with long subsections.

Step 9 — Save and Test

Click Save. The template is immediately available to all users on the Confluence instance.

To verify it works:

Navigate to any Confluence page
Click ••• → Export to PDF
Select your new template from the dropdown
Use the Preview option before downloading

Check the cover page, headers, and watermark. If anything looks off, go back to Settings → PDF Exporter → Templates → Edit.

Managing Multiple Templates

For most teams, two or three templates covers the range of use cases:

Client-facing — cover page (Corporate style), branded header, confidentiality footer, page numbers, no watermark
Internal draft — cover page (Minimal), watermark "DRAFT," page numbers
Compliance archive — cover page (Executive), watermark "ARCHIVED," page numbers, department footer

Archive templates you no longer want used (rather than deleting them) — the Archive option hides them from user dropdowns while preserving the settings for reference.