Guests and unlicensed users

Who this is for: Admins who invite Confluence guests, and people reading reports that show (Unlicensed).

You will: Know what guests can do in QC Read & Understood, and how to filter unlicensed people in reports.

Unlicensed people in reports

On Space Overview → Overview or Site Overview, use User Status:

  • All users (default)

  • Only active

  • Only unlicensed

Then click Sync / Reload on the left. Totals change to match the filter.
Space Settings can Remove Unlicensed Users from their assigned pages during sync.

What is a Guest (Confluence)

A guest is an external person who may use one space without a full Confluence license. Only organization/site admins can invite them.

Invite a guest

  1. Open Atlassian Administration.

  2. Go to Directory → Users.

  3. Click Invite users.

  4. Enter the email.

  5. Assign the role Guest for Confluence (do not also assign a full User role unless you mean to).

  6. Send the invite.

Atlassian’s article: Invite guests to Confluence.

Give the guest access to the space

From administration

  1. Confluence Settings (gear).

  2. Global permissions → Guests.

  3. Select the guest, assign the one space, save.

From the space

  1. Open the space.

  2. Space settings → Space access.

  3. Search for the guest, add them, save.

Until they have that space, they cannot open Confluence at all.

What guests can do in QC Read & Understood

Action

Guest

Confirm the current page they can view (byline or Signature Box)

Yes

Confirm a historic version (My Overview)

No — guests cannot open My Overview. Direct links show a permission error.

See macros on the page

Yes, unless macros are restricted. A macro pointed at another space shows no data.

Be added as an individual on Page Overview or in an acknowledgement

No — search will not find them.

Be assigned through a group

Only if Space Settings Allow all site groups to be assigned into Pages is on. Groups do not add guests to acknowledgements.

Open Page Overview, Space Settings, Site Overview, My Overview

No

Open Acknowledgements

Only if not restricted to space admins. They cannot create or edit acknowledgements.

Personal Settings (OTP, email)

Yes, when they can open Apps → QC R&U - Global. If that app is hidden for guests, they cannot register OTP.

Appear in the User filter by name

They can appear in tables but often not in the User filter search.

If a guest must confirm, put them in a Confluence group that has space access, allow all site groups in Space Settings, add that group on the page, then [Sync Groups]. Prefer a Signature Box so they are not dependent on the byline.