Problem

For some users, the SubSpace navigation Navigation for Cloud bar will be empty even though the navigation bar is configured. This behavior happens only for normal users. For users with admin roles, the behavior is explained in this post: Navigation bar is not defined even though it was previously configured.

Explanation

This issue with the SubSpace’s navigation bar is caused by a problem with the search functionality of Confluence. The affected user is not able to search for any content in the Confluence (spaces or pages). When the SubSpace’s navigation bar tries to load the configuration, which is saved in on a page, the result of the search will be empty. As a result, the navigation bar has no does not have any data to use in order to create the view.

Check if search is working

Diagnosing the issue

In order to check if the search is working for the affected user, try to search for some content in Confluence. Try searching for any page or space as long as it is not in the recently visited list. If the page is in the recently visited list, it will be shown as a search result, even though the search is not actually doing anything.

One other test that can be done is to compare the search result of the affected user with the search result of another user which is not affected. The not affected user will be able to see the SubSpace’s navigation bar. The result of the search should be very different between the two users. The two images below show an example of the difference between the same search done by two users with identical permissions.

Solution

The only solution for this issue is to contact the Atlassian support team. To do so follow the steps below:

1. Go to the support page: https://support.atlassian.com/confluence-cloud/

2. In the Confluence Cloud support page click on the View suggestions and bugs button

1. . This will redirect to the Confluence Cloud Jira project.

2. On this page, you need to create a new bug ticket where you explain the issue that you have. Attaching images and/or a video showcasing the issue can also help.

3. The support team will contact you soon. When they do, ask them to manually fix this issue for the affected user(s).

It is highly recommended that you try to diagnose the issue before you contact the Atlassian support team.

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