This page last changed on Dec 07, 2009 by ggaskell.
JIRA 4.0 is the first major Atlassian application that can incorporate OpenSocial-compliant gadgets, such as Confluence gadgets onto its dashboard. This page explains how to add a Confluence gadget to the dashboard of a JIRA 4.0+ installation.
To add a Confluence gadget to a JIRA dashboard, complete the sections below in order.
On this page:
Establish an OAuth or Trusted Application Relationship Between Confluence and JIRA
If your Confluence gadgets need to access user-restricted Confluence data, then your Confluence administrator must first establish either an OAuth relationship between your Confluence site (as a 'service provider' of gadgets) and the JIRA site (as a 'consumer' of your Confluence site's gadgets), or a trusted applications relationship between the two sites. For more information about configuring OAuth relationships between Confluence and other web applications, refer to Configuring OAuth.
If you only need to access anonymously accessible Confluence data, then you can proceed to Finding a Confluence Gadget's URL, below.
 | This following procedure can only be conducted by Confluence Administrators. |
To establish an OAuth relationship that permits a JIRA server to consume your Confluence server's resources (via gadgets),
Go to the Confluence 'Administration Console'. To do this:
- Open the 'Browse' menu and select 'Confluence Admin'. The 'Administration Console' view will open.
- Click 'OAuth' from the 'Administration' section on the left navigation panel.
- Click the 'Consumers' tab in the 'OAuth Administration' page.
- Click the 'Add OAuth Consumer' link.
- Enter the JIRA server's URL into the 'Consumer Base URL' field.
- Click the 'Add' button. The JIRA server's consumer information is added as a new record into Confluence's consumers list.
If this step did not work (for instance, because the JIRA server might be temporarily offline) but you have access to the necessary OAuth consumer information for the JIRA server (that is, the OAuth 'consumer key' and 'public key'/'self-signed certificate'), try the following steps:
- Enter the JIRA server's consumer information details manually into the relevant fields:
- Consumer Key — The JIRA server's consumer key. This field is mandatory and its contents must match the consumer key supplied by the JIRA server.
- Name — Any descriptive name for the JIRA server. This field is mandatory, although the exact wording and format of the JIRA server's name is your choice. It is prudent to be accurate, however, as this name will be shown to your Confluence users whenever they grant permission for a Confluence gadget (on the JIRA server's dashboard) to access the Confluence server's resources.
- Description — A short description of the application. By convention, it is useful to include the name of the application and if applicable, its URL, somewhere within the description.
- Public Key — The application's public key or self-signed certificate. This field is mandatory and its contents must match the public key or self-signed certificate supplied by the JIRA server.
- Callback URL — JIRA server's usually supply their own callback URL when receiving an OAuth request token. Hence, this field can be left blank.
- Click the 'Add' button. If all the information is valid (in particular, the public key format), then the application's consumer information is added as a new record into your Atlassian application's consumers list.
 | If you wish to add the same or any other Confluence gadget to the same JIRA server's dashboard, then you do not have to repeat this procedure.
In rare circumstances, where the JIRA server's consumer details may change (for example, as a result of the JIRA server acquiring a new OAuth Consumer Key, 'Name' or Public Key), then you will need to repeat this procedure once again. |
Finding a Confluence Gadget's URL
The Confluence gadget's URL is the gadget's XML specification file. These URLs look something like this:
http://example.com/my-gadget-location/my-gadget.xml
To find a Confluence gadget's URL,
- Open the 'Browse' menu and select 'Confluence Gadgets'. The 'Confluence Gadgets' window will open.
The 'Confluence Gadgets' window displays a list of available Confluence gadgets in your Confluence installation, as shown in the screenshot below.
By default, Confluence only includes a few gadgets. However, if your Confluence administrator has installed more Confluence gadgets (typically as Confluence plugins), these will also appear in this list. If a scrollbar is available, use it to find the gadget you want.
- After finding your gadget, use the 'Gadget URL' link to copy the gadget's URL to your clipboard. Many operating systems and browsers allow you to do this by right-clicking the 'Gadget URL' link and copying it using the context menu.
Screenshot: Finding a gadget's URL

Adding a Confluence Gadget to a JIRA server's Gadgets Directory
To add a Confluence Gadget to the Gadgets Directory in JIRA,
- Go to the dashboard by clicking the 'Dashboard' link or the 'Home' link at the top left of the screen.
- The dashboard will appear. Click 'Add Gadget'.
- The 'Add Gadget' screen appears, showing the list of gadgets in your directory. See screenshot 1 below. Click 'Add Gadget to Directory'.
You will only see this button if you have administrator permissions for your dashboard.
- The 'Add Gadget to Directory' screen appears. See screenshot 2 below. Paste the gadget URL (which you copied to your clipboard above) into the text box.
- Click 'Add Gadget'.
- The gadget appears in your gadget directory. (It will be highlighted for a short time, so that you can see it easily.)
Screenshot 1: Gadget directory with 'Add Gadget to Directory' button
Screenshot 2: Adding a gadget to the directory
Adding a Confluence Gadget to the JIRA Dashboard
 | In the procedure below, 'your Atlassian dashboard' and 'your Atlassian application' refers to the JIRA Dashboard and application, respectively. |
You can add a gadget from the directory of gadgets that are available to your Atlassian application.
To add a gadget to your Atlassian dashboard,
- Go to the dashboard by clicking the 'Dashboard' link or the 'Home' link at the top left of the screen.
- The dashboard will appear, looking something like screenshot 1 below. Click 'Add Gadget'.
- The 'Add Gadget' screen will display a list of available gadgets in your gadget directory, as shown in screenshot 2 below. Find the gadget you want, using one or more of the following tools:
- Use the scroll bar on the right to move up and down the list of gadgets.
- Select a category in the left-hand panel to display only gadgets in that category.
- Start typing a key word for your gadget in the 'Search' textbox. The list of gadgets will change as you type, showing only gadgets that match your search term.
- When you have found the gadget you want, click the 'Add it Now' button to add the gadget to your dashboard.
Screenshot 1: An Atlassian dashboard
Screenshot 2: Adding a gadget from the gadget directory

 | Adding a Gadget to the Directory of Available Gadgets You need to have administrator privileges to add a gadget to the list of available gadgets. If you have permission to add gadgets to and remove gadgets from the directory itself, you will see the 'Add Gadget to Directory' and 'Remove' buttons on the 'Add Gadget' screen. Please refer to the Gadgets and Dashboards Administration Guide. |
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