Background

Sometimes, there is a requirement to generate the countdown based on the output from other macros 

• ConfiForms
• Reporting plugin

This is a workaround by using Confluence user macro to redirect the output of the encapsulated macros as the date paramater for the Countdown macro

Instructions

Setting up the user macro

1. Log in as Confluence Admin
2. Go to Confluence Administration > General Configuration 
3. Click on User Macros on the left side menu
4. Click on Create a User Macro

5. Fill in the details as the table below

   Macro Name	countdownbody
   Visibility	Visible to all users in the Macro Browser
   Macro Title	Countdown Date in Body
   Description	Uses the output of other macros as the date input to the Countdown Timer plugin
   Categories	Visuals & Images
   Icon URL
   Documentation URL
   Macro Body Processing	Rendered
   Template	## Macro title: Countdown Date in Body ## Macro has a body: Y ## Body processing: Rendered ## ## @noparams #set ($index = $body.indexOf('</span>')) #set ($index = $index - 8) #if ($index > 0) #set ($startIndex = $index - 8) #set ($date = $body.substring($startIndex, $index)) #else #set ($date = $body) #end <ac:structured-macro ac ac:name="countdown" ac:schema-version="1"> <ac:parameter ac:name="countdowndate">$date</ac:parameter> <ac:parameter ac:name="centered">true</ac:parameter> <ac:parameter ac:name="style">Black</ac:parameter> </ac:structured-macro>

6. Click on Save button

Using the user macro

1. Go to the page or template
2. Add the Countdown Date in Body user macro instead of Countdown macro
   

3. Add the other macros which will provide the date 

   Plain Date	Other Macro