What's the difference between Field Instance, Field Definition and Field Query?
A Field Definition ist the highest level of abstraction. It defines an abstract object, that can be instantiated abitrarily often, with different independent values. A Field Defintion is used to define a typed input field, give it a label and possibly group multiple input fields together.
The concrete creation of an instance, filled with values, placed in a concrete page is called Field Instance.
These Instances can be analyzed with Field Queries. They take a Field Defintion and collect all matching instances. The results are displayed in real time, i.e. any change to a Field Instance is directly reflected in a matching Field Query.
How do I copy a Field Instance to another Confluence page?
Copying is not support by Data Field Instances. To instantiate a new Filed Instance, add a new Data Field Instance macro and fill it with the required values.
How do I integrate Managed Data Fields into Confluence page templates?
Managed Data Fields can be perfectly integrated with Confluence blueprints. Whether you want to insert a placeholder Field Instance to be filled with values when the user creates a page from the blueprint, or if you preset values while defining the template. Both - Field Instances and Field Query - will work like a charm.
What happens when I delete a Field Definition?
Usually, all changes to Field Defintions are directly applied to all matching Field Instances. When possible, existing instances are merged with the changes applied to the definition.
When a Field Defintion is completely deleted, all Field Instances matching this Definition are of course preserverd. The App will not delete any data without your approval. You are even able to edit them. Any Field Instance without present Field Definition is marked with a little hint. Additionally, they are still found by Field Queries runnig on the old Field Definition. However, these Queries cannot be edited anymore.