Master Slack for work and fun!

Take Control of
Slack

Glenn Fleishman

Wrap your head around how Slack group messaging works, learn to communicate and collaborate using its many features, and discover how to use integrations and notifications to get more out of it. The book explains finding channels, starting conversations, posting messages, interacting with bots, and more! The Slack web app is covered, along with apps for macOS, Windows, iOS/iPadOS, and Android.

This product has been discontinued.

The Slack group messaging system has become an integral part of work life (and even social life) for millions of people. It’s a feature of the modern business landscape, but how can you make the best use of this powerful, 21st-century tool to both get your job done and have fun? In this book, Glenn Fleishman addresses every major type of Slack user:

  • New user: If you’re interested in or tempted by Slack but have never used it, this book will help you get up to speed quickly.
  • Experienced user: If you use Slack already and want to get more out of it, this book will guide you to more efficient and more sophisticated use and control.
  • Reluctant user: If Slack is a requirement for your workplace, nonprofit group, or other organization, this book will help you overcome frustration and confusion.

Slack can make your work life better. This book helps you master Slack! It shows you things you’ll never learn by reading the online documentation or simply poking around, based on Glenn’s years of experience in multiple Slack teams.

Among the many questions this book answers are:

  • How do I get started using Slack, including creating my first workspace?
  • How can I manage the number (and manner) of notifications I get on my desktop and on my mobile devices?
  • Is there any way to edit the message I just posted so I can fix a mistake?
  • How do I find other channels in my Slack workspace—or make new ones?
  • How do I make audio or video calls in Slack, or use screen sharing?
  • What are the differences between direct messages and public messages in Slack?
  • How much privacy can I expect in Slack from coworkers, bosses, owners, and Slack itself?
  • How much can I do in Slack for free? What features make sense to pay for?
  • How do people find and enter emoji in messages?
  • What does it mean when names in the sidebar are bold or italic?
  • What do the numbers next to channel or conversation names indicate?
  • What exactly is Slackbot, and why is it talking to me?
  • How do I perform advanced searches to find what I need?
  • How do I find and install Slack apps?
Glenn Fleishman

About Glenn Fleishman

Glenn Fleishman is a veteran technology writer who has contributed to dozens of publications across his career, including Macworld, Fast Company, and Increment. He has also written dozens of editions of books in the Take Control series. He spent 2019 and 2020 building 100 tiny type museums full of real printing artifacts. Glenn lives in Seattle with his wife and two children.

What’s New in Version 1.2.2

Slack performed a little reorganization that requires explanation and added a new feature since the previous update:

  • New personal menu relocates preferences and status: Everything profile-related, including your current workspace status, was relocated in the desktop and web apps. It used to appear as part of the workspace menu, which was frankly a confusing place for it to be. Now, it’s on its own. A new personal setting menu appears at the far right of the navigation bar, which is your profile thumbnail and a presence indicator. If you have an emoji set with your status it appears to the left of your image. This is noted throughout the book, but read particularly “Navigation Bar” and “Set Your Status.”
  • Custom notification schedule: You can now set a schedule for when you want Slack notifications active with unique ranges of time for each day of the week. See “Control Slack Notifications.”
  • Top of main sidebar reorganized (again): Slack tweaked how you control and display what appears in desktop and web apps at the top of the main sidebar. See “Main Sidebar” for all the details.
  • Read Me First
    • Updates and More
    • Slack Terms
    • What’s New in Version 1.2.2
    • What Was New in Version 1.2.1
    • What Was New in Version 1.2
  • Introduction
  • Slack Quick Start
  • Make a Slack Workplace
  • Learn Slack Basics
    • Workspaces
    • History
    • Notifications
    • Apps and Bots
    • Paying for Slack
    • Slack Pros and Cons
  • Understand Privacy Constraints in Slack
    • How Slack Stores Your Data
    • When Slack Reveals Private Messages
    • Should You Self-Censor on Slack?
  • Get Started with Slack
    • Handle a Workspace Invite
    • Start Using Slack Apps
    • Now That You’re Signed In
    • Sign Out from Slack
  • Master the Interface
    • Examine the Slack Window
    • Learn Slack Shortcuts
  • Post Basic Messages
    • Write a Message
    • Edit or Delete a Posted Message​
    • Navigate the Message List
    • Work with Attachments
    • Go Beyond Basic Messages
  • Connect by Voice, Video, and Screen
    • Configure Your Hardware
    • Work with Slack Calls
    • Share Screens
  • Work with Channels
    • Join a Channel
    • Create a Channel
    • ​Interact in a Channel
    • Leave a Channel
    • ​Archive a Channel
  • Conduct Direct Message Conversations
    • Start a DM Conversation
    • Continue a DM Conversation
    • End a DM Conversation
    • Talk to Yourself
  • Configure Notifications​
    • Make Your Presence Known
    • Control Slack Notifications
    • Do Not Disturb
  • Search Effectively​
    • Compose Queries
    • Examine Results
    • Filter Searches
  • Chat with Slackbot
    • Watch for Alerts
    • Make Reminders
    • Mind That Sass, Bot!
  • Appendix A: Install Apps
    • Explore Common Slack Apps
    • Bots Talk Back
    • How To Add an App
  • About This Book
    • Ebook Extras
    • About the Author
    • About the Publisher
  • Copyright and Fine Print

Slack Changes Desktop Login

Posted by Glenn Fleishman on March 11, 2019

In macOS and Windows, Slack offers both native desktop apps and a robust web app that works across major browsers. The native apps have a few distinct advantages I mention in the book over using the web app. However, Slack just removed a feature from the native desktop apps, that you would think makes the desktop app worse—but, in fact, makes it better.

You can no longer log into a workspace from a native desktop app. Previously, you could click the big + at the bottom of the native desktop app’s Workspaces sidebar, and you’d be prompted within the desktop app to enter a workspace subdomain name, and proceed through a log in or generate a magic link sent via email. (The magic link is a URL that, when clicked, opens the web app, which in turn triggers the Slack native desktop app and adds the team.)

As of March 11, 2019, however, the native desktop apps no longer allow a direct login. Click the + in the Workspaces sidebar, and the Slack desktop app opens a browser window that’s related to all workspaces for which you use the same email address. From there, you can either click on any workspace listed that you’re already logged into, saving time and effort, and the web app requests opening the native desktop app, which then adds the workspace with no further effort. You can also enter the Slack subdomain in the web app’s login page, and then proceed through a normal password (and second-factor) login entry or use a magic link.

You’d think this would be a worse experience because of the round trip. However, because the web app populates the login page with all your active workspaces, it actually reduces effort—it’s better than the native desktop login approach. Now, in the future, I would hope Slack could provide that same ease within a native app, but for now it’s a weird but positive step forward.

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