Welcome to Slack, your productivity platform. Slack transforms the way organizations communicate by bringing people together to work as one unified team. To get started, download the desktop app and check out the guide below for a quick tour.
Tip: When you're ready to learn more, see our Slack tutorials.
Heads up: Some of the features we talk about here require a paid plan. If you'd like, read about limitations on the free version of Slack or consider upgrading your workspace.
Sidebar
From the sidebar, you can access the channels you've joined, open your direct messages, view activity that might need your attention, and see a list of your saved items and reminders.
1. Home
2. DMs
3. Activity
4. Later
Home is where you'll access your conversations, including channels. Choose the conversations you're part of by joining and leaving channels, and keep them organized with custom sections. DMs is a list of all your direct messages (DMs) that you can search and filter. Use DMs for one-off conversations that don't require an entire channel of people to weigh in, or as a way to start a huddle with a coworker when it’s easier to talk than type. Activity is a single view of everything that might need your attention. See messages you’ve been mentioned in, threads you’re part of, and reactions to messages you’ve sent. Later is where you’ll find messages and files you’ve saved for later and reminders you’ve set. Prioritize tasks and enjoy the satisfaction of marking items as complete.
Channels are fundamental to working in Slack — they bring the right people and information together in one place, and make it possible to organize work around a common purpose.
5. Channel header
6. Messages & files
7. Emoji reactions
Click the channel name to see details about the channel you’re in, like the channel topic and description, and files shared in the channel. You can also open the canvas and start a group huddle to meet with your teammates over a voice or video call.Channels provide a dedicated space to write messages and add files. With everything related to a particular topic, project, or team in channels, you can scroll up or jump to a date to see the conversation history any time you visit a channel. Emoji reactions are a quick way to respond to any message in Slack. They're both fun and helpful for getting work done — a simple reaction can often replace the need for a follow-up message.
Message field
When working in Slack, you have a variety of options available from the message field to help you communicate and connect with your team.
8. Files
9. Formatting
10. Mentions
11. More actions
Double-click the plus icon to add files so you can share important information alongside your team's discussions.Format your messages to add a little clarity or pizzazz — bold the most important items, break out thoughts with bullet points, and more.Mention specific people in a conversation to get their attention, whether you need to ask for feedback or follow up on action items. You can also create user groups to notify groups of people at once rather than mentioning each person individually. From the more actions menu, you can correct or delete a message you’ve already sent.
Search, create, and profile
Use the search bar to find something in Slack, the plus button to create something new, and click your profile picture to manage your profile and preferences.
12. Search bar
13. Create
14. Your profile
Click the search bar to search your team’s conversation history in Slack and find messages, files, channels, and people you need to get work done.Use the plus button to quickly create messages, huddles, canvases, and channels.Click your profile image to set your status, pause your notifications, manage your preferences, and more.
And even more
Click More for even more ways to use Slack. Automate tasks, create and share content, and work with people outside your organization.
15. Automations
16. Canvases
17. External connections
Click Automations to create and find workflows and apps that automate routine tasks and connect with other software you use. Try using a workflow template to collect ideas from your team, or connect your calendar to see and edit your schedule without leaving Slack. Select Canvases to find and create canvases for anything you’re working on. Try using a canvas template to write and share a product brief, meeting agenda, and more. Click External connections to invite people from other organizations, such as your clients, vendors, and partners, to work with you in Slack.
Tip: Access all of our help and learning resources from Help. Click the question mark icon in the top right from your desktop, or the bottom left from a browser.
