Slack hacks help you make the most of one of the most popular messaging services of the modern era. Some of them are fun, some are efficient, but all of them will show you just how deep this messenger program really is.
From shortcuts to emoji straw polls, here are some of the most essential Slack hacks of 2020.
Customize Highlighted Words
Slack will automatically notify you when your username is mentioned and highlight it for you. However, there is an easy way to set up similar notifications for other words.
Simply open Preferences and go to Notifications. Under My Keywords, enter the words or phrases you want to be automatically notified of. This is a tremendous way to stay on top of relevant or ongoing topics.
Use Slackbot for Reminders
Slackbot is one of the most useful, and most misunderstood, aspects of this service. If you know what you’re doing, though, it can be a real lifesaver.
To set reminders within Slack, go to direct messages and type: /remind [me / @someone / #channel] [what] [when]
By filling in the missing information, you can set a reminder for pretty much anything. It’s one of the best reminder systems you can find.
Star Your Important Slack Messages
This might seem like a simple feature, but it’s another that people frequently overlook.
Simply clock the Star button next to any important messages or conversations. This will save them in a special section and make them easily accessible at all times. It’s a fantastic way to separate the most important messages from the clutter.
View All Your Unread Slack Messages
Are you feeling overwhelmed by the unread messages you usually receive? As it turns out, it’s possible to see all of them at once.
By default, there should be an All Unread option on the channels section of your on-screen menu. If you don’t see this (or want to tweak it), you can do so by going to Preferences and accessing the Sidebar option.
Clear All of Your Unread Messages
This feature only works on desktops, but it’s so powerful and hidden that we have to share it.
By hitting Shift+Esc on your desktop while in Slack, you’ll be prompted with the option to clear every currently unread message. Obviously, there are times when you don’t want to do this, but you’d be shocked by how much time it can save you in a pinch.
Set Up Advanced Do Not Disturb Options Using Slack Hacks
This is one of those hacks that will help you separate your home and work. To access it, just hit the “bell” icon on the Slack menu used for notifications.
From here, it’s possible to block notifications using time frames. For instance, you can choose to not receive them while you’re sleeping or when you’re usually at lunch. You can even go into settings to set notification blocks for all users.
Create Custom Slack Loading Messages
Granted, this isn’t the most useful of the Slack hacks, but it’s definitely one of the most entertaining.
Just go to my.slack.com/customize/emoji and choose the Loading Messages option. This will allow you to set-up custom messages that appear when you first load Slack. It’s a great way to work a few jokes into the channel. We suppose you could also use it for something useful if you wanted to.
Be Alerted to Users in Other Timezones
Do you work with users who live in other timezones? Here’s one of the simplest Slack hacks to help you avoid disturbing anyone unintentionally.
By typing @channel to send a channel wide message, Slack should notify you of anyone in the channel who is in a different timezone. This should help you avoid sending channel messages too late at night or too early in the morning.
Restrict How Many Channels You Can be Added to
Are people creating too many Slack channels and forcing you to manage them all? One of the most useful Slack hacks helps you get around that.
First, go to Team Settings. From here, you should be able to access Channel Management. Among other things, you can prevent people from creating channels that automatically include you as a participant.
Switch and Search Between Channels Quickly
Here’s another of those useful Slack hacks that is sadly really only useful on desktop. Still, it’s too handy to ignore.
By hitting Ctrl+K on Windows or ⌘+K on Mac, you can bring up a quick search of available Slack channels. Not only is this a great way to sort through the clutter, but it can even help you discover channels you didn’t know about.
Use Your Slash Commands
This is one of those Slack hacks that you may have heard about but absolutely need to know about if you haven’t. Whenever you type a “/” into Slack, you’ll receive a list of possible commands and messages.
These messages will vary slightly based on what you have installed, but they greatly enhance what your Slack account is capable of regardless of the specifics. Just be sure to explore all of the shortcuts that this opens up.
Add RSS Feeds To Your Channel
It can be incredibly useful to add a news feed to your Slack channel. Whether you want to keep up on current events or use that information for your works, this is a breed of Slack hacks perfect for play and professionalism.
You’ll just need to find the RSS feed URL for your preferred website. Once you have that information, type the RSS into a channel or private thread. You’ll then just need to type /follow before the RSS address.
Create Emoji Polls
There are other ways to perform Slack hacks like this, but this is one of the simplest methods of adding a poll to any Slack channel.
Simply present your channel members with a list of voting options. Assign an emoji to each option. From there, ask everyone to send the emoji that corresponds to their selection. It should be easy to just calculate the emoji votes from there.
Customize Your Slackbot
This is another breed of Slack hacks that is really as useful as you make it. Basically, it involves finding ways to customize your Slack bot.
By going to slack.com/customize/slackbot, you can create custom Slack messages for just about anything. While this is certainly great for creating in-jokes, it’s also fantastic for automating common replies. Really, this feature can do as much as you need it to.
Forward Your Emails to Slack
More and more people are turning to Slack as an email companion or replacement. As such it just makes sense that you’d want to send your emails directly to Slack.
To access these email Slack hacks, go to Set Up and then choose Add Email Integration. From here, you’ll have to do a little work in order to get this hack to function properly.
Basically, Slack will generate a special email address for you. Once you assign a slack channel to the email address, you’ll need to go to your preferred email service. Once there, you’ll just need to choose to forward your emails to the custom Slack address. This should forward them to the Slack channel you added to the email.
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