Channel-specific notifications

Say that you belong to a public or private channel, but you only want to check in it periodically. You don’t need to receive regular notifications from the channel, but you don’t want to leave it altogether. Fortunately, Slack provides two ways to control your notifications from a channel.

Muting a channel

If you’d like to remain in a channel, but you don’t want to receive any notifications at all, this feature is just the ticket for you. Muting a channel is a particularly valuable feature.

To mute a channel, follow these steps:

1. Click the name of the channel that you want to mute.

   Slack displays a new pane on the right side of the screen.

2. Click the More icon.

   Slack displays a number of options.

3. Click the Mute #[Channel Name] button.

Set regular reminders to check in on muted channels.

After you mute a channel, Slack grays it out in the sidebar and places it below the non-muted ones. That is, it will no longer be the color of the unmuted channels. In Figure 7-4, the #finance and #human_resources channels are muted.

Muting a channel is not the same as muting a conversation with a person. A workspace member can still send you a DM or correspond with you in another channel. This action only applies to the activity that takes place within the channel.

Say that you have muted a channel and someone mentions you in it. In this case, Slack displays a red badge in the channel. It's a subtle way of reminding you to check it. At the same time, though, Slack doesn’t interrupt you with a notification.

Setting channel notifications

Slack lets you customize which channel alerts you receive and, even better, the devices on which you receive them. To tweak your channel notifications with a greater level of granularity than muting, follow these steps:

1. In the bottom half of the sidebar, click the name of the channel whose notification settings you’d like to change.

2. Click the Details button in the upper-right corner of the screen.

   Slack displays a new pane on the right side of the screen.

3. Click Notifications.

   From here, you can ignore additional mentions and tweak the channel’s notifications on your desktop and mobile device. For example, say that you don’t want to receive desktop notifications from a particular channel but you want to receive @mentions on your mobile phone. If that’s the case, check the boxes in Figure 7-5.

If you don’t enable notifications from the Slack app in your phone’s settings, you won’t receive them.

In a nutshell, you can configure Slack to send you different types of notifications from different channels on different devices. This is yet another example of how Slack leaves email in the dust.

Fine, but what if you want to view all your channels’ notification settings in a single place? You don’t have to hunt and peck. Again, Slack has you covered:

1. Click the main menu.
2. From the drop-down menu, click Preferences.
3. Click Notifications and scroll down to the very bottom of the page.

Figure 7-6 presents a composite view of channel notifications.

If you click the X next to a channel setting, Slack resets the channel’s notifications to its default state.

Keyword-specific notifications

Keeping track of channel messages is one thing, but what if you want to follow a term or phrase across all channels? Setting up a keyword alert for every channel would be cumbersome. Slack couldn’t agree more. To enable these notifications, follow these directions:

1. Click the main menu.
2. From the drop-down menu, click Preferences.
3. Click Notifications and scroll down to My Keywords.
4. Enter the keywords for which you want to receive alerts.

5. Click the X in the upper-right corner of the screen.

   Slack displays a red badge in your channel list when someone uses one of your keywords in that specific channel (see Figure 7-7). For example, you may want to know when anyone in your workspace uses the term quarterly meeting. In the notification preference panel, you simply enter that term.

When someone uses this phrase in a public channel of which you’re a member, Slack notifies you. Note, however, that you won’t receive notifications when others use that term in private DMs and private channels. This alert would be a clear violation of Slack’s user privacy.

Direct messages from individuals and groups

When a Slack user or group of users sends you a DM, Slack sends you a notification. You can view unread messages underneath the channels (see Figure 7-8).

Missed calls

What if a colleague calls you but you aren’t able to answer? In this case, Slack places a badge next to that person’s name in the sidebar. If a colleague calls a channel and you miss it, Slack bolds the channel name in the sidebar. You see a notification that you missed a call.

DM reminders

Chapter 6 also covers reminders in more detail. For now, suffice it to say that you can easily set them. For example, at 3:51 p.m. on Friday, Steve sends you a DM but you’re busy. You quickly set a reminder to see that message at 8:30 a.m. on Monday. At that point, Slackbot reminds you about his DM, such as the one in Figure 7-9.

Member join and leave messages

If you work at a big company, you probably want to disable Slack notifications when members join and leave company-wide public channels. If so, follow these steps:

1. Click the main menu.

2. From the drop-down menu, select Settings & Administration and then Workspace Settings.

   Slack launches a new window or tab in your default browser.

3. Scroll down to Join & Leave Messages and click the white Expand button.
4. Uncheck the box next to the words Show a Message When People Join or Leave Channels.
5. Click the Save button.

Depending on your individual and workspace settings, Slack may still display notifications in certain cases. Examples include

• Small public channels
• Private channels
• When somebody accepts an invitation from a member of an existing private channel

Carefully think about the notifications that you need to receive. Ideally, each one really matters.

Threads and notifications

The chief conceit of email at work is that all messages are equally important to all employees all the time. As you well know, nothing could be further from the truth; different things matter to different employees at different times. One size never fits all.

Chapter 6 describes how users can create threads that stitch together individual comments and questions into a cohesive entity. What’s more, you can follow or unfollow them at your leisure. If you’re keeping tabs on a thread, Slack places a red badge next to Threads at the top of your workspace (see Figure 7-10).

Concurrently notifying multiple users

You probably receive mass emails just about every day at your job. Maybe a few of these messages really do apply to you. As for the rest, you rightfully dismiss them as irrelevant. Mass email blasts may only mildly annoy you. Still, you likely tolerate them because they represent the only way to alert everyone in a department or company of an announcement or event. After all, generally speaking, it’s better to let too many people know than too few, right?

Slack makes it easy to alert both workspace and channel members en masse. Table 7-1 provides some quick tips to get the attention of a bunch of people. By using these handles, you don’t need to look up everyone in the workspace and add them to a group DM — a major time-saver to be sure. What’s more, you don’t need to mercilessly pepper your colleagues with unrelated messages.

Say that you post a message in a channel with six or more members. What's more, your message includes @channel or @everyone. By default, Slack asks you to confirm your message before you send it unless a Workspace Owner or Admin has already disabled this warning.

In addition, keep the following pointers in mind:

• @channel does not work in a thread. If you want a bunch of people to see your response to a question, post a link to the message in the desired channel.

• If you use one of the callouts in Table 7-1 in a thread, a red badge appears in the sidebars of relevant members with one caveat: Depending on how individual members have configured their device notifications, they may not receive alerts.
• You can always call out a specific user by username. For instance, if you type @ianmosley, Slack shoots Ian a notification.
• See https://bit.ly/sl-not for more information on Slack's desktop notifications. Slack allows you to customize their sounds, appearance, and more.

Setting your status

Set your status by following these steps:

1. Click the main menu and then on Update Your Status.

   You see something similar to Figure 7-11, which shows some default statuses that Slack easily lets you set, although you can customize these as needed.

   

2. Click Set a Status, which appears underneath your name.

3. Enter a custom status or select an existing one.

   If you like, pick an emoji that describes your status. Now everyone in the workspace can view your status.

   If you know the name of the emoji that you want to include in a message, you can also type :[emoji name]: and press Enter. For example, typing :slack: produces the Slack emoji.

   If you do select an existing status, Slack inserts an icon to its left. You can override that icon with whatever you like.

4. Click the Save button.

By letting others know your status, you can start the process of maintaining your sanity. You can also opt not to receive notifications at all via Slack’s Do Not Disturb mode, covered later in this chapter.

Viewing your colleagues’ statuses

From time to time, you’ll want to view your colleagues’ statuses. To this end, do one of the following:

1. If you’ve recently exchanged DMs with the person, click the member’s name in the sidebar under Direct Messages.

   If he has set a status, it appears at the top of the workspace to the immediate right of his name.

2. If not, click People in the sidebar.

   Slack displays the member’s status underneath his name.

3. If you see a white callout or emoji to the right of a person’s name in the sidebar, mouse over it.

   Slack displays the member’s status.

Your custom status and icon appear to the right of your name in the sidebar. Ideally, users look at them before they send you DMs or call you.

Use a red stop sign as your status icon if want to emphasize the fact that you’re unreachable. To change your icon and/or status, click the smiley-face icon and go nuts. For example, in Figure 7-12, the user has selected the red stop-sign emoji to indicate that he wants to be left alone.

Editing your status

Slack recognizes that you do different things throughout the day or week, so your status often changes. As such, you can and should set different statuses. For example, you may not want to be disturbed if you’re in an important meeting. On the other hand, you may be relatively free on Tuesday afternoon.

A Slack status is meant to be temporary. At some point, you’ll want to change it. Follow these steps:

1. Click the main menu.
2. Enter your new status in the white text box below your name.

Clearing your status

To remove your status altogether, follow these steps:

1. Click the main menu.
2. At the top of the drop-down menu, click Clear Status.

Your status is now blank.

Setting yourself to away/active

When you indicate that you’re away, Slack grays out your name in the sidebar. This way, your colleagues see that you’re unavailable. Of course, just like email, they can still send you messages, but they shouldn’t expect an immediate response.

To indicate that you’re away, follow these steps:

1. Click the main menu.

2. From the drop-down menu, select Change.

   If you’re active, Slack flips your status to inactive and vice versa.

When you return to a workspace after indicating that you’re away, Slack asks you whether you want to let your colleagues know that you’re now available. Of course, the option is yours. Figure 7-13 shows such a screen.

Unplugging with Do Not Disturb mode

What if you worked at a software company called Initech? (Yes, this is an Office Space reference.) Your boss, Bill, has requested that you complete your monthly TPS reports. You start working on them, and you don’t want anyone nagging you in Slack.

If you enable DND mode, Slack won’t send you any notifications until you’ve disabled it or your DND period expires. Thanks to DND mode, you can keep Slack open and work without fear of Michael and Samir interrupting you. (Slack won’t stop annoying colleagues from tapping you on the shoulder, though.)

If you attempt to call someone who’s in DND mode, Slack displays a message that the person doesn’t want to be disturbed. In other words, Slack nixes your call.

Think of DND as snoozing. You’re taking a break for a predetermined amount of time and telling others as much.

Sending urgent direct messages

Great, you’re thinking. Thanks to DND, you can easily tell the world to bugger off. Still, crises may arise that require someone to reach you — even if you prefer not to be disturbed unless an emergency arises. Once again, Slack has you covered.

Slack lets users send urgent messages to folks who have enabled DND mode. Recipients receive notifications despite the fact that they’re presumably busy.

What if Walt needs to send me a message, but I’ve enabled DND mode? I’m busy writing this book and rocking out to Marillion — both of which are important to me. Before sending me a message, Walt sees a green DND icon next to my name.

Ideally, my status deters him from interrupting me for the time being, but that’s not necessarily the case. Walt types his message and presses Enter on his keyboard. Slackbot informs Walt that I don’t want to be bothered right now (see Figure 7-14). Walt, however, is undeterred; he can’t wait. Things are about to break bad, and he must reach me.

After seeing the message in Figure 7-15, Walt clicks Click Here. At this point, Slack sends me a notification. I can respond if I want.

Of course, I can always ignore Walt’s messages. If I do, then Slack tells me that I missed critical messages while I had DND mode activated.

What if I want to ignore all notifications — from Walt or anyone in the workspace? In other words, I want to ensure that no one bothers me for any reason. Maybe I’m trying to focus, or I’m on the golf course. My recourse is simple: I can quit the Slack app. Problem solved.

Don’t be afraid to use DND mode or quit Slack altogether. Nowhere is it written that you have to immediately respond to notifications — in Slack or any other tool, for that matter. As Chris Hoffman astutely writes for The New York Times, “Slack shouldn’t be ever-present in every minute of your life.” (View the article at https://nyti.ms/349ga07.)

Enabling notifications on mobile devices

Chapter 4 explains how you can access Slack on any device you like — although you can only perform certain functions while using a web browser. If you’d like to install Slack on your smartphone and tablet, have at it. You can also set notifications on the mobile app of your choice.

Visit https://bit.ly/sl-mob for far more information on mobile notifications.

Understanding when settings collide

Certain Slack settings may conflict with those on your computer, web browser, or mobile device. Consider the following example.

You’re working on an urgent project. At 9 p.m., you open the Slack app on your iPhone. You disable Slack’s DND mode, but you’ve set your iPhone’s native DND functionality to automatically kick in from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. In this case, your iPhone’s DND mode beats its Slack counterpart. As a result, you won’t receive DMs.

Here’s another plausible scenario. Say that you’re using a friend’s computer. You log in to your Slack workspace via the web browser, but you don’t enable the browser’s desktop notifications. You then launch Microsoft Word and work on a document. Slack doesn’t notify you of new activity in the browser.

Implement a notification system that works for you. You don’t want irrelevant alerts bothering you any more than you want to miss key ones. Play around. You’ll land on your own Goldilocks principle.

Receiving emails on recent activity

What if you haven’t accessed your workspace for a few weeks? (A pox on you, if you haven’t.) By default, Slack sends you an email that summarizes the workspace messages and activity that you’ve missed if you’ve been inactive for 14 days (see Figure 7-16).

If you don’t find these emails useful, you can opt out of them. Simply click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of one of the emails.

Reverting to email defeats the whole purpose of Slack. After all, one of Slack’s chief benefits is that it reduces the time that you waste in your inbox.

Viewing mentions and reactions

As an added tool to keep track of everything that’s going on in a workspace, Slack provides the ability to easily view all your mentions in a single, consolidated view. These mentions include

• Your name
• Your notification keywords
• Your @channel mentions (optional)
• Your reactions (optional)
• Your user groups (optional)

Slack's feed eliminates the need for you to search individual channels and conversations for content related to you. At a high level, this stream is akin to the familiar news feeds of LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Even better, Slack lets you toggle this view on and off. To view your personalized mentions and reactions in Slack, follow these steps:

1. Click Mentions & Reactions in the sidebar.

   Slack displays a pane on the right (see Figure 7-17).

   

   Note a few things about Figure 7-17:

   • Slack presents user mentions in reverse chronological order.
   • Slack preserves the content from your previous view in the middle of the app. In this case, the user was catching up in the #accounting channel before clicking Mentions & Reactions. That’s why Slack displays that channel in Figure 7-17.

   Say that you find the view in Figure 7-17 to be too busy. You’d prefer to see a dedicated screen of mentions involving you. No bother.

2. Click the icon to the immediate left of the X in the upper-right corner.

   Slack displays a full-screen view of your feed (see Figure 7-18).

Click the filter icon in the upper-right-hand corner to restrict the types of mentions that Slack shows.