I hope that I don’t need to tell you that Slack has a search function… But do you know the tips and tricks to finding the information that you’re looking for?
Simple Search
Let’s start with the basics – a simple search.
Look at the top of the Slack screen (app or web browser) and you’ll see the Search box.
Click and start typing what you’re looking for, Slack will immediately show you some options, press Return on the keyboard to see the results.
If there’s a message in the results that you want to see more of – just click on it to be taken to the original message.
Close / Clear the Results
Click on the ‘X’ on the far right-hand side – on the same line as the title ‘Search results’.
Note: Clicking on the X in the search field won’t clear the search results from the screen.
Search in a Channel
Let’s start to get a bit more specific…
You know what you’re looking for and think that it’s in a specific channel – it makes sense to search just there.
Note: Channel can be substituted with Direct Message as well.
First thing is to click and display the relevant channel.
As with the simple search, click in the search field and type in your criteria.
This time don’t press return when you’ve finished, but take a look at the options displayed:
The channel that you’re in is one of the options – click on it to search in just that channel.
Your search results are shown – filtered for the chosen channel.
Filter Search Results
Another powerful option is to filter the results down.
Note: You will see these options whichever search option you use.
Use the slack search as above, and take a look above the results at the available filters.
Top Level Filters – Categories
The first row (under the Search title) gives you option to define which categories you want results for
Select from:
- Messages – any posted messages in channels that you have access to
- Files – any matching files available in Slack (uploaded)
- Channels – see which channels match the search word
- People – anyone who’s name matches or talks about the search term
Second Level Filters
Narrow down the results further with the next level of filters.
Note: They will be slightly different based on the top filter you’ve chosen.
Next Steps
For more tips on the Slack Search coming soon.
Or Book a Call with me to create your personalised learning plan.
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