Messaging
The composer at the bottom of every channel is a small rich-text editor: write, mention, attach, and send with Enter. This page covers everything you can do with a message once it exists — and the tricks the composer knows.
Send a message
Section titled “Send a message”Type and press Enter. Your message appears instantly. The composer supports basic rich text, an emoji picker, and a microphone button for dictating a message instead of typing it.
While others type, a typing indicator shows under the timeline.
Mentions
Section titled “Mentions”Type @ and pick from the autocomplete:
| Mention | Effect |
|---|---|
@name |
Highlights the message for that person and notifies them |
@channel |
Addresses everyone in the channel |
@here |
Addresses people currently around |
@Web |
Asks the built-in research bot — see below |
Ask @Web from any conversation
Section titled “Ask @Web from any conversation”@Web turns a chat message into live web research with cited sources:
- In the open:
@Web how do the new EU battery rules affect exports?— the bot posts its cited answer in the channel for everyone. - Privately:
/web <question>— the answer appears only to you, with a Share to channel button if it turns out to be worth showing the room.
Answers cite their sources (title, domain, date) so you can verify before you rely on them.
Reactions
Section titled “Reactions”Hover a message and click the reaction (emoji) button to add one; click an existing reaction to add yours to the count, and click your own reaction to remove it. Reactions show a count, and you can see who reacted.
Edit and delete
Section titled “Edit and delete”Hover your own message for the toolbar:
- Edit rewrites it in place — an
(edited)marker appears so nobody’s confused by history. - Delete removes the content, leaving a small “message deleted” placeholder. Replies in its thread survive.
Only the author can edit or delete a message.
Pin (in the hover toolbar) saves a message to the channel’s pinned panel — see Channels.
Turn a message into work
Section titled “Turn a message into work”Two hover-toolbar actions connect chat to your planning tools:
- Add to Tasks creates a task from the message, source-linked back to the conversation — see Tasks from anywhere.
- Add to Calendar drafts an event from the message (“standup moved to 10am tomorrow” → event editor, pre-filled) — see Calendar.
Slash commands
Section titled “Slash commands”Start a message with / to run a command instead of sending text:
| Command | What it does |
|---|---|
/web <question> |
Private @Web research answer, with Share to channel |
/event <text> |
Creates a calendar event from natural language — /event lunch with Sam tomorrow 1pm — and posts a confirmation |
| Integration commands | Workspaces can add custom commands via integrations (Settings → Integrations, admin) — e.g. a /deploy wired to your own tooling |
An unrecognized command is sent as a plain message, so a stray /shrug won’t vanish.
Attachments
Section titled “Attachments”Drag files into the composer (or use the attach button) to send up to 10 files with a message. Attachments are stored in Drive and appear as cards with previews where available. Everyone who can read the channel can open them — and if they lose access to the channel, they lose access to the files with it.
Threads
Section titled “Threads”Any message can grow a thread of replies without flooding the channel — see Threads.