Understand your actions in Slack

In Slack, work happens in channels and direct messages (DMs). You can send messages and share files, save messages and files to find them again later, organise information in tabs and mention other people to get their attention. Keep reading to learn more about how these features work.

Send messages and files

Action	What happens
Send a message in a channel	Anyone with access to the channel will be able to read your message in the channel's   Messages tab.
Send a message in a private channel	Only people who have been invited to the channel will be able to read your message in the   Messages tab.
Send a DM to a member or a group of members	The person or people that you send the message to will be notified.

Pin, bookmark and save items

Action	What happens
Pin a message to a channel or DM	Anyone with access to the conversation can see messages that you or other people have pinned in the   Pins tab at the top of the channel or DM.
Add a link or file as a tab in a channel or DM	Anyone with access to the conversation can see any tabs and folders added to the channel or DM.
Save a message from a channel or DM	Only you can see messages that you’ve saved for later.

Mention other people

Action	What happens
Mention someone in a channel	The person or people will be notified.
Mention someone not in a channel	By default, the person or people won't be notified but you'll have the option to add them to the channel, let them know they were mentioned or do nothing.
Mention someone not in a DM	The person or people won't be notified or allowed to join the conversation.

Link channel names

Action	What happens
Send a message with a public channel name, e.g. #team-a1company	The channel’s name will appear linked in blue. Anyone with access to the channel can click its name to open it.
Send a message with a private channel name, e.g. #people-managers	The private channel’s name will appear linked in blue to members of the channel. People without access to the channel will see a lock icon followed by private channel.

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