Understand your actions in Slack

In Slack, work happens in channels and direct messages (DMs). You can send messages and files, save messages and files to find them again later, pin important messages to conversations, bookmark links to keep them handy 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	All members with access to the channel will be able to read your message in the conversation's Messages tab.
Send a message in a private channel	Only members who have been invited to the channel will be able to read your message in the conversation's Messages tab.
Send a DM to a member or a group of members	The member(s) will be notified.

Pin, bookmark and save items

Action	What happens
Pin an item to a channel or DM	All members with access to the conversation can see messages and files that you or other members have pinned from the Pins tab at the top of the conversation.
Bookmark a link in a channel or DM	All members with access to the conversation can see links that you or other members have bookmarked. Each link that you bookmark is organised into a folder in the conversation header.
Save an item from a channel or direct message	Only you can see messages and files that you’ve saved.

Mention colleagues

Action	What happens
@mention someone in a channel	The member(s) will be notified.
@mention someone not in the channel	The member(s) won’t be notified, but you'll have the option to invite them to the channel or do nothing.
@mention someone not in a direct message	The member(s) won't be notified or allowed to join the conversation.

Link channel names

Action	What happens
Send a message with a hashtag and a public channel name (e.g. #channel)	The channel’s name will appear linked in blue. All members with access to the channel can click on its name to open it.
Send a message with a hashtag and private channel name (e.g. #privatechannel)	The private channel’s name will appear linked in blue. Only members with access to the private channel can click on its name to open it. People not in the channel will see an anonymous channel name.

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