In Slack, conversations happen in channels and direct messages (DMs). To start and join conversations, learn how to send and read messages.
Tip: When you need to share important messages in Slack at a future date and time, you can schedule them to send later.
What makes a message
Messages can be more than just words. As you’re typing your message, you can select the icons below the message field to add attachments, formatting, and more:
Open the channel or DM you’d like to send a message to.
Click the message field.
Type your message and add any attachments, emoji, mentions, or formatting you’d like.
Press Enter to send it.
Open the channel or DM you'd like to send a message to.
Tap the message field.
Type your message and add any attachments, emoji, mentions, or formatting you’d like.
Tap the paper plane icon to send it.
Tip: You can also send a message from anywhere in Slack by selecting the compose button and entering the channel name or up to eight people you’d like to send the message to.
Manage your drafts
If you start writing a message and don’t send it, it will automatically save as a draft. Here's how to find it:
Desktop
Mobile
Click Drafts at the top of your sidebar to view all your drafted messages.
Click a message to open it, or hover over it to delete, edit, schedule, or send it.
From the Home tab, tap Drafts at the top.
Tap a message to open it, or tap and hold to delete, edit, schedule, or send it.
Read messages
Read new messages
A bold channel or DM in your channel list means there are unread messages in the conversation. Click or tap the bold conversation name to view the unread messages.
Tip: On your desktop, you can click All unreads at the top of your sidebar to view all your unread messages in one place.
Mark messages as unread
If you need to come back to a message later, you can mark it as unread.
Desktop
Mobile
Hover over the oldest message you’d like to mark as unread.
Click the three dots icon.
Click Mark unread. The selected message, and any others sent after it, will be marked unread.
Tap and hold a message.
Tap Mark Unread. The selected message, and any others sent after it, will be marked unread.
