Slack for Windows (beta) – release notes

Slack 4.33.60

31 May 2023

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.32.126

22 May 2023

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.32.122

1 May 2023

Bug fixes

  • Here’s to the copycats who recently were unable to copy over the Slack version name from the About Slack dialog. Since we suspect you are not actually cats but rather amazing humans just trying to get your work done, we have meow fixed this issue.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.32.119

17 April 2023

Bug fixes

  • Here’s to the copycats who recently were unable to copy over the Slack version name from the About Slack dialog. Since we suspect you are not actually cats but rather amazing humans just trying to get your work done, we have meow fixed this issue.

Slack 4.31.155

27 March 2023

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.31.152

20 March 2023

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.31.150

20 March 2023

What’s new

  • Starting with version 4.31, we are no longer able to support Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2. If you’re running one of these operating systems, you may continue to use version 4.29, but we encourage you to upgrade your OS to enjoy the latest Slack features (https://slack.com/help/articles/115002037526-System-requirements-for-using-Slack).
  • Organizations will be able to manage Slack desktop client settings during rollout and ongoing operations. Configurations can be deployed with industry standard tooling: Group Policies on Windows, user preferences profiles on Mac and with configuration files on Linux. See https://slack.com/help/articles/11906214948755
  • Pressing the Alt key now serves as an Alternative way to open the app menu bar. We hope this change does not provoke any Altercations between you and your computer.

Bug fixes

  • You might have noticed that Slack notifications weren’t coming through when you had another app in fullscreen mode (even if your Focus Assist settings should have allowed them). We’ll do a better job of getting you the notifications you need in accordance with your preferences.
  • Using the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + F will now toggle to Fullscreen mode, allowing you to really take in the view (or just focus a bit more).
  • Our notifications misunderstood the “auto-hide” setting for the Windows taskbar, thinking that they should be the ones hiding behind the taskbar while this setting was active. Have you ever seen a child playing hide-and-seek and at least 50% of the kid’s body is visible while they’re “hiding” behind a chair? It was like that, but less cute.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.31.145

6 March 2023

What’s new

  • Starting with version 4.31, we are no longer able to support Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2. If you’re running one of these operating systems, you may continue to use version 4.29, but we encourage you to upgrade your OS to enjoy the latest Slack features (https://slack.com/help/articles/115002037526-System-requirements-for-using-Slack).
  • Organizations will be able to manage Slack desktop client settings during rollout and ongoing operations. Configurations can be deployed with industry standard tooling: Group Policies on Windows, user preferences profiles on Mac and with configuration files on Linux. See https://slack.com/help/articles/11354894714899-Managing-desktop-client-configurations
  • Pressing the Alt key now serves as an Alternative way to open the app menu bar. We hope this change does not provoke any Altercations between you and your computer.

Bug fixes

  • You might have noticed that Slack notifications weren’t coming through when you had another app in fullscreen mode (even if your Focus Assist settings should have allowed them). We’ll do a better job of getting you the notifications you need in accordance with your preferences.
  • Using the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + F will now toggle to Fullscreen mode, allowing you to really take in the view (or just focus a bit more).
  • Our notifications misunderstood the “auto-hide” setting for the Windows taskbar, thinking that they should be the ones hiding behind the taskbar while this setting was active. Have you ever seen a child playing hide-and-seek and at least 50% of the kid’s body is visible while they’re “hiding” behind a chair? It was like that, but less cute.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.30.88

13 December 2022

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.29.149

14 November 2022

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.29.144

24 October 2022

Bug fixes

  • “What is this—a video player for ants?” YouTube videos embedded in Slack can now be expanded to play in full-screen mode, which we’re told is at least three times bigger.

Slack 4.29.141

5 October 2022

Bug fixes

  • “What is this—a video player for ants?” YouTube videos embedded in Slack can now be expanded to play in full-screen mode, which we’re told is at least three times bigger.

Slack 4.28.184

27 September 2022

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.28.182

20 September 2022

Security guidance

  • This release includes significant security improvements. Updating is strongly recommended.

Slack 4.28.171

24 August 2022

What’s new

  • On Sept. 1, we’ll be deprecating support for some older operating systems and outdated versions of Slack. Please visit our Help Center to get all the details: https://slack.com/help/articles/115002037526-System-requirements-for-using-Slack

Bug fixes

  • Trying to capture your screen with a third-party app while also sharing your screen in Slack may have resulted in the non-Slack app crashing. We’d like to say that this was because the idea of “capture” is antithetical to “sharing,” but in truth it was just a “bug.”
  • Sharing your screen and then right-clicking the Slack icon in the taskbar made you the winner of a secret game. The prize was that the app would crash. Nobody liked that.
  • If you’re someone who uses a symlink for your %appdata% folder and noticed that Slack was crashing on startup, we have some good news: Slack won’t be crashing anymore. If you don’t use symlinks, well, this note doesn’t apply to you, but we appreciate you reading anyway.
  • Dragging the Slack window between multiple displays was resulting in some spooky behavior, like the window snapping to locations where you distinctly did not drop it. “Haunted Slack” launches in 2025, but until then we must insist all ghosts be unambiguously busted.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.28.163

10 August 2022

Bug fixes

  • Trying to capture your screen with a third-party app while also sharing your screen in Slack may have resulted in the non-Slack app crashing. We’d like to say that this was because the idea of “capture” is antithetical to “sharing,” but in truth it was just a “bug.”
  • Sharing your screen and then right-clicking the Slack icon in the taskbar made you the winner of a secret game. The prize was that the app would crash. Nobody liked that.
  • If you’re someone who uses a symlink for your %appdata% folder and noticed that Slack was crashing on startup, we have some good news: Slack won’t be crashing anymore. If you don’t use symlinks, well, this note doesn’t apply to you, but we appreciate you reading anyway.
  • Dragging the Slack window between multiple displays was resulting in some spooky behavior, like the window snapping to locations where you distinctly did not drop it. “Haunted Slack” launches in 2025, but until then we must insist all ghosts be unambiguously busted.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Coming soon

  • Heads-up: We’ll be deprecating certain older versions of Slack on Sept. 1 in order to continue supporting newer operating systems. Please visit the Help Center for more information: https://slack.com/help/articles/115002037526-System-requirements-for-using-Slack.

Slack 4.27.154

14 June 2022

What’s new

  • You may have noticed that with this release there’s a new, larger number at the end of the version string. Going forward, while you’ll still see the numbers laid out in a sequence, the “Build” numbers will now correspond to specific builds on our end as opposed to a small sequential number. TL;DR: A few more numbers for you, a bit more specificity for everyone.
  • We’ve added the most common Apple and Microsoft file extensions to our approved list so you won’t be asked to confirm each time you open a Word doc or Keynote presentation. Are you sure you’d like one less approval? YES/NO

Bug fixes

  • If you had notifications disabled at the system level, Slack had very crafty ways of evading the preventative measures of Windows. Not by design, mind you—it was a bug. Can bugs be crafty? Not when they’re squished.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.27.150

2 June 2022

What’s new

  • You may have noticed that with this release there’s a new, larger number at the end of the version string. Going forward, while you’ll still see the numbers laid out in a sequence, the “Build” numbers will now correspond to specific builds on our end as opposed to a small sequential number. TL;DR: A few more numbers for you, a bit more specificity for everyone.
  • We’ve added the most common Apple and Microsoft file extensions to our approved list so you won’t be asked to confirm each time you open a Word doc or Keynote presentation. Are you sure you’d like one less approval? YES/NO

Bug fixes

  • If you had notifications disabled at the system level, Slack had very crafty ways of evading the preventative measures of Windows. Not by design, mind you—it was a bug. Can bugs be crafty? Not when they’re squished.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.26.3

31 May 2022

Bug fixes

  • Clicking on a notification was sometimes causing the app to stop responding, breaking its silence only to say “Slack is not responding.” No one enjoyed that, so we’ve endeavored to make sure that doesn’t happen anymore.

Slack 4.26.2

16 May 2022

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.26.1

4 May 2022

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.26.0

25 April 2022

Bug fixes

  • If you tried to re-download a file that was already present in your Downloads folder, the app would pretend to download it again without actually producing a new file. Duplicitous duplication was never part of the plan—sorry about that.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.26.0-beta2

11 April 2022

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.26.0-beta1

1 April 2022

Bug fixes

  • If you tried to re-download a file that was already present in your Downloads folder, the app would pretend to download it again without actually producing a new file. Duplicitous duplication was never part of the plan—sorry about that.

Slack 4.25.0

24 March 2022

What’s new

  • Starting today, you’ll see a confirmation pop-up when a link in Slack is prompting another program to open. If you don’t want to see these each time because you enjoy living on the edge, just check the box “Always open files of this type.”

Slack 4.25.0-beta1

16 March 2022

What’s new

  • Starting today, you’ll see a confirmation pop-up when a link in Slack is prompting another program to open. If you don’t want to see these each time because you enjoy living on the edge, just check the box “Always open files of this type.”

Slack 4.24.0

28 February 2022

Bug fixes

  • Perhaps you wanted to know which version of the app you had installed. Maybe we gave you an option to copy that version number to your clipboard. It’s possible the “Copy” button did nothing at all. One might say we fixed it.
  • We discovered that when an update to the app failed, people were still being notified that the update was a success. There is a time and place for “fake it ‘til you make it,” but this was not one of them.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.24.0-beta1

3 February 2022

Bug fixes

  • Perhaps you wanted to know which version of the app you had installed. Maybe we gave you an option to copy that version number to your clipboard. It’s possible the “Copy” button did nothing at all. One might say we fixed it.
  • We discovered that when an update to the app failed, people were still being notified that the update was a success. There is a time and place for “fake it ‘til you make it,” but this was not one of them.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.23.1-beta1

12 January 2022

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.23.0

7 December 2021

Bug fixes

  • Depending on how the app was installed, the “Launch on Login” option was sometimes appearing greyed-out, visible but inaccessible, like a storefront window display after closing hours. We’ve unlocked the door, flipped on the overheads and fired up the neon “Open” sign. Come on in and have your pick of all the preferences.
  • Some external URLs were occasionally launching within the Slack app window, but will now load in your default web browser, as is proper. Slack cannot have a little web page, even as a treat.

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.23.0-beta1

22 November 2021

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.22.0

8 November 2021

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.22.0-beta1

28 October 2021

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.21.1

25 October 2021

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.21.0

20 October 2021

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.21.0-beta1

23 September 2021

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.20.0

20 September 2021

What’s new

  • When opening SSH, FTP, SFTP or SMB links, you’ll now see the option to allow all future URLs from just that same domain instead of the whole wide world. A little more secure for us, a little more peace of mind for you.

Bug fixes

  • Certain versions of the app were not correctly changing availability to “Away” after 10 minutes of inactivity. While this has been fixed, we’d like to remind you that you can use your Custom Status to let your teammates know your whereabouts beyond simply Active or Away. Examples include: walking the dog, catching up after PTO, taking a mental break, or tweeting nice things to the Slack social media team.

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.20.0-beta1

7 September 2021

What’s new

  • When opening SSH, FTP, SFTP or SMB links, you’ll now see the option to allow all future URLs from just that same domain instead of the whole wide world. A little more secure for us, a little more peace of mind for you.

Bug fixes

  • Certain versions of the app were not correctly changing availability to “Away” after 10 minutes of inactivity. While this has been fixed, we’d like to remind you that you can use your Custom Status to let your teammates know your whereabouts beyond simply Active or Away. Examples include: walking the dog, catching up after PTO, taking a mental break, or tweeting nice things to the Slack social media team.

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.19.3

25 August 2021

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.19.2

18 August 2021

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.19.0

11 August 2021

Bug fixes

  • If you had the “Launch app on login” preference selected, we stopped showing a checkmark next to it after the app restarted. Strong systems require checks and balances, and we’re pleased to report ours now has one more check.
  • Did you know that pressing the Esc key will mark the channel you’re viewing as read? Or that pressing Shift + Esc will clear ALL of your notifications? Well, now you can do that without being pulled out of fullscreen mode. See our full list of nifty keyboard shortcuts by pressing Ctrl + / the next time you have Slack open!

Security guidance

  • This release includes significant security improvements. Updating is strongly recommended.

Slack 4.19.0-beta1

29 July 2021

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.18.0

14 July 2021

Bug fixes

  • If you moved the app window between multiple monitors, notifications were slow to appear on the correct screen. After some orange slices and a halftime pep talk, notifications will be sticking with the app wherever it may go.
  • Certain menus were not being properly translated when switching languages in the app. You know what they say about menus — they’re most helpful when you can read them.

Slack 4.18.0-beta3

8 July 2021

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.18.0-beta1

22 June 2021

Bug fixes

  • If you moved the app window between multiple monitors, notifications were slow to appear on the correct screen. After some orange slices and a halftime pep talk, notifications will be sticking with the app wherever it may go.
  • Certain menus were not being properly translated when switching languages in the app. You know what they say about menus — they’re most helpful when you can read them.

Slack 4.17.1

4 June 2021

Bug fixes

  • Some folks using the newest generation of processors were experiencing the app crashing. Crashes are no fun, particularly when they involve shiny new things, so this has been fixed.

Slack 4.17.0

3 June 2021

What’s new

  • Bigger is better, or rather, closer is clearer. We now support additional zoom levels up to 200% to reduce the strain on your precious peepers.

Bug fixes

  • Previously, you may have expected the “Launch on Login” option to do precisely that when clicked. But sadly it didn’t. Pre-flight checks have been rerun, and we are prepared to initiate countdown once more.
  • You can no longer select incoming notifications as a shareable screen when on a Slack Call. To anyone who noticed this was even possible before, we salute your fastidiousness.

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.17.0-beta1

26 May 2021

What’s new

  • Bigger is better, or rather, closer is clearer. We now support additional zoom levels up to 200% to reduce the strain on your precious peepers.

Bug fixes

  • You can no longer select incoming notifications as a shareable screen when on a Slack Call. To anyone who noticed this was even possible before, we salute your fastidiousness.
  • Previously, you may have expected the “Launch on Login” option to do precisely that when clicked. But sadly it didn’t. Pre-flight checks have been rerun, and we are prepared to initiate countdown once more.

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.16.0

4 May 2021

Bug fixes

  • Images and notifications were sometimes sharing real estate...inelegantly. We have given them both a talking-to, and they have agreed to joint custody of that section of the screen.

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.16.0-beta1

25 April 2021

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Security guidance

  • This release includes security improvements. Updating is recommended.

Slack 4.15.0

12 April 2021

Bug fixes

  • Previously, clicking on a notification in Windows Action Center didn’t bring you to the message in Slack — basically the opposite of walking into a room and forgetting what you came for, but no less confusing.
  • Sometimes when the Windows app was launching, it instead decided to hit the Snooze button and just hang there for a while. We gave it a polite talking-to, and it will now be more punctual.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.15.0-beta1

6 April 2021

Bug fixes

  • Previously, clicking on a notification in Windows Action Center didn’t bring you to the message in Slack — basically the opposite of walking into a room and forgetting what you came for, but no less confusing.
  • Sometimes when the Windows app was launching, it instead decided to hit the Snooze button and just hang there for a while. We gave it a polite talking-to, and it will now be more punctual.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.14.0-beta3

11 March 2021

Bug fixes

  • We improved the restart experience when you’ve gone offline or are having loading issues.
  • We all have to sign out sometimes. If you sign out of all of your workspaces, you should have an easier time signing back in.
  • Hopefully you’ll be able to ask “Can you see my screen?” a little less these days. The green border that lets you know you’re screen sharing is back.

Security guidance

  • This release includes minor security improvements. Updating is beneficial.

Slack 4.14.0-beta1

1 March 2021

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.13.0-beta5

9 February 2021

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.13.0-beta3

2 February 2021

Bug fixes

  • When you move or resize Slack, we assume you are indeed trying to move or resize it — and so the crash that was regularly happening, instead, was unwelcome. We’ve fixed this. Here’s to properly-sized screens!
  • We’ve fixed several accessibility issues. Making Slack more accessible is a continuous journey, and we’re quite grateful that you’re along for the ride!

Slack 4.13.0-beta2

8 January 2021

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.13.0-beta1

5 January 2021

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.12.0-beta1

30 November 2020

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.11.0-beta2

4 November 2020

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.11.0-beta1

27 October 2020

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.10.0-beta2

23 September 2020

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.9.0-beta3

25 August 2020

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.9.0-beta2

13 August 2020

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.9.0-beta1

11 August 2020

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.8.0-beta1

10 July 2020

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.7.0-beta1

3 June 2020

What’s new

  • We’ve upgraded all the backend stuff that the apps run on, resulting in better performance and fewer bugs.

Slack 4.6.0-beta1

11 May 2020

What’s new

  • Batten the hatches! The app sandbox is now enabled for all web content. This is a fancy way of saying we’ve dialed up the security of the app. It wasn’t unsafe before, but it’s double safe now.
  • A preference that allows you to choose a unique save location per download, instead of choosing a folder for all of them. For the choosy types.

Bug fixes

  • Your notifications should be tidily grouped by workspace when shown in the Action Center.
  • A tricky case where some users were unable to get to the browser to add their first workspace.
  • The Launch on login preference showing the wrong value, when the app was installed from the MSI package.
  • If you found yourself, in some distant past, trying to start a song on Spotify with your keyboard’s play button, and it did not respond to your command while Slack was front and center, pesky hardware media keys were the problem. And this version is the cure.
  • The app should be less spicy to your CPU when you’re viewing certain network error pages.
  • When a download completes, we’ll show an in-app prompt rather than a bothersome system notification.

Slack 4.5.0-beta3

8 April 2020

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.5.0-beta2

26 March 2020

What’s new

  • We’ve upgraded all the backend stuff that the apps run on, resulting in better performance and fewer bugs.
  • Our spell checker has been swapped out for a newer model that’s faster, leaner, and capable of fixing your typos in… wait, can this be right? “Multiple languages at the same time”! Open the “Language & Region” preferences to choose your languages. And for whoever it is out there requires that functionality: our hats are off to you. We can barely type in one language right now.

Slack 4.4.0-beta3

28 February 2020

Bug fixes

  • Fixed: Windows Action Center notifications were unable to display certain characters, like < or ‘ for example.
  • Fixed: Switching notification types on Windows would cause both types of notifications to be shown until the app was restarted.
  • Fixed: On Windows, if users landed on our error page, the main menu wasn’t available, which was an error in itself. The error on the error page is now de-errored.
  • Fixed: If you zoom way in or zoom way out, and then open the About Slack window, the About Slack window would also be zoomed way in/out, which was a little intense.
  • Fixed: Once in a while, users would receive a flood of notifications for old messages. This was not a bad case of deja vu: it was a bug. And now, a fixed one.

Slack 4.3.2-beta2

14 January 2020

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.3.0-beta1

6 December 2019

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.2.0-beta2

15 November 2019

What’s new

  • Our newest, fastest, best-performing, shiniest, most nutritious and delicious version of Slack is now fully rolled out, so that’s the one you’re now using. Brilliant.
  • Like zooming in and out? Use a numpad? Great news. You can now do these things, on that.

Bug fixes

  • Notifications looked weird if your workspace name was long. Now, no matter your team name, notifications look lovely.
  • Some messages were being marked as read when Slack was hidden behind applications, or not visible on screen. Now we won’t mark it as read until you’ve actually seen it. Which seems fair.

Slack 4.1.2-beta1

15 October 2019

What’s new

  • We added support for Windows 10 Focus Assist priority list. So now our built-in and Action Center notifications will respect your Focus Assist settings, staying as quiet (or as loud) as you want them to be.
  • A new menu for the system tray lets you take control of how and when Slack launches on booting up (even, randomly, if you are not signed in to any teams.)

Bug fixes

  • Receiving a gif in a notification could mess with your notifications.
  • Long workspace names now no longer appear as incredibly long in menus.
  • Slack menus should now be showing up at the right language (meaning the one that is right for you).
  • Spellchecker stopped working for a small count of users, leading to a shorp uptick in avoidabull erratz. With spellcheck now fully back online for those users, any remaining typos are officially not our fault.
  • There was a slim chance things weren’t finishing up properly when closing Slack. We’re working on making all this perfect, but in the meantime, it is, at least, better. Restarting when clearing cache now works again.
  • No longer do you have to ask “Update.exe? What IS that?”: We now show with our actual name (which is “Slack”, for reference) in Startup entries for Taskmanager and Settings.
  • Slack could go into a state where getting notifications (even if you couldn't see them) would prevent you from clicking on the right side of your monitor… at all. Sorry for any understandable frustration this caused — your notifications (and your ability to use your mouse) are now working as intended again.

Slack 4.1.1-beta1

8 October 2019

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tuned the engine and given the interior a thorough clean. Everything is now running smoothly again.

Slack 4.1.0.beta6

26 September 2019

Bug fixes

  • We tweaked some things too small to notice or too difficult to explain. We’ll return you to your regular, more interesting types of release next time (we hope).

Slack 4.1.0-beta3

2 September 2019

What’s new

  • Thanks to a few tweaks to the engine, a polish of the pistons, and recalibrated valves, the app should be running smoother and faster, than before.
  • Spellcheck, revamped, is now a much better version of its old self (and back on Linux, to boot) — now it supports Greek, Portuguese and British English. So now spelling correctly should come more naturally to us all (which is good, because “correctly” can be a difacult word to spell).

Bug fixes

  • For a quicker connection, and less frustration, checking for network connectivity is more reliable than it was before.
  • After uploading a video into Slack some found it would give an infinite circle of loading, but not play, which was never our plan. Now: it works! It plays; no more circle! Because, it turned out, all circ and no play made Slack a null ‘ploy.

Slack 4.0.2-beta1

24 July 2019

What’s new

  • A pesky leak involving in-channel videos has been plugged.

Bug fixes

  • It's taken a few tries, but the app should crash less often when connected to an external display.

Slack 4.0.1-beta2

18 July 2019

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 4.0.0-beta2

18 June 2019

What’s new

  • Slack is now a tiny bit faster all around, thanks to a bunch of little changes that each made a difference for the better.

Bug fixes

  • If you like dragging and dropping files, you'll like it even more now we've fixed it.
  • Resetting the app data, should that be something you need to do, works better.
  • Icons on the sidebar now line up more pleasingly for those in many workspaces.
  • Focus assist and presentation mode are now properly honored, as they should have been.
  • Windows native notifications are now more reliable.
  • Hardware acceleration can now be turned off without foregrounding Slack. If that means something to you, you'll know that it's good… And if it means nothing to you, it's still good (and thank you for reading anyway).

Slack 3.4.3

3 June 2019

Bug fixes

  • The app was crashing more often than it should have done upon waking. Waking up is hard for all of us, but it shouldn't have been that hard. It now crashes less often than it did, and we're continuing to work toward making that "not at all"

Slack 3.4.2-beta4

21 May 2019

What’s new

  • Just as day follows night and winter gives way to spring, so have we updated Electron to 4.2.1

Bug fixes

  • The push notification time between desktop and mobile has been changed for the better.
  • Like stability? Us too. So we tweaked things, and now everything is more stable. In our app.

Slack 3.4.1-beta3

18 April 2019

Bug fixes

  • We’ve tinkered with the internal workings and polished some rough edges. The app is now better than it was.

Slack 3.4.0-beta1

28 March 2019

Bug fixes

  • Interactions with network drives are now handled with grace and panache. Or, at the very least, "better".
  • If you want to launch slack minimized, you now can. We will no longer stand in your way.
  • We've changed the look, feel and texture of our new HTML notifications. Give them a try! They're delicious.
  • Sometimes on Windows 10, moving the window, say, up would cause a white bar to appear. We raised the bar.
  • Also, moving the window would sometimes change the size of the window. Your aim was true; we no longer move the goalposts on you.
  • In the Apps and Features and Uninstall a Program window, the icon showing up was not the right one. It now is.
  • The notification and unread indicators on the taskbar are now more readable.
  • Blurry icons were an issue for some users with multiple displays. Now all is clear.
  • The Slack icon, previously appearing with an opaque background color on Windows 10 is now all the clearer for being less clear.
  • Some people were seeing sidebar icons for teams other than the one they were in. This was confusing, and has now stopped.
  • And finally, if you have been having issues with keyboard or cursor issues, you should no longer be having them.

Slack 3.3.8

4 March 2019

Bug fixes

  • We’ve made some additional tweaks to our new sign-in and sign-out flows.

Slack 3.3.8-beta1

12 February 2019

What’s new

  • When you sign in, you'll now sign in through the browser rather than within the app.

Bug fixes

  • We've fixed the tray icon to make the notification badge easier to see, because, let's face it, if you can't see a notification, it's not really doing its job.
  • Switching from one channel to another will now give the correct name and information of the new one, rather than the old one, as was previously happening.
  • The new loading animation was a little stretched, or a little squished, depending on how you looked at it. It's now practically perfect.
  • A few icons in menus went missing on Windows 10, and have now been retrieved.
  • Occasionally, the "Open the Slack App" browser button was not opening the workspace in the desktop app. Silly, really. It now does.
  • If you use SSO (Single Sign-on) to log in, it should now work perfectly every time.

Slack 3.0.2

19 December 2017

Bug fixes

  • We undid changes that have been causing some people to occasionally miss notifications with 3.0.0. You will now miss nothing. Unless you want to.
  • Clicking on and replying to notifications is now also more reliable.

Slack 2.7.1

15 August 2017

Bug fixes

  • You're nearly finished signing in when suddenly – bonk – you're brought back to the first page. Hey, what gives? Please accept our apologies and, in this version, 100% less bonking.
  • Ding. Ba-dum tsss. Plink. Boing. Hummus. We know you've been missing all of these sounds, so we wrote them down for you. The app should play them more often now, too.

Slack 2.7.0

24 July 2017

What’s new

  • File downloads are now pausable and – in perhaps a master stroke of matchmaking – resumable too.
  • A bevy of changes to make the app more keyboard navigable.
  • We’ve adjusted the app icon, but just a skosh. Putting our best foot forward.
  • Should the worst happen and the app fail to load, you'll see a less dreadful error page and perhaps even a code you can share.

Bug fixes

  • On Windows 7, notifications have been made more reliable, at the expense of a preference: you’ll no longer be able to customize their position on-screen.
  • On Windows 10, we’ve negotiated a truce between notifications and your antivirus. This will keep notifications appearing in a timely manner. They’ll play whatever sound you’ve told them to play more reliably, too.
  • The team sidebar is no longer touch-challenged. Tap, flick, and drag teams to your heart’s content.
  • Cancelling a running download is 38% less crashy. For when you decide you didn’t need that third gif after all.
  • We spliced some wires we shouldn’t have, causing a loading screen to flash briefly after signing into a team. Now it’s as it should be.
  • Those little white dots in the team sidebar that let you know when you have messages to read? They’re no longer obscured when the app is maximized.

Slack 2.6.2

17 May 2017

Bug fixes

  • Unexplainably, context menus and spell-check stopped working in some teams. OK: we have an explanation but we'd rather not discuss it. It's embarrassing. Rest easy knowing that it's fixed here.

Slack 2.5.2

9 March 2017

Bug fixes

  • We made the act of signing in more reliable for teams using SSO.
  • For the times when Slack just... doesn't: try Help > Clear Cache and Restart. It has all the nougaty goodness of Reset App Data, without the stale aftertaste of losing your teams.