Slack tops the current crop of digital workspace tools. It's powerful enough to handle both huge teams and complex projects well.

If you use Slack at work, you'll probably agree that its layout and feature set are quite complex. Fortunately, both these elements are well planned and easy to use. But with so much going on in the interface, it's quite natural to miss out on several features unless you go looking for them specifically.

To remedy that, we decided to compile the best Slack tips into a cheat sheet for you. It contains keyboard shortcuts, search tricks, formatting syntax, and special commands that can speed up your Slack workflow. And the best part is that you can use them all without taking your hands off the keyboard!

FREE DOWNLOAD: This cheat sheet is available as a downloadable PDF from our distribution partner, TradePub. You will have to complete a short form to access it for the first time only. Download The Slack Cheat Sheet.

The Slack Cheat Sheet : Shortcuts, Commands, and Syntax to Know

Shortcut

Action

Keyboard Shortcuts On a Mac keyboard, press Option instead of Alt and Cmd instead of Ctrl for shortcuts.

Ctrl + k OR
 Ctrl + g OR ¹Ctrl + t

Open Quick Switcher

Ctrl + Shift + k

Browse DMs

¹Ctrl + Shift + t

Open Threads view

²Ctrl + Shift + a

Open All Unreads view

Ctrl + Shift + l

Browse channel list

³Alt + Down Arrow

Jump to next channel or DM

³Alt + Up Arrow

Jump to previous channel or DM

³Alt + Shift + Down Arrow

Jump to next unread channel or DM

³Alt + Shift + Up Arrow

Jump to previous unread channel or DM

Cmd + [ OR
 Cmd + Left Arrow

Move back in history

Cmd + ] OR Cmd + Right Arrow

Move forward in history

Ctrl + Shift + m

Open Activity pane

Ctrl + Shift + s

Open Starred Items pane

Ctrl + Shift + w

Open Workspace Directory

Ctrl + Shift + i

Open Channel Details pane

Ctrl + / (Slash)

Open Keyboard Shortcuts pane

Ctrl + . (Period)

Toggle right-hand pane

¹Ctrl + , (Comma)

Open Preferences

Ctrl + Shift + [

Switch to previous workspace

Ctrl + Shift + ]

Switch to next workspace

⁴Ctrl + [Number]

Switch to specific workspace

Ctrl + Alt

Show numbers assigned to workspaces in sidebar

Ctrl + f

Search the current channel or DM

Esc

Mark all messages in current channel or DM as read

Shift + Esc

Mark all messages as read

⁵Alt + click message

Mark message as oldest unread message

Ctrl + Shift + Y

Set or edit your Slack status

Ctrl + u

Upload file to current channel or DM

Ctrl + Shift + Enter

Create snippet in current channel or DM

⁶Up Arrow

Edit your last message in current channel or DM

Shift + Up Arrow

Select text to beginning of current line in message draft

Shift + Down Arrow

Select text to end of current line in message draft

Shift + Enter

Insert new line in message draft

Ctrl + b

Bold selected text

Ctrl + i

Italicize selected text

Ctrl + Shift + x

Strike through selected text

Ctrl + Shift + >

Indent selected text

Ctrl + Shift + c

Format selected text as inline code

Ctrl + Shift + 7

Format selected text as numbered list

Ctrl + Shift + 8

Format selected text as bulleted list

@[Character]

Show autocomplete options for display names

#[Character]

Show autocomplete options for channel names

:[Character]

Show autocomplete options for emoji

m

Toggle mute during call

v

Toggle video during call

+ (Plus) OR a

Show invite list during call

e + (1-9)

View and select emoji during call

@[username]

Notify specific person

@here

Notify active members of channel

@channel

Notify all members of channel, whether they’re active or not

@everyone

Notify all members of channel #general

Message Formatting Syntax

*text*

Bold text

_text_

Italicize text

~text~

Strike through text

>text

Indent single block of text

>>>text
 text

Indent multiple blocks of text

`text`

Format single line of inline code

```text 
text```

Format multiple lines of inline code

1.
 2.

Format as numbered list

text OR • text

Format as bulleted list

Search Modifiers Add modifiers before or after search keyword(s).

in:[channel]

Search specific channel

in:[@username]

Search specific DM

from:username

Search messages/files shared by specific user

from:me

Search messages/files sent by you

⁷on:[date]

Search using specific date

⁸before:[date] OR ⁸after:[date] OR ⁸during:[date]

Search using specific date or time frame

has:[:emoji:]

Search for items with specific emoji

has:pin

Search for pinned items

has:star

Search for starred items

has:link

Search for items with links

Slash Commands Type in the message field and hit Enter.

/status

Set or clear your custom status

/away

Toggle your “away” status

⁹/dnd for [Time] OR ⁹/dnd until [Time]

Schedule Do Not Disturb session

/dnd off

Turn off Do Not Disturb

/expand

Expand all inline images and videos in current channel

/collapse

Collapse all inline images and videos in current channel

/feed subscribe [feed address]

Subscribe to RSS feed in current channel

/feed list

List RSS feeds (and their ID numbers) for current channel

/feed remove [ID number]

Unsubscribe current channel from RSS feed

/feed help

Get help with /feed commands

/join [#channel]

Join channel

/leave [#channel] OR
 /close [#channel] OR
 /part [#channel]

Leave channel

/leave

Leave current channel

/open [#channel]

Open specific channel

/topic [text]

Set topic for current channel

/invite [@username] [#channel]

Invite member to channel

/remove [@username] OR /kick [@username]

Remove member from current channel

/mute [#channel]

Mute/unmute specific channel

/mute

Mute/unmute current channel OR ¹Unfollow current thread

/star

Star current channel or DM

/rename [new-name]

Rename current channel

/archive

Archive current channel

/who

List members (up to 100) in current channel

/msg [#channel] [message]

Send message to any channel

/msg [@username] [message] OR /dm [@username] [message]

Send DM

/me [text]

Display italicized text

/remind @me or [@username] or [#channel] to [What] [When]

Set a reminder

/remind list

View list of upcoming, past, or incomplete reminders

/remind help

Get help with /remind commands

/search [keyword(s)]

Search messages and files

/shortcuts

Open Keyboard Shortcuts pane

/apps [app]

Search for app in Slack directory

/feedback [text]

Send feedback or help request to Slack

/shrug [message]

Add ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ to end of message

¹⁰/giphy [keyword(s)]

Share a random GIF


¹Works only in desktop app. ²Works only if you have enabled All Unreads view under Preferences > Sidebar. ³Includes starred channels and DMs. ⁴Press Ctrl + Alt or hover over workspace logo in sidebar to see number assigned to workspace. ⁵Use Ctrl + Alt + click on Linux. 
⁶Ensure cursor is in empty message field. ⁷Use MM/DD/YY(YY) or MM-DD-YY(YY) format for date. ⁸Replace [date] with specific date or with keyword like today, yesterday, [day], [month], or [year] ⁹Use time descriptors like “for 20 mins”, “until 4pm”, until tonight”, etc. ¹⁰Requires integration with Giphy app.

Take Control of Your Slack Workspace

Slack not only saves you from the clutches of email at work, but also makes your online office feel more like an offline one, complete with water-cooler chats. Once you master Slack and learn how to navigate it faster (you can use the Slack sidebar to help with that), your days at the office will be a lot more fun!

Image Credit: Webaroo on Unsplash