Learn how to effectively navigate Chat using the Chat sidebar and floating sidebar.

Feature availability and limits vary by plan and user role. Learn more

Use the Chat sidebar

Use the left sidebar to access your Channels and direct messages, and stay up to date on all of your work.

Launchpad

To open Launchpad and create a new Channel, start a direct message, or open a recent conversation, click the Launchpad button in the upper-right corner of the sidebar.

Pages

In addition to your Channels and direct messages, there are five helpful pages you can access from the sidebar:

• Replies: See replies to threads you follow.
• Posts: See Posts created by others in Channels you follow, or create your own.
• FollowUps: See all the messages that are currently assigned to you, as well as your reminders.
• Activity: See messages where you've been mentioned, reactions to messages you've sent, and any messages that have been assigned to you.
• Drafts & Sent: See all messages that you've created or sent.

Sections

When you're using the default Chat sidebar layout, you'll see two sections:

• Channels: All Channels you follow.
• Direct Messages: The twenty most recent direct messages that you haven't closed.

If you've pinned any Channels or direct messages, you'll see a third section called Pinned.

You can create new sections to customize the organization of your Channels and direct messages.

When a Channel or direct message has one or more unread messages, its name will be bolded. You can right-click the Channel to mark it as read or unread.

Use the floating sidebar

When you're in a Channel or direct message, you'll see a floating sidebar on the right with four options:

• Search: Search the Channel or direct message for specific keywords or phrases.
• Replies: See replies to the threads you follow.
• FollowUps: See all of your assigned messages. The number of unread messages are displayed above the FollowUps icon.
• Relationships: See all related tasks, Docs, or URLs and who posted them in the Channel or direct message.

Each menu displays in a pop-up so you don't have to leave the Channel or your direct message.