Skip to main content

Slack designs new message menus to help you communicate more efficiently

A person using Slack on a Macbook.
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Slack has always been all about leveraging communication to boost productivity, and now it has released yet another feature to help users do just that. The firm’s new message menus are described as “a straightforward bit of UI that provides options a user can take to complete a workflow.” So what does that mean? Think of them as attachments that you can add directly to your Slack messages, because sometimes, you can’t just reply to a Slack with more text.

Thanks to Slack’s newest integration, you can build five types of message menus, each of which can satisfy a different use case. There are static menus, user menus, channels menus, conversation menus, and live menus. By helping people navigate large data sets, whether they’re help tickets, country codes, or marketing leads, the menus hope to help simplify tasks. And with more than a dozen apps in Slack’s burgeoning App Directory already introducing message menus, there are plenty of ways to leverage the new tool.

Recommended Videos

For example, when you’re done interviewing a candidate at your nifty tech startup, you can now send your feedback to Lever directly through Slack by choosing an option from a drop-down menu. Similarly, by way of the SurveyMonkey app, Slack explains that you can manage, send, and collaborate on surveys, collecting feedback, setting up notifications, or sharing results.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

If you’re interested in building out message menus for your own team, you can check out what to do with this guide, which explains how to build interactive messages using both buttons and menus.

“Slack is your communication platform where software is embedded into the conversations,” Ceci Stallsmith, the company’s head of platform marketing, told Venturebeat. “We have a suite of different features on our platform. Before we had the slash command … bot users … and message buttons. Message menus are the next step of that functionality.”

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
How to delete your Gmail account (and what you need to know)
The top corner of Gmail on a laptop screen.

Is it time to part ways with your Gmail account? Whether you’re moving onto greener email pastures, or you want to start fresh with a new Gmail address, deleting your old Gmail account is something anyone can do. Of course, we’re not just going to bid you farewell without a guide all our own. If you need to delete your Gmail account, we hope these step-by-step instructions will make the process even easier.

Read more
How to change your Yahoo password on desktop and mobile
A Yahoo mail inbox.

One of the best ways to keep your many email inboxes safe and secure is by frequently changing your password. While this may sound inconsequential, periodic login updates end up being one of the biggest deterrents against hackers and other malcontents. If Yahoo is your email platform of choice, we’ve put together this guide to teach you how to update your account password in just a few simple steps.

Read more
How to update your Gmail picture on desktop and mobile
A man holding a teacup staring at laptop screen.

There are lots of reasons why you'd want to change your Gmail profile picture. Maybe you have a great, new selfie you want to show off. Or you just want to update your work email with a photo that's recent and professional-looking. Whatever the reason, we can help you update your Gmail picture in just a few quick steps. We've also got you covered whether you choose to change your photo via Gmail's desktop website or through its mobile app.

Read more