Get Slack for Mac – it’s a great collaboration hub for work, no matter what work it is that you do. It allows you to streamline all discussions and decisions regarding your work projects into one space.
It also makes it very easy to share information your team needs, and depending on your plan, will save it all for you (a bit more on that later). Basically, the Slack app for Mac is designed to keep your team better connected.
Here’s a little tutorial on how to quickly get Slack for Mac and set it up to boost your (and your team’s) productivity.
Broad availability: Along with its web app, Slack has apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, and Windows Phone platforms. A bit pricey: Slack has a free version designed for small teams. This wikiHow teaches you how to sign in to your Slack team using a web browser or the Slack desktop app. You can sign in to Slack using the desktop app (in the Applications folder on a Mac or the Windows menu on a PC). This tutorial will be looking at getting the Slack app for Mac to work via download from their website. Install the Slack app for Mac. After the application is downloaded, next you will need to launch the installer. Later, drag and drop the Slack icon into Applications to ensure that it works properly. You can do this right on the screen.
1. Get Slack for Mac on the website
There are two ways to do this. You can go to theSlack website, and click on Download Slack, via the Resourcessection, or you can download the app via the Mac App Store. This tutorial will be looking at getting the Slack app for Mac to work via download from their website.
2. Install the Slack app for Mac
After the application is downloaded, next you will need to launch the installer.
Later, drag and drop the Slack icon into Applications to ensure that it works properly. You can do this right on the screen or separately from the menu on the left side.
3. Launch the app
Once you get Slack for Mac, locate it in your Applications folder, or use Finder to open it. Once the app is launched another popup window will show on the screen warning you about the app. Click Open and the application will launch.
4. Create a workspace
If you have an existing workspace or have been invited to one, you can simply enter the workspace URL and sign in with your email and password.
If you want to create a workspace of your own, click on Get Started as shown in the picture above.
You will be redirected to the Slack website where you can sign in to your workspace or create a new one by clicking either Find your workspace or Create a new workspace.
Once you do this, you will be able to choose from Find your workspace and Create your workspace, as shown in the picture below.
If you choose to create, type in your email address in the designated field and click on Confirm.
Mention the company name, which will be the name of your workspace and have its own workspace URL as you move on to creating your team.
Once you’re done with the company name, click Next.
5. Invite your team to your workspace
Creating a Slack team is really straightforward – Choose a unique name and password for your workspace, and then you will be able to invite other coworkers and collaborators. You can invite others through their email addresses to be members of your channel.
Slack Not Opening In App
Digital nomads and freelancers will find it easy to become members of multiple teams, and some groups of friends and families have begun to use Slack as a way to keep everyone in touch, and all their documents in one place – it’s not just for businesses!
Moving on, fill in the email addresses and click Add teammates. If you wish to postpone this for later, then you can skip the step to be redirected to your workspace.
6. Get Familiar with your workspace
Your workspace consists of channels, the channel members and apps that you can integrate with Slack. The communication is handled through the corresponding channels, which can be created by you and other workspace members. You can join or leave channels that are relevant to you at anytime, and you can view the history of all the messages in every channel.
To create a channel click on the + icon right next to Channels if you would like to separate all the projects your team is working on and invite the members who are involved.
You can also customize your Slack workspace through the Slack settings, which can be accessed through your workspace name on the top left corner of the app window.
You can upgrade from your Slack free plan for more advanced features in your workspace. To do so, click on the See upgrade options, which will redirect you to Slack website.
7. Pick a level of membership
Depending on the type of account you decide on, there will be additional levels of access to your teams for freelancers or other outside contributors/contractors who aren’t on your payroll. Slack says the free level will always be free, without any sort of time limit to convert to a paid plan.
The free Slack option gives you limited app integration and only allows you to search your last 10,000 messages. If you only run a small business that doesn’t need extensive records, this should be more than enough (just remember to backup the really important stuff!). Larger businesses will want to opt for the standard or plus plans, that’s a decision that we’ll leave with you.
8. Learn the shortcuts
Working in Slack is much faster if you are able to learn the hotkeys/shortcuts for the commands that you use the most. The company keeps a handy list of all of theSlack app for Mac’s keyboard shortcuts on its blog.
Now that you know how it’s done, off you go! Download, and install the Slack app for Mac and watch your team’s productivity levels soar!
BONUS TIP:
Noise can have a drastic impact on productivity and concentration, as we covered earlier in this post. If you regularly use (or plan on using) Slack to make calls with your team over the Internet, then you should definitely check outKrisp.
This nifty noise cancelling app filters out pesky background noise at both ends, leading to a significant boost in the quality of your conference calls. Try it for yourself, and let us know how you get on in the comments!
Did we miss anything? How did you discover Slack? For which purposes do you use it for most? Let us know in the comments section below…
Slack Share Screen Not Working
Walk into any modern office today and you’ll inevitably realize how deeply Slack has infiltrated our working lives. What used to be a swarm of internal emails has now turned into hundreds or even thousands of instant messages every day. By now we almost involuntarily keep the Slack app open on our screens at all times.
No wonder then that for most of us, Slack not only never reaches its full performance potential, but can actually slow down our machines. Running the app continuously, in some cases, results in it devouring nearly 4GB of RAM. There should be a better option.
How to speed up Slack on Mac?
Slack’s principal weakness lies in its strength. Impressively, the app is able to run on iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, Linux, Windows, and Mac, as well as all major browsers for the web version. To optimally support this large codebase, Slack has opted to build what’s called progressive apps over native ones. What progressive means is that the app on your device is essentially a shell for the web app, which requires continuous internet connectivity to function.
Slack App For Mac Not Working Together
The culprit then for Slack slowness is the combination of the app demanding to be online and transferring lots of data in the form of messages and updates. But fear not, there are a few tricks you can use to speed up Slack on your Mac.
1. Switch to faster Wi-Fi
That simple. If the app you want to run requires continuous internet connection, then upgrading your Wi-Fi will ensure that there are fewer offline moments. Higher download speeds from your ISP diminish the chance of lags. As a general rule of thumb, always get the fastest internet available in your area, whether it’s your home or office. Once you have that, getting a professional-level wireless router will solidify the result.
2. Delete your cached files
If you are using the web version of Slack and have noticed it slowing down lately, you should try clearing your cache. Every time you visit any website, your browser saves certain bits of information to load the page faster next time. But eventually your browser cache will in fact slow down your web performance. So it’s good to remember to delete cached files once in a while (e.g. once a month).
To clear cache in Google Chrome (other browsers work similarly):
- Go to the triple-dot Menu button > More Tools > Clear browsing data…
- Select the time range you want to delete the data from
- Check the box next to “Cached Images and Files”
- Click Clear Browsing Data
3. Minimize RAM usage
Most of the time, sluggish app performance has little to do with how powerful your processor is and everything with how much RAM is at the app’s disposal. As Slack is being used constantly throughout the day, it tends to consume a lot of memory, even when it’s the web version (then your browser consumes the memory instead).
To free up much needed memory, take a look at how much exactly is being spent on any of the apps at the moment:
Slack App For Mac Not Working Mac
- Launch Activity Monitor from Applications
- Switch tabs to Memory and make note of the apps at the top of the list
- Quit all the apps you don’t need right away
If closing the apps and focusing on as few tasks at a time as possible doesn’t bring any significant results, try restarting your Mac, which will reset RAM usage back to zero.
4. Automate your Mac’s optimization with CleanMyMac
While going through your Mac optimization checklist once might seem not so bad, doing it repeatedly every month will soon turn into a chore. Luckily, there is a solution that takes care of all these things automatically — CleanMyMac X.
CleanMyMac X is able to clear the cache and optimize your whole computer in a single click. To do that:
- Download CleanMyMac X (free trial available).
- Choose Smart Scan in the left-side panel and click Scan.
- Proceed to Review Details… and press Run.
The app will instantly get your computer in top shape. For a more thorough cleanup, go through the same process in the Optimization and Privacy tabs, the latter of which also allows you to clear all cached data from your browser.
Now your Mac is ready to take on Slack! Just remember to repeat the optimization process from time to time, whether you are doing it manually or using a more convenient and thorough one-click solution from CleanMyMac X.