Slack's latest redesign has a dedicated DM tab and a Discord-style Activity view
The service is rolling out the new look starting today.
Slack is getting a new look starting today. The service is rolling out a redesign aimed at helping folks stay focused and get things done by streamlining the interface.
Perhaps the most obvious change is to the sidebar. On the far left, you'll no longer see a tile for each of your workspaces if you're logged in to more than one. Those have been collapsed into a single tile, and Slack is using the freed-up space for new navigation options.
The sidebar now includes buttons for Home, DMs (direct messages), Activity, Later and More sections, along with a search icon and a new Create button. The Home view is much like the Slack you'll be used to. From here, you'll be able to access your various channels, unread items, drafts, apps and more.
It looks like the DMs section will neatly bring together your direct message conversations and make them easier to access. Your DM list will show the most recent message from each chat, and you can choose whether to see only unread messages.
The Activity feed combines your threads, mentions and reactions into a single view, though each of those has a dedicated tab within the Activity section. The Later section, meanwhile, has tabs for in-progress, completed and archived actions. The More section is where you'll find tools such as apps and workflows, canvases and huddles.
As for the Create button, that replaces the draft message option. From here, you can whip up a message, huddle, canvas or new channel. Elsewhere, there's a new feature that allows you to hover over an icon for one of the dedicated views (i.e. DMs or Activity) to take a peek at what's happening without having to drift away from your current task.
Slack says it's rolling out some device-specific updates as well. In the iPhone, iPad and Android apps, you'll see tiles at the top of the screen that will take you to the likes of your unreads and threads with a single tap. You'll also be able to swipe through all your unreads and perhaps catch up on things more quickly. Last but not least, Slack is enabling new themes with a more detailed and customizable color scheme.
