How To Edit A Message On Slack

Some businesses and services understand it. Sometimes users will send a message or post in a hurry just to discover that it contains a grammatical error or other false information. Some businesses, like Twitter, have not understood how this can work. Slack, however, makes it clear-cut.

As a result, there will be times when you accidentally send a message into the ether of a thread while working on a very busy channel in a crowded workspace, only to discover (embarrassingly enough) that you’ve misspelt something, tagged the wrong person, or simply got something entirely wrong. When that occurs, you have two options: take the Twitter way and either delete or republish the message.

Slack is aware that humans occasionally make mistakes. The software lets you edit messages you’ve already sent, whether you accidentally sent them to the incorrect channel or misread a few words. By doing this, you can prevent yourself from feeling embarrassed if someone overhears your message in chat.

You can also edit your message while we’re on Slack. Yes, Slack includes an edit button, and using it is rather simple. Here is our concise tutorial on how to edit messages in Slack.

How to edit your sent messages on Slack

There’s no need to freak out if you only discover an error in your message after clicking the Send button. If the administrators or owners of the channels you are a part of have given you permission, you have the option to edit every message you have sent to them.

Whether you’re using Slack on your computer or phone, you can edit a message. We’ll walk you through it in our brief lessons down below for both.

On your computer

Open Slack on your computer or log into your workspace using their web browser client.
To edit a message, open the channel or direct message.
Click More actions after hovering over one of the messages you’ve sent (three vertical dots).
Alternatively, you can press the letter “E” on your keyboard to access the “Edit message.”
To make changes, edit your message and click “Save Changes.”

Everyone in the chat can see an “edit” option next to the newly updated message after you make changes to a message you previously sent on your channel or in a direct message. No one can alter their messages out of view of other users in this way.

On your phone

Open the Slack app on your phone and log in to your workplace.
To edit a message, open the channel or direct message.
To keep an earlier message you sent in the discussion in your hand, tap and hold it.
When the options appear on your screen, select “Edit message.”
Change the message as needed, then hit the checkmark in the bottom right to save your changes.

Find an admin or owner and ask for assistance if you cannot see an editing option for a message. They have the power to limit this privilege to just certain workspace users.

Managing permissions for editing messages on Slack

As we already discussed, every Slack workspace member can edit or remove messages submitted to a channel or direct message. Owners and administrators, however, are free to change this permission whenever they like.

Considering this, here is how to control the editing permissions for your workspace in Slack:

Open the Slack desktop or web browser app on your computer and log into your account.
In the top left corner, click the name of your workspace. Hover over “Settings & administration” and choose “Workspace settings” from the menu.
Select “Expand” next to the “Message Editing & Deletion” area on the Permissions tab.
After deciding how long members may update their messages following transmission, click Save to save your changes.

Please be aware that limiting how long messages can be edited may impact how individuals interact with one another in the workplace.

Using Slack

In Slack, messages can be edited and deleted since mistakes happen. If owners and admins approve, members can edit and remove communications they’ve sent.

Unsend a message

When you send a message and realise something is off, you can undo your action to rectify the error, add the missing emoji, and then send the message once it is perfect. Unending messages return the content, including any attached files, to the message input, where you can alter it before resending or deleting it altogether. Unending a message is possible when:

Fifteen seconds have passed since the message was sent.
You don’t leave the discourse by navigating elsewhere.
The input for messages is blank.

Here are the steps

Press Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (Mac) from your desktop (Windows).
To confirm, click Unsend.
Check the box next to Don’t show me this again if you’d like.
To send your message after editing it, hit Enter.

Owners can limit this capability by limiting who can remove messages. By default, each member can unsend their messages. Find an owner or admin to ask for assistance if you cannot delete a message. Messages can only currently be deleted on a desktop. Instead, you can edit or delete a message on a mobile device if permission isn’t limited.

Delete a message

Owners can limit the ability of members to delete their messages, which is their default ability. Find an owner or admin to seek assistance if you cannot erase a message. Owners and administrators can also delete members’ messages in groups’ direct messages (DMs), private, and public channels.

Please act with caution because deleting a communication makes it completely unrecoverable. Messages cannot be deleted in bulk, either. A channel’s owner or administrator can delete the channel and all of its messages. Owners with paid services can also configure a retention policy to have messages deleted automatically after a predetermined period.

For desktop:

Hover your cursor over the message you want to remove.
Select the icon with three dots.
Click Message to delete.
To confirm, click Delete.

For mobile:

To delete a message, tap, and hold it.
Just press Delete Message.
To confirm, tap Delete Message once more.

Conclusion

You can now edit messages you’ve sent on channels and in direct messages (DMs) that you have in the Slack app. You may even edit a message before it is seen by another participant in the chat if you move quickly enough. After making your changes, click Save.

Your updated message is now prepared and will show the (modified) tag so that teammates are aware of any changes. That completes editing messages in Slack. Many users will find this functionality useful (especially those whose fingers type faster than their brains can proofread).

FAQ

When you edit a message in Slack, does it notify you?

When a message is delivered, Slack will look to see if any users have been referenced, but not when it is updated. The message can be changed several times, and we don’t want to alert the user (s) each time. We’ll distribute this as criticism.

Can Slack admins see edited messages?

Workspace Owners or Admins can maintain a record of all altered messages on paid plans. To verify which choice your workspace has selected, go to Workspace Settings.

How do I enable editing in Slack?

From the menu, choose Administration, followed by Workspace settings. At the page’s top, select the Permissions tab. Click Expand to the right of Message editing and deletion. Choose how long users will have to modify their messages under Allow editing.