Slack's new redesign brings in unified view, dedicated DM tab and more

The new interface is introducing a unified view that will offer users the ability to view channels from every workspace in a single place.

Workplace communication app Slack has on August 9 introduced a revamped user interface and experience that is designed to help people focus and be more productive in their work lives.

The Salesforce-owned company said that the new user experience will start rolling out to new teams starting today and will reach its existing users over the coming months.

"We know millions of people start and end their workday in Slack, so we took great care to ensure these improvements make it a more productive and pleasant home. The new experience helps teams stay better organized, focus on what’s important, and quickly access a growing set of tools in Slack," said Noah Weiss, Chief Product Officer at Slack.

The new interface is introducing a unified view that will offer users the ability to view channels from every workspace in a single place. Prior to this, each workspace was denoted by a dedicated tile and one had to toggle back and forth between each of them to navigate channels and messages across multiple workspaces.

The new Home section will allow users to quickly see all their channels, direct messages and apps.

The revamped design also brings in a new sidebar with dedicated sections for Direct Messages, Activity and a Later section.

A screenshot of Slack's new Activity tab

The Activity feed combines the user's mentions, threads, reactions, and app notifications into a single view while the Later section will comprise saved conversations and notifications that one wants to access at a later stage with an option to set a reminder.

The app also provides quick access to productivity tools, like canvas, workflows, and apps among others through a new 'More' section.

A new 'Create' button replaces the current 'New Message' button, allowing users to start not only new messages but also start channels, canvases and huddles.

Read: Slack's generative AI push: Message summaries, writing assistance and more

Slack stated that it has also updated its search experience that will enable users to click on each result to see its full context without having to jump back and forth.

"With more than 100 improvements to our platform in the past year alone, we’re constantly putting new tools into the hands of our customers. This new foundation will help Slack deliver even more innovations to you in the months and years ahead," the company said in a statement.