We’ve all been there. Just when you’re about to send a query to your manager or colleague on Slack, you find that person is inactive. At this point, you’ll wonder if you should annoy them with your silly questions. That happens to me most of the time.
Whenever I think of sending a bunch of questions to someone on Slack, the Away status makes me question myself. Should I really bother her/him?
And the situation is also true in the opposite scenario. For the most part, Slack sets the status to Away if you’re inactive for too long, even if you open it on a browser tab on your PC.
Sometimes this feature can give me some relief because it gives me the focus I want. But it can backfire because it doesn’t show the whole scenario — that you’re actually working, even if it shows otherwise.
Slack sets status to Away if you are inactive for too long
In teams where communication is key, something as simple as status is crucial. So if you’re looking for a way to keep Slack running while you work, you’re in luck. Yes, there is a way to keep Slack availability active. In this post, we will see how to get it done.
Disclaimer: Setting your status to Online even when you’re not working or free could be considered unethical. Guiding Tech’s sole purpose in this article is to present a real-world scenario, which Slack shows you as online when you’re working and ready, and not otherwise.
How to keep Slack active in the browser
The method we are going to explore is through a tool called Slack Off. This is a simple tool that works through Slack Legacy Tokens. But what is Slack Token?
In the past when Slack had no app integration, legacy tokens were used to make calls to the Web API.
slow application
Since then, apps have replaced this integration method. However, some tools still require these tokens to integrate, and the SlackOff tool is one of them.
Note: You will need to exercise the same level of caution
Now that we’ve defined what a Slack token is, let’s see how to use the SlackOff app.
How to use SlackOff
Step 1: Open the website and sign up for this service by clicking the Try it out button.
Here, the email ID you sign up with is not necessarily the one you use to sign in to Slack.
Step 2: Once logged in, click Add Team, which will redirect you to the Add Slack Team page. This is where you need to add the token.
Here, tap the link that says ‘API Token Here’ to generate your Slack Token. Alternatively, you can also click the link below.
Remember to sign in to your Slack account when you try the above step.
Step 3: On the Slack Legacy token generator page, scroll down until you see your workspace and username.
If this is your first time using this service, the Token will show as 0. Click the Issue Token button.
Step 4: Once you have copied the newly generated token, go back to Slack Off and paste the token number in the text box.
Next, click Add group.
Step 4: Once the token is verified, you will be redirected to the homepage of SlackOff, where you will find your workspace name and with Schedule set to Always Online. And that’s pretty much it!
From now on, you will always appear Online, the green light will be on as you do your daily work. In fact, SlackOff will show you as online even if you’re actually inactive, and that’s the only problem with the free version of Slack Off.
So, before you sign out for the day, remember to set the status to Away. Next time you load or reload Slack, it will ask you for the new status. All you need to do is keep it Active, that’s it.
This limitation will be removed if you upgrade to the paid version of SlackOff. The paid version for $1.99/month comes with a nifty option to organize your time.
Thankfully, you can try the trial version (requires credit card information) before investing.
So if you’re a freelancer who only works on certain days, you can set your schedule accordingly.
To set your schedule, click the name of your workspace in Slack and adjust the time to your preferences, then hit the Save button.
If for some reason you feel that you can do without being active all the time, just delete the group.
Privacy issues?
The makers of SlackOff state that they do not share any information publicly or with third parties. But in the long run, if you stop using SlackOff, remember to revoke the token. Note that Slack will automatically revoke old tokens if not used for a long time.
What about Android and iPhone?
Although I searched a lot for Android and iPhone-specific solutions, I couldn’t find any at the time of writing. Another workaround is to keep SlackOff running in one of the browsers on your PC.
Additionally, since Slack’s Legacy Tokens page can be accessed via a desktop computer, you can also activate the desktop version via Chrome for Android.
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So here’s how you can combine Slack availability with your own. Do you like this method? Or, you want to keep working without distractions?
Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
Next up: Thinking of deleting old Slack files? Find out how to do it in the article below.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
