Slack has introduced a new feature called “canvas,” which it describes as a “surface” where teams can “curate, organize, and share mission-critical resources.” When it launches next year, Canvas could replace third-party apps or programs that teams use to collect and share information and ideas, like Google Docs, Company Wikis, or Notion.
Users can create a new canvas by choosing the option in the dropdown menu next to their Slack team name. They can embed files in it, along with links, channel lists, videos, workflows, tasks to complete, and other resources—anything useful team members might need, so they don’t have to waste precious time searching for information.
The company envisions the canvas as something teams could use to organize marketing campaigns, share executive briefings with everyone, and to onboard new hires. Users can create canvases without code and can keep editing existing templates instead of creating new ones over and over again. Here is an example of what a canvas might look like:
Loose
Slack has also started rolling out the new and updated huddles with the features it promised in June. Huddles provides an audio chat capability for teams within Slack, but this update also gives users the option to turn on video. Opting for a video meeting will open a separate window and users will be able to blur their backgrounds like they do in other video conferencing apps like Zoom. And yes, they can use emoji reactions in video meetings.
Additionally, the revamped huddle allows more than one person to share their screen at the same time. In a session where multiple people are sharing screens, they can use live cursors and the ability to draw on the shared screens as a visual aid. Any information shared during a meeting, including links, files, and notes, will automatically be saved to a thread in the channel or DM where it started. These threads can be pinned for easy access and can even be searched. If they are posted to channels instead of direct messages, even users who are not part of the group will be able to see them. It might take a while for everyone to have access to these features, but Slack says they’ll be rolling out to all users in the coming weeks.
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