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Introduction

Slack is one of the most widely used instant message services for businesses. It offers real-time chat, whereas Simpplr's feed is better for organization-wide communication that's often done asynchronously. Note, This is a one-way communication method. You cannot post Slack messages to Simpplr.

Simpplr's Slack integration works in two different ways:

• Sites can be linked to a Slack channel so that anything posted on the site feed will be automatically posted into the channel.
• When pasting a Simpplr url into Slack, the user will unfurl a rich preview that allows two-way interaction. Users can follow sites and people, as well as like content. Content can also be promoted.

Security information

Upon initial user enablement, Simpplr will request a few permissions from your Slack account in order for the integration to work.

These permissions allow the application to interact with your Slack workspace efficiently and provide you with a seamless experience. Here's a breakdown of some common permission requests and what they mean:

Content and info about you

• View information about Your identity: This permission allows Simpplr to access basic information about your identity on Slack. It includes details like your display name, profile picture, and email address. This information is often used to personalize your interactions within the application and ensure a more personalized experience.

Content and info about channels & conversations

• View basic information about public channels: This permission enables Simpplr to retrieve basic information about the public channels in your Slack workspace. This includes channel names, member lists, and recent messages. It's essential for Simpplr to understand the context of the conversations and interactions happening in your workspace.

• View basic information about your private channels: Similar to the previous permission, this request allows Simpplr to access basic information about the private channels in your Slack workspace. It ensures that the app can integrate with these channels and provide relevant functionalities.

• View (domains/URLs) in messages: This permission specifically relates to viewing URLs from certain domains within messages. In the case of the listed domain (your intranet domain name), Simpplr  can display and interact with content from these URLs directly within Slack messages. This can include previews, summaries, or interactive elements.

Content and info about your workspace

• View content about your workspace: This permission grants Simpplr the ability to access specific information about the workspace it's connected to. This might include the workspace's name, associated email domain, and icon. This information can help the app tailor its functionality to match your workspace's identity.

• View people in your workspace: This permission allows Simpplr to retrieve a list of people who are members of your Slack workspace. It can help the app provide insights about your colleagues, facilitate collaboration, or offer features that require knowledge of your workspace's member list.

Before granting any of these permissions, it's essential to consider the security and privacy implications. Make sure the requested permissions align with the Simpplr and Slack's intended functionality for your org. If you're unsure about a permission request, you can always reach out to your admin or Security team to seek guidance.

For a full list of permission scopes from Slack, check out this API Slack Help Center article.

Enable Slack integration for your org (if not already enabled)

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Most organizations will already have this step enabled post-implementation. However, if your org does not yet have Slack enabled in Salesforce, either an Implementation Engineer from Simpplr or a System admin will need to complete the post install setup in their Salesforce instance. To do so:

1. From your Salesforce home page, go to Setup and type installed packages into the Quick Find box. click Installed Packages.
   
2. Click Simpplr, then navigate to Post Install Instructions and click View.
   
3. Scroll down until you see Slack and select Click here to add the url Remote Site Settings.
   
4. From the next page, save the Remote Site settings.

Set up Slack as an Application manager

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The System admin or App manager will need to complete this step to set up Slack for your Simpplr intranet. Note, they must first connect their individual user profile. Here you have two options:

Option 1

1. Navigate to Manage application at your user profile, then click Integrations > Messaging.
2. Select Slack and click Save. You'll now see the Add to Slack button. Click on it. This will take you to the steps for allowing Slack to communicate with your intranet. Review the notification and click Allow. Now your intranet is connected with Slack.

Option 2

1. Navigate to the Slack App directory.
2. Search Simpplr for Slack and click on Learn more.
3. Enter the org's Dashboard url (see example below).
4. Click on Install.
5. You'll be prompted to log in to your Salesforce org. If you're not yet logged in, you'll be prompted to. then you'll be taken to an authorization page. Review the information and click Allow.

Connecting your user profile

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Once Slack has been installed at the application level, Site owners, managers and Content managers will need to connect their individual user profiles to it. To do so:

1. Navigate to your profile image and click Profile & settings. Then click Edit profile & settings.
2. Click into the External apps tab and locate Slack. You should see two options for connecting Slack; Slack - Post content from {App name} Intranet to Slack, and Slack - Display a rich preview in Slack. Click Connect account. You'll be taken to an authentication page. Review the information and click Allow.
3. To authenticate the account, take a page from any site on the intranet and post it in a Slack channel. 
4. A blurb similar to the one below will appear. Click Connect. This will launch Simpplr and connect the account.
5. To verify the account is connected, you can go to Profile & settings > Edit profile & settings > External apps. The Slack integration should offer the option to disconnect your account. That's how you know that currently, your account is connected.

Connecting sites to Slack

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Site owners can connect their sites with Slack once integrated with Simpplr. Note, they must first connect their individual user profile. To do so:

1. Navigate to Manage sites from your user profile image. Locate the site you want to connect with Slack and go to the External apps tab. From the Slack - Post feed activity to a selected Slack channel option, click Enable.
2. Here you can choose to either allow Simpplr to send only feed posts, or feed posts and replies to Slack. Then copy & paste the Slack channel link by right clicking the name of the channel you want to post in and copying the channel link.
3. Once finished, click Save. Now all site feed activity will be shown in the Slack channel you selected. 

Push content to a Slack channel

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New content can be pushed to Slack from the Promote page menu upon publication.

You can also as use the Post in Slack button after publication. This will post the content directly in a Slack channel of your choice.

1. To post directly in Slack, navigate to the piece of content and click the three dots.
2. Next Retrieve the Slack channel link to promote content, regardless of where you're publishing from.  To get the Slack channel link, open slack, and right click the channel you want to post to. Select copy link.
3. Paste the channel link in the promotion section back in Simpplr.

Note:

To promote content in a private Slack channel, that channel will need to allow the Simpplr for Slack (or Slack bot) user to push content via Posting permissions in Slack.

Unfurl links

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Simpplr users can unfurl (expand) the following links in Slack:

• Content
• Profile
• Site

To do so:

1. Copy & paste the Simpplr link to Slack. The connect prompt link is then displayed in Slack. 
2. Users can like content from within Slack and follow sites or people. When prompted, users click Connect. Now they'll be connected to Slack for unfurl. Their settings in Simpplr will show this change reflected.

Disable Slack from Simpplr

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To disable Slack from Simpplr at the application level:

1. Navigate to Manage application > Integrations > Messaging. Uncheck the Slack box and click Save. 
2. Note this does not remove Slack from the intranet entirely. At the User level, users must go to Profile & settings > Edit profile & settings and go to External apps. Then they click Disconnect account next to the Slack option. When prompted, click Disconnect.