Software

How do you stop Slack sending messages when you press Enter?

Slack logo
Tighten the Slack: don't send messages when you hit Enter

Slack is a tool that many of us use for communicating with work colleagues. However, it can cause professional embarrassment with its default messaging settings, which send a message every time you hit Enter – making it too easy to send messages that you haven’t thought through or to accidentally strike the Enter key and send half-finished messages. The good news is you can stop Slack sending messages when you press Enter.

Time needed: 2 minutes

Stop Slack sending messages when you press Enter

  1. Open the Slack app preferences

    Fire up Slack on your computer and then click on the name of your workspace in the top-left corner of the screen. Select Preferences from the drop-down menu, as shown here:
    Slack preferences

  2. Switch Enter key behaviour

    In the Preferences screen, select the Advanced tab on the left-hand side. Now, under ‘When writing a message, press Enter to…’ select the ‘Start a new line’ option. You’ll also see a prompt there showing you which key combo you’ll need to press to send a message in your operating system. On Mac it’s Command + Enter, on Windows/Linux it’s Ctrl + Enter.
    Slack Enter key settings

Note that all of your settings in Slack are workspace-specific. So, if you have multiple Slack workspaces, you’ll need to adjust the preferences in all of them.

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About the author

Barry Collins

Barry has scribbled about tech for almost 20 years for The Sunday Times, PC Pro, WebUser, Which? and many others. He was once Deputy Editor of Mail Online and remains in therapy to this day. Email Barry at barry@bigtechquestion.com.

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