Assignment

Assign a thread [W]

Create clear accountability and stop messages from slipping through the cracks.

An item can be assigned to a member of your team that has access to the channel the item is in.

Assign someone by clicking on the Assign button, or by pressing [W].

Assignments are only visible in Dispatch, so if you assign a non-Dispatch user you’ll be prompted to invite them to use Dispatch. Once invited they’ll still be assigned to the message, and can see that assignment when they open Dispatch.

By default, you’re given a Saved Search called “Assign to me” that shows all items you’re assigned to. Click on the Saved Search in the left sidebar to view it.

If you use Slack Connect for customer support you can assign messages to members of your team, label them with a status (e.g., in progress, blocked, and done), and talk to your team about an issue with comments.

In Dispatch, you can add labels, assignments, and comments to any item in your inbox. These features are only available in Dispatch, and are only visible to your team.

These features are all available in the Collaboration Panel, which is the right sidebar in Dispatch. Click on the double chevrons in the upper-right to expand or collapse this panel, or hit [⌘’].

These attributes are also visible in the Inbox Panel on the left:

Labels [⌘L]

An item can have any number of labels.

Labels can be either private or shared. When shared, any member of your team can see and toggle the label.

Add a label by clicking on the + button in the collaboration panel, or by hitting [⌘L]:

Search for an existing label, or select the “New label” option to create a new one from your search:

Click on the label and select “Edit” to change the name, share it, or delete it:

Once shared, a label can’t made private again (because someone else on your team might already be using it).

Assignment

An item can be assigned to a member of your team that has access to the channel the item is in.

Assign someone by clicking on the Assign button, or by hitting [W].

Assignments are only visible in Dispatch, so if you assign a non-Dispatch user you’ll be prompted to invite them to use Dispatch. Once invited they’ll still be assigned to the message, and can see that assignment when they open Dispatch.

By default you’re given a Saved Search called “Assign to me” that shows all items you’re assigned to. Click on the Saved Search in the left sidebar to view it.

Comments

You and your team can write internal comments to each other on any item. Hit [⌘+Shift+M] to focus the comment textfield.

Examples

There are lots of great ways to use collaboration features in Dispatch, even if you’re not using Dispatch with the rest of your team.

🏷️ Snippets

If you find yourself typing the same text repeatedly, try labeling those messages with a label like snippets. Then created a Saved Search for all of those items that you can easily return to in the future to copy and paste the snippet.

🏷️ Discussion queue

Add a label like discussion-queue to messages that you want to remember to discuss with your team at your next meeting. As you discuss each item, remove the label to clear them from your queue.

🙋Support requests

If you use Slack Connect for customer support you can assign messages to members of your team, label them with a status (e.g., in progress, blocked, and done), and talk to your team about an issue with comments.