Creating, Managing, and Using Multi-Workspace Channels with MIT Enterprise Slack

On this page:

Overview

Multi-workspace channels on MIT's Enterprise Slack allow people in multiple workspaces to collaborate together in one channel that is accessible directly from all the member workspaces. This prevents needing to create additional workspaces for collaboration between groups with separate workspaces and simplifies the user experience.

How do I tell if a channel is a multi-workspace Channel?

There's a link icon shown next to the channel name and within the channel that indicate it is a shared multi-workspace channel.

How do I tell what workspaces are part of a multi-workspace channel?

The Channel info contains that information.

1. Open Slack.
2. Navigate to the multi-workspace channel you wish to check from the left-hand column.
   
   
   
   
3. Click on the info icon at the top-right.
   Result: The channel details open.
4. Click on the "MIT Workspaces" tab to open it.
   Result: The workspaces that are members of this channel are displayed.
   
   

Creating Multi-Workspace Channels

To add additional workspaces to a channel, you must be a member of the channel and an administrator of the workspace. If you are not an administrator of the workspace, contact one to request setup of your multi-workspace channel. To find your administrators, see: How do I find out who the administrators and owners are of a Slack Workspace?

Creating The Channel

1. Open Slack.
   
   
   
   
2. Click the + sign  and select Create a channel.
   Result: The Create a channel window opens.
   
   
   
   
3. Enter your desired name for the channel, a description, and select if you would like it to be private or not (require an invitation to join).
4. Click Create
   Result: You are prompted to add people to the channel. You can skip this step and do that later after you're done setting it up as a multi-workspace channel.
   
   
   
   #Click Skip for Now.
   Result: Your channel is created and shows up in the left-hand column.
   
   

Configuring the Channel for Multi-Workspace Access

In order to configure a preexisting channel, you must be a member of the channel and an administrator of the workspace. If you are not an administrator of the workspace, contact one to request setup of your multi-workspace channel. To find your administrators, see: How do I find out who the administrators and owners are of a Slack Workspace?

You will not be able to find and add hidden workspaces to your channel. To add a hidden workspace to your channel, you will need to get the owner of the hidden workspace to make it visible while you add it. They can make it hidden again once their workspace is added to the shared channel. See: Manage Your Workspace Access Permissions

1. From your desktop, open the channel you'd like to share with other workspaces.
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the info icon in the top right.
   
   
   
   
3. Click More, then select Additional options.
   
   
   
   
4. Select Add to other MIT workspaces.
   
   
   
   
5. Choose specific workspaces by starting typing their names and selecting them or choose to add all workspaces in the org.
   
   
   
   
6. Click Review Changes.
   
   
   
   
7. Cick Save Changes.
   Result: Your channel is now shared amongst the selected workspaces in the MIT Slack Enterprise Grid, and you will see link icons that indicate this.
   
   

Using Multi-Workspace Channels

Multi-workspace channels work just like any other channel on slack. The only difference is people from multiple workspaces can participate in the channel. The channels can be private (require an invitation) or public (anyone in the workspaces can join).

Guests

Please don't add MIT users as multi-channel guests on your workspace. This will keep them from being a member of another workspace. You may safely make an external user a multi-channel guest on your workspace.

There are a few options for similar functionality to multi-channel guests for MIT Users:

• Take your private conversations to private channels and invite the users as full members to the workspace.
• Take your conversations with the users to mit.slack.com's workspace, and make a private channel there.
• Create multi-workspace channels with mit.slack.com's workspace or another workspace that contains the users as full members.
• Request another slack workspace and set the users up as full members.

Removing a Workspace's Access to Your Channel

1. From your desktop, open the channel you'd like to remove from other workspaces.
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the info icon in the top right.
   
   
   
   
3. Click More, then select Additional options.
   
   
   
   
4. Select Add to other MIT workspaces.
   Add and remove are done from the same screen even though it is only called add.
   
   
   
   
5. Click the x next to workspaces that should no longer have access to the channel.
   
   
   
   
6. Click Review Changes.
   
   
   
   
7. Click Save Changes.
   Result: The workspaces you chose to remove from the channel can no longer access it. All members from removed workspaces are removed from the channel.
   Even if you remove all other workspaces from the channel, the link icons will still appear.

See Also

• Slack's Create Multi-Workspace Channels on Enterprise Grid
• MIT Slack Enterprise Grid Landing Page
• How do I find out who the administrators and owners are of a Slack Workspace?
• Slack's Add People to a Channel