Slack has announced an update to its chat app that ushers in a major redesign. It brings the ability to nest chats in the sidebar, a new compose button, an improved top navigation bar, and more. Slack is also tweaking the design of channel panes, menus, preferences, and it's increasing the spacing of everything. Add it all up, and the Slack app should look cleaner and be easier to use.

What's new with Slack? 

Slack is changing up the sidebar. Messages, channels, and apps can now all be grouped into sections that are collapsible within the Slack sidebar. So, imagine you're working on a project for March, and you have multiple channels and maybe even group conversations dedicated to that project. Now, you can drag and drop your channels and conversations and nest them all under one section.

There's a new section in the sidebar for People and Mentions and Reactions so you can quickly see mentions or channel alerts. You can even go here to find people to message. You’ll also be able to customise the width of the new sidebar and change its colour with 11 themes soon.

Note: The collapsible section feature in the new sidebar is only available to users of paid Slack plans, not the free plan.

Compose

Slack has a new compose button in the sidebar. It serves as a universal means of starting a message from anywhere in the Slack app. You can start a direct message or a post to a Slack channel. Slack can even show relevant message history in your draft view.

A new top navigation bar will let you more easily toggle between channels and direct messages and search. It also supports keyboard shortcuts or mouse buttons typically used when navigating in a web browser.

Slack also added a lightning bolt icon next to the message input field, too. It's described as a shortcuts button that lets you find and launch apps.

When will the new Slack be available?

The new Slack is now rolling out to the desktop and web app. Slack is also planning a redesign for its mobile app in the coming weeks. New users will get the new update first, but everyone else should start to see the new design sometime this month or early April 2020.