One of the key selling points of Slack, especially for businesses, is that all messages that have ever been sent can be searched. This searchability means that its possible to find helpful posts, comments, and information even if it was written months or years previously. This can be helpful when trying to find usage instructions on an old software tool or when trying to find evidence to confirm or deny someone’s claim.
By default, browsers include functionality to search the text on the page when you press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + F. The Ctrl + F shortcut works the same way in Slack by default, however, the developers of Slack realise that its search is more powerful and useful than the default browser search function. To help you use the best search function available, you can configure Slack to open Slack search when you press Ctrl + F.
To change the behaviour of the Ctrl + F shortcut to make it open Slack’s search functionality instead of the default browser search function, you need to go into your preferences. To do so, click on your profile picture in the top-right corner, then click on “Preferences”.
Once in your preferences, switch to the “Advanced” tab. In the “Search options” section, tick the checkbox labelled “Ctrl + F starts a Slack search”.
Slack’s search functionality is a powerful tool that allows you to quickly and easily locate messages, no matter how long ago they were sent. By following the steps in this guide, you can configure the Ctrl + F shortcut to open Slack search by default rather than the built-in browser search functionality that can only search the text currently loaded in the page.
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