# Slack - Tips and Tricks > [!WARNING] This page really needs to be restyled. Sorry for the way it is currently! The messages were originally written in Slack as examples, but the formatting didn't copy over well. # Closing DMs You can close DMs you're not using and still access them! This can help make slack feel way less cluttered. > You can re-open them either by starting a "new" DM with the same participant(s), and it'll pull back up your history > Or you can search for the conversation in the search bar (Shortcut to search: <kbd>Cmd + K</kbd> or <kbd>Ctrl+K</kbd>) # Organize DMs and Channels You can organize your channels and DMs into folders! > Very helpful if you’re a visual person and want to be reminded of conversations by visual context. But also lets you collapse any group(s) that you’re not currently needing. > (or have one group you hide all the channels you want to be in, but don't care about) # Get Notified Get notified about everything in a channel > For a channel's notification settings, you can enable notifications for all threads. > Super handy for not missing out on conversations that happen in threads that you might want to be a part of. > You can always toggle thread notifications from the first message in a thread's context menu as well! # Active Conversation Notifications Change the sound for active conversations. > In the notification settings, you can enable the current conversation to have a distinct notification sound. > Quite handy to cut thru the noise of other slack notifications to know when someone is responding to your current conversation. # Keyword Alerts Word specific notifications > In the notification settings, you can enable specific words to flag messages in a channel. I have a bunch setup to help me identify messages when folks talk about stuff I support in, or also to magically be summoned if I'm mentioned by name without being tagged  # Formatting! > Slack uses a form of [Markdown](https://www.markdownguide.org/cheat-sheet/) for text formatting. So it's easy to customize how your message looks as you type in addition to the formatting menu bar. Substitute Ctrl for Command if on PC. Omitted for brevity below. > > Checkout the [[Markdown - Chat Apps]] page for a quick table on supported features. # Keyboard Shortcuts! > Use `Cmd/Ctrl + /` to open the list of Keyboard Shortcuts > Some of my favorites: > - `Cmd + K` / Open Channel Search > - `Shift + Esc` / Mark All As Read # Keyword Notifications You can set keyword notifications in Slack! So if you have a chaotic slack with tons of channels, and want to magically be summoned to conversations where you're mentioned but aren't actually tagged, just setup a keyword alert for your own name. Then you'll get a little notif when you're mentioned and you can have extra context or join the conversation! I sometimes call these secret notifications!