Slack 2.0 Integration with Simpplr

Table of Contents

Overview

Security permissions and scopes

Setup

Features

FAQ

Overview

As our integrations continue growing in capability, we have upgraded the Slack integration to include new features and better connection flows with the 23.12 release.

The new Slack integration will be Bring Your Own App (BYOA). This is explained further below in the FAQ section.

Among the main improvements and enhancements to the integration are:

• The ability for App managers to customize their intranet App name and icon in Slack
  

• Site auto-posting: Users can now enable auto-feed posts from a Simpplr site feed to a Slack channel

• Improved unfurling: In addition to multiple design and usability improvements, users can now like and favorite unfurled content directly in Slack. Additionally, users can to go directly to the content to add comments once it's been shared
  

• The ability to enable or disable content unfurl for sites: Site owners and managers can enable/disable unfurling of content on their sites. This can be helpful for a private site that might contain confidential information. When sharing content from a private site with unfurl previews, Simpplr will show a warning message to the user
  

If your org/users have already connected their Slack accounts to Simpplr, you will all need to disconnect and re-connect using the new BYOA method for app level connections. This is applicable to App managers and individual users.

Since there is no site level Slack connection option, you won't need to make any configuration changes at the site level.

Security permissions and scopes

When first integrating Simpplr with Slack, you might encounter various permission requests. These permissions determine what Simpplr can do within your Slack workspace. Here's a breakdown of the permission requests you might see and what they mean:

Bot token scopes 

• chat:write

  Used when the message is posted to Slack via Bot in Simpplr. Simpplr application calls API chat.postMessage to post the messages

• chat:write.customize

  Used when customizing the app icon and app name while posting the feed or content to Slack channels

• chat:write.public

  Send messages to public channels on Slack where the @Simpplr application is not a member of

• links:read

  Simpplr has a feature of message unfurling, where if we copy and paste the link of a feed or content in Simpplr to Slack channel, it gets unfurled. This scope is used to fetch the events for unfurling for specific domains

• links:write

  Simpplr has a feature of message unfurling, where if we copy and paste the link of a feed or content in Simpplr to a Slack channel, it gets unfurled. This scope is used to show the preview of urls pasted in the Slack channel for unfurling the links for specific domains

User token scopes 

• channels:history

  Receive the message posted in the Slack channel as event. This is used in the threaded response feature, where we get messages from 'Slack To Simpplr'. This scope is used to fetch the message event for the message added in Slack

• channels:read

  Get a list of channels of users in the Manage > Site section. Users can select the channel of Slack to which feed and content should be posted

• chat:write

  Post a message to a channel on user's behalf while posting or promoting a content or feed. This is used while using the API https://slack.com/api/chat.postMessage

• groups:read

  Get a list of channels of users in the Manage > Site section. Users can select the private channel of Slack to which feed and content should be posted

• links:read

  Simpplr has a feature of message unfurling, where if users copy and paste the link of a feed or content in Simpplr to Slack channel, it gets unfurled. This scope is used to fetch the events for unfurling for specific domains like vf.force.com, http://visualforce.com, simpplr.link, and http://links.simpplr.com

• users:read

  Retrieve user's name and their profile ID for our Click2Chat functionality, which is visible on a user's profile page

Setup

App manager setup

Note:

If you already have Slack connected at the app level, go in and disconnect the current integration before proceeding with the steps below. Disconnecting at the app level will automatically disconnect all users' profiles.

The first step in connecting the new Slack integration to your intranet involves the App manager. To get started:

1. Head to Manage > Application > Integrations > Messaging.
   

2. Check the option for Slack. Follow the link that says "here" in the App configuration token section to be redirected to Slack.
   
   
   

3. From the Slack UI, click Generate Token, select your workspace and click on Generate. Note that you can use the same token for creating multiple apps, but after 12 hours the token will expire.
   

4. Copy the Access Token generated, switch back to Simpplr UI and paste the token in App configuration token text box. Along with that, provide the app name and app icon. The app name should be the name of your intranet, but can be anything you'd like. This will be the name that gets created in the Slack app directory. The icon will be the app's associated image. After filling the details, click Continue.
   

5. A Verify app modal will appear. Click the link that says "Verify your Slack app from here". This will redirect to Slack UI. Click on Retry then Save Changes.
   
   

6. Come back to Simpplr and click Create app. Once the app is created and verified successfully, a Finalize Integration popup modal will appear.
   

7. Click on Connect account to complete the integration. Once the oauth flow is completed, your Slack app is created and integrated Successfully. Click Save.
   

End user setup

To connect your Slack account as an End user (non-App manager):

1. Head to your profile by clicking the user menu, then Profile & settings
2. Click Edit Profile & settings > External apps.
   
3. Click Connect account.
4. Accept the required permissions Simpplr is asking from Slack by clicking Allow.
   
5. That's it! You can now share intranet content and feed posts to your Slack channels.

Features

Click2chat

When you add your Slack profile to Simpplr, a new icon will appear in your profile and areas throughout the intranet so other users can start a direct message (DM) with you:

On your user profile:

In the people list:

On the site member list:

 

App managers can customize their intranet App name and icon in Slack

Site auto-posting

Users can now enable auto-feed posts from a Simpplr site feed to a Slack channel.

Improved unfurling

In addition to multiple design and usability improvements, users can now like and favorite unfurled content directly in Slack. Additionally, users can to go directly to the content to add comments once it's been shared.

Enable or disable content unfurl for sites 

Site owners and managers can enable/disable unfurling of content on their sites. This can be helpful for a private site that might contain confidential information. When sharing content from a private site with unfurl previews, Simpplr will show a warning message to the user.

FAQ

Q: What does BYOA mean? 

A: In short, when it comes to this new integration, BYOA means when connecting to a 3rd party application (like Slack), a new, private app is created in the Slack app marketplace that is specific to your intranet users. This article provides more information on the benefits of using BYOA in your org's software applications. 

Q: Why is Simpplr using BYOA?
A: In order for Simpplr to support unfurling and other new features at scale, we need to bring the BYOA capability, where-in for each customer a private Slack app will be created. Simpplr’s intuitive Slack onboarding seamlessly enables your org to create the Slack app and enable the integration.
Tech details of the reason is as follows:

• An app is required to unfurl links, send alerts, etc.

• Your org's unique Simpplr domain classifies it as a unique app, which will offer more flexibility and scalability for integration features in the future

• In order to create an app, a bot must first be created, along with its permissions, redirect URLs added, domains whitelisted, etc., and the bot must then be linked to the app

• It only takes a few clicks now to obtain the app in the catalog of your company

Q: What are the key new features that are being added with this Slack BYOA update?
A: 

• App managers can now customize their Slack/Simpplr app name and icon
• Site auto-posting: Users can now enable auto-feed post from a Simpplr site to a Slack channel
• Improved unfurling: In addition to multiple design and usability improvements, customers can now also 'favorite' unfurled content in Slack. Additionally, they can add comments to the content directly from Slack
• Control unfurl and sharing on Slack for sites (option in Manage site settings)

Q: When will End users receive a nudge to connect their accounts to the new integration?
A: In Slack, users will receive a nudge from Slackbot any time they copy and paste a Simpplr URL to Slack. The same thing will happen whenever a user attempts to like or favorite from an unfurled Simpplr link in Slack.

Additional info:
If a user has not connected their Slack account in Simpplr, when they copy and paste a Simpplr URL to Slack, three buttons will appear in the same thread; Connect now, Connect later and Don't ask again. The same thing will happen if a user clicks like/favorite. The link will be unfurled if user is connected to Slack at the user level.

Q: What if I don’t want to upgrade?
A: Slack 2.0 (BYOA) integration is a superior, up-to-date product offering, and Simpplr will be focusing our development efforts only on that integration going forward. We will keep our Slack 1.0 integration active until March 31st, 2024, but will not be doing any development work to enhance it. After March 31st, the legacy Slack app will no longer be an approved application in the Slack workplace. This means you will have an un-approved Slack application in your Simpplr environment. This will lead to a poorer user experience and be considered a high risk for most IT departments.

Q:What happens if I do not upgrade after March 31st, 2024?
A: If you make no changes to your Slack application, existing connected accounts will still be able to share/promote content, unfurl links, etc. However, no new users will be able to conncet their accounts to the integration. This goes for users who try to reconnect after disconnecting for any reason.

In addition, we cannot guarantee the high level of quality and support service with this connection as we do with Slack 2.0. If your End users begin experiencing bugs or latency, our Support teams will not be able to assist you. If your application gets disconnected, you will not be able to reconnect. You must upgrade.

Q: Is Simpplr using an external service to make posts from Simpplr to Slack? 
A: No, this is a native Simpplr integration with Slack.