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If you’ve been working from home during the pandemic – or even if you haven’t – I’m sure you’ve heard of Slack. If you’re reading this article, then you’ve *definitely* heard of Slack. As virtual workspaces go, Slack is one of the most popular, and I’d like to argue that’s solely down to the fact it allows you to use GIPHY to send GIFs to your colleagues.
Now I’m not saying that without GIFs Slack would be worthless, but if you’re like me, and you’ve started a new job in the midst of the pandemic, and you haven’t actually met any of your colleagues in person yet, GIFs are the best way to get at least a little bit of your personality across.
To be honest, though, it’s not that obvious how you send them. So while my colleagues have been flooding the channels with hilariously relevant moving images for the last two weeks, it took me a good five minutes to work out how to send my first one yesterday, and I thought it would be a gesture of goodwill for me to share my new-found knowledge.
1
Check GIPHY is installed
First, check if the GIPHY app has been enabled on your workspace. If not, get in touch with the admins and ask them to set it up.
If GIPHY is enabled, there are two ways to go about finding and sending the perfect GIF:
Type /giphy into the chatbox, followed by the word you want your GIF to relate to, like /Giphy Applause, then click enter.
A randomly generated GIF should appear (only you can see it!) and if you like it, you can hit send! If not, use the shuffle button to find another one.
If you change your mind and don’t want to send a GIF (why?), you can exit this screen by clicking the cancel button.
2
Find a Share a Gif
Another way to send GIFs on Slack, is to click on the lightning bolt icon at the bottom left of the chatbox. This will open the shortcuts menu.
Underneath where it says Giphy, click on “find and share a GIF”
From there, you can search for a GIF, see a randomly generated and either send, shuffle or cancel.
There you go: you can now send GIFs! Maybe your workday will be a little bit more exciting now. Or not.
