Chat Page in the New Messaging Portal

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Beta Now Available!

🚀  The new Messaging Portal is now in beta! Contact your ConnecttoTeams provider or reach out to our support team to get access to the beta site. We'll announce the official general availability date through our usual channels.

Beta Now Available!

🚀  The new Messaging Portal is now in beta! Contact your ConnecttoTeams provider or reach out to our support team to get access to the beta site. We'll announce the official general availability date through our usual channels.

We've redesigned our Messaging Portal with a fresh, new look and improved features to make managing your messaging configurations even easier. You can now get your work done faster with a more intuitive and user-friendly experience.

This article walks Enterprise Admins through the Chat pages in the ConnecttoTeams Messaging Portal. You will learn how to access the Chat menu, read the Slack Workspaces table, link new chat workspaces, handle inactive connections, and use the search and filter tools.

Note

The Chat pages may not be available in your portal by default. If you are planning to use Chat for your organization, reach out to your ConnecttoTeams provider to get it set up.

Video

A companion video tutorial is also available for a visual walkthrough of the steps covered in this article.

00:00: This video is intended for Enterprise Admins of the ConnecttoTeams Messaging Portal.

00:04: portal,

00:05: In this video, we'll walk through the Chat configuration page.

00:09: One thing to note before we dive in: the Chat page may not be available in your

00:14: portal by default.

00:14: If you're planning to use Chat for your organization, reach out to your ConnecttoTeams

00:19: provider to get it set up. With that out of the way, let's

00:22: start by navigating to the Chat menu.

00:25: From the navigation bar

00:26: at the top of the portal, click the Services, and then select Chat from the drop

00:31: down. This takes you to the Chat management page.

00:34: Right now, what you’ll see here is the Slack Workspaces table.

00:37: The ConnecttoTeams Chat App works with Slack today — and while it also supports chat

00:43: federation with Webex, Zoom, and Mitel, the management pages for those integrations

00:47: are coming in future releases. For now, Slack is what you’ll manage from this page.

00:52: The table gives you a full view of every Slack workspace

00:55: currently linked to your enterprise. Each row represents one connection between your

01:00: Teams organization and a Slack workspace.

01:03: First, there’s the Name column — this shows the organization name who owns the

01:07: Slack workspaces.

01:08: Next is Domain

01:09: — the name of the Slack workspace that’s been linked.

01:12: Next, we have the Status column.

01:14: This indicates whether the connection is Connected—meaning

01:17: it is active and messages are flowing—or Inactive.

01:21: Lastly, the Actions column is where you can delete a connection.

01:25: We will address this further when we discuss inactive connections.

01:29: There are two ways a Slack workspace can end up in this table — for intra-company

01:33: and inter-company linking.

01:35: Both ways result in the same thing: Teams users able to exchange messages with Slack

01:40: users.

01:41: The first method is located right here on this page.

01:45: In the top-right corner of the Slack Workspaces table, you will find the Link Your Slack

01:50: Workspace button. This

01:50: option is designed for intra-company communications where you act as both the administrator

01:56: of your Teams organization and your Slack workspace. By clicking the button,

02:01: you initiate the Slack authentication flow. You will be prompted to sign in and

02:05: select the Slack workspace you wish to connect, as well as grant the necessary permissions.

02:09: Once

02:10: you approve by clicking the Allow button, the TeamsLink app is installed on your Slack

02:15: Workspace, the connection

02:15: is established, and the workspace will appear in the table with a Status of

02:20: Connected.

02:23: This is the most straightforward way to link a workspace

02:27: — but it’s not the only method.

02:28: The second method allows Teams users to send invitations directly from within

02:32: Microsoft Teams, making it particularly beneficial for intercompany communications.

02:37: In the Unified Connector App, users can navigate to the Chat tab and easily connect

02:42: to specific Slack workspaces.

02:45: This self-service option empowers end users, eliminating

02:48: the need to reach out to you, the Enterprise admin, for invitation assistance.

02:53: In the sample scenario shown here, the AI assistant lacks prior information about

02:58: the external user and instructs the Teams user to provide an invitation link to the

03:03: outside party.

03:04: Once the administrator of the invited Slack Workspace grants the necessary

03:07: permissions, the TeamsLink app is installed in their workspace, enabling

03:11: a seamless connection with your Teams organization.

03:15: This new connection will automatically appear in your Slack Workspaces table

03:19: here on the portal. Whether the link originates from the portal or within Teams,

03:23: everything is accessible to you as the admin from this single central page.

03:28: Next, let's talk about Inactive Connections.

03:30: If for whatever reason the administrator of the Slack Workspace removes the TeamsLink

03:35: app which facilitates the connection, the Slack Workspace will appear as Inactive in

03:39: the portal.

03:42: This part of the video shows the TeamsLink app being removed from a Slack workspace.

03:49: When the removal is completed, the ConnecttoTeams portal shows that Slack Workspace connection

03:54: status as Inactive.

03:56: Inactive workspaces can be deleted from the table.

03:59: To delete a workspace,

04:00: simply select the Delete option in the Actions column.

04:04: The workspace will be removed from the table.

04:08: With connections and cleanup covered,

04:10: let's look at how to find what you need in a busy table.

04:14: There are two methods to search records.

04:15: The first is the search box in the top right corner, which filters results in the

04:20: Name and Domain columns as you type.

04:29: The second search method involves using the column filters.

04:31: Click the filter icon next to any column heading and type

04:35: any part of what you're looking for

04:37: — the table will instantly show

04:40: rows that contain that

04:41: text. You can do this across multiple columns at once for a more precise search.

04:47: The Status column has a special filter worth noting. Instead of a text search

04:52: box, it offers a dedicated filter for Connected and Inactive statuses.

05:07: When you're done, click the Reset Filters button to

05:10: clear all active column filters at once and see the full list again.

05:14: You now know how to navigate to the Chat menu, read the Slack Workspaces

05:18: table, link new connections from both the portal and from Teams, clean up inactive

05:23: ones, and search and filter to find what you need.

05:27: For additional resources,

05:28: visit our knowledge base at https://kb.connecttoteams.com. Thanks for watching!

05:33: Connectto teams.com thanks for watching.

Prefer a visual walkthrough? Watch the step-by-step video here. Jump links are available for each part of the video.

Accessing the Chat Menu

To navigate to the Chat management page:

  • From the navigation bar at the top of the portal, click Services.

  • Select Chat from the dropdown.

This takes you to the Chat management page, where the Slack Workspaces table is displayed.

About the Slack Workspaces Table

The Slack Workspaces table gives you a full view of every Slack workspace currently linked to your enterprise. Each row represents one connection between your Teams organization and a Slack workspace.

Future Feature

The ConnecttoTeams Chat App also supports chat federation with Webex, Zoom, and Mitel. Management pages for those integrations are coming in future releases. For now, Slack is what you manage from this page.

Understanding the Table Columns

The Slack Workspaces table has four columns:

  • Name — Shows the organization name that owns the Slack workspace.

  • Domain — The domain associated with the linked Slack workspace.

  • Status — Indicates the state of the connection:

    • Connected — The connection is active and messages are flowing.

    • Inactive — The link exists but is no longer working.

  • Actions — Where you can delete a connection. See ‘Handling Inactive Connections’ below for details.

Linking a Slack Workspace

There are two ways a Slack workspace can end up in the table:

  • Intra-company linking

  • Inter-company linking

Both result in the same outcome: Teams users able to exchange messages with Slack users.

Linking from the Portal (Intra-Company)

The first method is on the Chat management page itself. In the top-right corner of the Slack Workspaces table, click the Link Your Slack Workspace button.

This option is designed for intra-company communications, where you act as both the administrator of your Teams organization and your Slack workspace. The steps are:

  • Click Link Your Slack Workspace to begin the Slack authentication flow.

  • Sign in to the Slack workspace you wish to connect.

  • Select the workspace and grant the necessary permissions.

  • Click Allow to approve the connection.

Result

Once approved, the TeamsLink app is installed on your Slack workspace, the connection is established, and the workspace appears in the table with a status of Connected.

Linking from Microsoft Teams (Inter-Company)

The second method allows Teams users to send invitations directly from within Microsoft Teams. This is particularly useful for inter-company communications, where the Slack workspace is owned by a different organization.

In the Unified Connector App, users can navigate to the Chat tab and connect to specific Slack workspaces from there. The AI assistant guides them through the process — for example, if the assistant lacks prior information about the external user, it instructs the Teams user to provide an invitation link to the outside party.

Once the administrator of the invited Slack workspace grants the necessary permissions, the TeamsLink app is installed in their workspace, enabling a seamless connection with your Teams organization. The new connection then appears automatically in your Slack Workspaces table on the portal.

Tip: This self-service option empowers end users — they do not need to reach out to you, the Enterprise Admin, for invitation assistance. Whether the link originates from the portal or from within Teams, every connection remains visible to you from this single central page.

Handling Inactive Connections

If the administrator of a Slack workspace removes the TeamsLink app that facilitates the connection, the workspace appears as Inactive in the portal. Inactive workspaces can be deleted from the table.

To delete a workspace:

  • Locate the workspace in the Slack Workspaces table.

  • In the Actions column, select Delete.

  • The workspace is removed from the table.

Searching and Filtering the Table

There are two methods to search records in the Slack Workspaces table.

Use the search box in the top-right corner of the table. As you type, results are filtered across the Name and Domain columns.

Column Filters

Click the filter icon next to any column heading and type any part of what you are looking for — the table will instantly show rows that contain that text. You can filter across multiple columns at once for a more precise search.

Note

The Status column has a special filter worth noting. Instead of a text search box, it offers a dedicated filter for Connected and Inactive statuses.

Resetting Filters

When you are done, click the Reset Filters button to clear all active column filters at once and see the full list again.

Additional Resources

For more guides and step-by-step documentation, check the rest of the knowledge base articles for the new Messaging Portal.