Slack

New Slack Installation

If you do not already have Slack, you can download it at https://slack.com/downloads/mac. You have the option to directly download the app from the Slack website there, or install it via the Mac App Store. If you download it directly, you will need to open the .dmg file and drag the Slack app to your Applications folder, as depicted in the window that appears.

Slack installation window

Open Slack from your Applications folder. If you downloaded directly, there may be a warning about opening a file that was downloaded from the internet, so give the required permission. You may be prompted to login, but ignore that for the moment.

Logging in to the Cancer Data Science workspace

Open http://ccdatalab.org/slack in your browser. If you have not created an account, follow the prompts to do so. You will be required to verify your email address first. Follow the link in the email to set up your account. Please use your full name in your profile, and don’t forget to set a unique password!

Slack email confirmation

After you login, you will see the Slack interface in the browser, but you probably want to open the app for ease of use and the complete feature set. In the upper left of the window, click on the words Cancer Data Science to open the menu, then select “Open the Slack App”

Slack open app menu

The Slack app you installed should open to the Cancer Data Science Community workspace and you should be all set. After you have been added to the training-specific channel, say “Hi” and introduce yourself to everyone!

If you are new to Slack, you can get familiar with the interface and features by having a conversation with Slackbot (Slack’s resident chatbot) or with yourself. You can find Slackbot (and yourself) in the left panel, under “Direct Messages”.

DM Slackbot

One more thing: if you end up using the voice or video calling functionality that Slack provides, you may be asked to grant the app permission to use your microphone and videocamera, as you did with Zoom.