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Question

Can't search for Channel in Slack

  • 18 November 2020
  • 8 replies
  • 1021 views
M
Userlevel 1

I need to post a message to a specific slack channel based on a job number.  Job number will be in the name of the slack channel.  Job number is variable and based on a file name that the zap is processing.  There does not seem to be a way to have Zapier tell Slack to search for a channel name.  Workaround is to search for messages including the job number and get the channel name from that message.  Not perfect as sometimes the returned message is from the wrong channel.  Anyone have any better ideas for finding Slack channel names?

Cheers

This post has been closed for comments. Please create a new post if you need help or have a question about this topic.

8 replies

adamsmartschan
Userlevel 5
Badge +6

@Mark Alexieff -

Depending how your zap is set up, the “Send Channel Message” action could work. You’ll be asked there to insert the channel name. As long as that’s referenced in a previous step, it can be used as variable data. 

M
Userlevel 1

Thanks Adam - the problem is that all I know is that the channel name includes a 5-digit job number.  Ideally the zap could search slack for the channel name directly.  But that feature does not seem to be available.  

adamsmartschan
Userlevel 5
Badge +6

You’re correct; that’s not an available search. Is the job number referenced anywhere earlier in the zap?

M
Userlevel 1

Yes it is is - trimmed off of the name of a file attached to the email that triggers the zap.  I use it to search for a message in slack that contains the job number.  I can get the channel from that message, but sometimes the message is not in the slack channel dedicated to that job number.  The job may be referenced in other channels…

 

adamsmartschan
Userlevel 5
Badge +6

Is there a standard “formula” for the channel name? If so, we can use Formatter by Zapier to create it as variable data to use in the action step ...

M
Userlevel 1

Sadly there is not.  Good thought though.

adamsmartschan
Userlevel 5
Badge +6

So close!

Depending where things start (e.g., getting a job confirmed via email from a client, or opening a WO), Zapier’s Chrome extension might be your friend here. Enter the new channel name there and use it to trigger its own workflow (or the start of this one). It could, for instance, post that in a specific format in a private Slack channel. That would give you an obvious and consistent place to go look for it. One additional step, but you could be sure it would work.

M
Userlevel 1

Yes, automating the the creation of the Slack channel based on Job Number would make things easier, but that requires changing the ways people do their work here - longer term solution.  @adamsmartschan thank you for your cycles on this.  I think I’m just going to have to do a work around the workaround and post a specific message with a ‘known’ string in it that I can have the Zap look for.

Seems pretty odd that Slack doesn’t support this function, but I’m sure there is a good reason.

 

Cheers all and thanks for the support,

 

Mark

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