Alation Anywhere for Slack

With Alation Anywhere for Slack, you can connect Alation to Slack and perform the following actions directly within Slack:

  • Search the Alation catalog.

  • See rich previews of Alation catalog pages when you paste a link, and interact with the page by starring or watching it.

By using Alation Anywhere for Slack, you can get more work done without leaving the context of your important work conversations.

Prerequisites

To use Alation Anywhere for Slack, you must meet the following prerequisites:

  • You must be using Alation Cloud Service and be on the cloud native architecture.

    • To determine if you’re already on the cloud native architecture or to request migration to it, contact Alation Support.

    • Alation Anywhere for Slack is not available for on-premise installations of Alation.

  • You can’t be using Slack’s Enterprise Grid deployment. It isn’t supported.

  • A Slack workspace can only connect to a single instance of Alation. If you’re logged into multiple Slack workspaces, you can connect to a different instance of Alation in each workspace.

Install the Alation App in Slack

To use Alation Anywhere for Slack, you have to install the Alation app in Slack.

  1. Find the app in one of the following ways:

    • On the web:

      1. Visit the Alation app page in the Slack App Directory online.

      2. Click Add to Slack.

    • In Slack:

      1. Click Apps in the top left corner. If you don’t see this option, click More or Browse Slack to find it. The Slack App Directory will open inside Slack.

      2. Search for “Alation.” When you find it, click Add.

        ../../_images/AlationAnywhere_ForSlack_Add.png

      3. A new browser tab will open with information about the Alation Slack app. Click Add to Slack.

  2. If you don’t have permission to install apps in Slack, you may need to submit a request to have it installed.

  3. If you have permission to install apps, the Slack app directory informs you what permissions Alation needs to connect to Slack. Click Allow to continue connecting.

  4. Enter your company’s Alation domain, then click Continue.

    ../../_images/AlationAnywhere_ForSlack_Domain.png

    Important

    You have ten minutes to enter your Alation domain. If you take more than ten minutes, you’ll have to start the installation process over again.

  5. A success message should appear. Click Go to Slack to open your Slack workspace and start using Alation in Slack. You must first log into your Alation account in Slack. See the next section for instructions.

Log Into Alation in Slack

To use Alation Anywhere for Slack, you must be logged into Alation through Slack. To log into the Alation Slack app:

  1. Type /alation login or attempt to search Alation by typing /alation search search_term. A message will appear in Slack asking you to log in.

  2. Click Connect.

    1. If you are currently logged into Alation, a new browser tab will open with a message that you’ve successfully authenticated.

    2. If you’re not currently logged into Alation, a new browser tab will open to the Alation login screen or your identity provider. Enter your credentials and log in. You’ll then see a message that you’ve successfully authenticated.

  3. Click Go to Slack. If your browser asks whether to open Slack, allow it.

  4. When Slack opens, you should see a message that you have connected with Alation.

Note

If you clicked Not now, you will be asked to log in again next time you enter an /alation command. If you clicked Don’t ask again, the only way you can log in is by entering /alation login.

Log Out of Alation in Slack

To log out of the Alation Slack app, type /alation logout. This disconnects Alation from Slack. You will no longer be able to search Alation within Slack or see rich previews of Alation links until you log back in.

Search Alation in Slack

By searching Alation within Slack, you don’t have to leave the context of a Slack conversation to find and post information from your Alation catalog.

To search Alation in Slack, type /alation search search_terms in Slack. You can enter one or more words for the search term. Press Enter to submit the search. A pop-up appears showing you the top search result from Alation.

Note

You can also search using the simplified /alation search_terms command. But you won’t be able to use the simplified search command to search for words that are reserved as commands, like “help,” “login,” and “logout.” Instead you would have to use the full search command, for example /alation search login.

From the search pop-up, you can:

  • Post the top search result to the Slack conversation by clicking Send it in chat.

  • Open the catalog page for the top search result in Alation by clicking the search result’s title.

  • See the top ten search results in Slack by clicking See more results. You can then filter by object type, modify the search terms, and resubmit the search to get updated results while still in Slack.

    Note

    When viewing multiple search results, each result has its own Send it in chat button. The search window stays open when you click this button, so you can send multiple results to the chat quickly. Click Close to exit the search window.

    In private channels and direct messages, you can only send up to five results in a row to the chat. To send more, click Close to exit the search window and run the same search again.

  • See the full search results in Alation by clicking Go to Alation Page.

See Previews of Alation Catalog Pages in Slack

Paste a link to an Alation catalog page in a Slack message. When you post the message, a preview of the catalog page appears attached to the message. That way, readers of the message don’t have to go into Alation to understand what you’re talking about.

Catalog pages that can be previewed include:

  • Articles

  • Article groups (old glossaries)

  • Table and data source objects

  • Queries

From the preview, you can:

  • Open the catalog page in Alation by clicking on the page title.

  • See additional information by clicking the buttons at the bottom of the preview. For example, you can see custom fields for an article, a list of columns for a table, raw SQL for a query, and so forth.

  • See trust check flags next to the page title. Hover over the icon to see what kind of flag it is.

  • Star or watch the page by clicking See more at the bottom of the preview.

  • For queries, open the query in Compose or open the query form by clicking See more.

Get Help in Slack

Type /alation help in Slack to get help directly within Slack.

Troubleshooting

If you enter an /alation command in Slack and get an error message saying /alation failed with the error “dispatch_failed”, then your message has failed to reach Alation. Check your internet connection and try again.

Support and Privacy

Alation support email: support@alation.com

Alation support site: https://alation.force.com

Alation privacy policy: https://alation.com/privacy-policy