Notifications

Oblique sends notifications about events in Oblique, such as requests, to ensure these are reviewed and applied in a timely manner.

Notification methods

Oblique supports sending notifications in the following ways:

• Slack. Oblique has a Slack app that can be used to send notifications about requests made in Oblique.

Events

Oblique sends notifications about the following events:

Type	Event
Requests	A request was created.
	A request was assigned to a reviewer.
	A request was approved.
	A request was applied.
	A request was closed.

Slack app

The Slack integration lets Oblique notify users about pending requests directly in Slack.

The Oblique Slack app supports sending request notifications in Slack in two ways:

• Direct messages (DMs). Request notifications are sent directly to individuals who are requestors or reviewers as direct messages, if they exist in the Slack workspace. Reviewers are notified when they need to approve a request, and requestors are notified when the status of their request changes.
• Channels. All request notifications are sent to one or more Slack channels. The notification tags the requestor and the reviewers for the request, if they exist in the Slack workspace. All updates for a given request are threaded.

The Oblique Slack app can be configured to send direct messages to users, send notifications to one or more Slack channels, or both. DMs are enabled by default.

Note

The Oblique Slack app does not currently support making or approving requests via Slack.

Note

Notifications about a request approval do not currently include any approval comments.

Who is notified

Who is notified or tagged in Slack depends on the type of event:

Event	Slack DMs	Slack channel
A request was created.	No one	Requestor
A request was assigned to a reviewer.	Each reviewer	Requestor and reviewer(s)
A request was approved.	Requestor	Requestor and individual who approved the request
A request was applied.	Requestor	Requestor and individual who applied the request
A request was closed.	Requestor	Requestor and individual who closed the request

When multiple events affecting the same request happen simultaneously, such as when a request is created with reviewers already selected, or when a request is approved and applied, only a single notification is sent.

When a user performs an action that would send themselves a direct message, e.g., approve their own request, they will not be sent a direct message.

Required permissions

The Oblique Slack app requires the following permissions to operate in your Slack workspace:

• View basic information about public channels in your workspace
• View people in your workspace
• View email addresses of people in your workspace
• Send messages as @Oblique
• Post messages to specific channels in Slack

Add the Oblique app to your Slack workspace

You must be a admin to add an integration.

Navigate to the Integrations page.

1. Select Add integration.
2. Select Slack.
3. Select Connect Slack.
4. In the Slack OAuth flow, review the required permissions, ensure you have selected the correct Slack workspace, and select Allow.
5. Optionally, under Channels, select one or more Slack channels where notifications should be sent.
6. Optionally, test that the integration is working as expected and sending messages to the correct Slack workspace and channels. Select Send test notification to send a test notification.
7. Direct messages (DMs) are enabled by default. Optionally, disable DMs for users. Next to Direct messages, toggle Enabled or Disabled.
8. Select Add integration.

Note

The Oblique Slack app is not currently available via the Slack Marketplace. You will need to manually install it from Oblique. The Oblique Slack app will have either the app ID A09EG3AJEHZ (US) or A0A5AA3PHC0 (Europe), depending on the Oblique region you are using.

Note

The Oblique Slack app can currently only be installed at the workspace level. If you have an organization with multiple workspaces, like in Slack Enterprise Grid, you will need to install the Oblique Slack app individually for each workspace.

Approve the Oblique app in your Slack workspace

By default, any Slack member can add an app to a workspace.

If your Slack workspace or organization has configured app approval ↗ to restrict installing Slack apps that aren’t approved, then your Slack workspace owner will need to approve the Oblique app for workspace members to use it. You can’t pre-approve the Oblique app since it’s not available in Slack Marketplace.

If you have already installed the Oblique app in your Slack workspace, approve it for all workspace members:

1. Find the app in your list of installed apps, at https://app.slack.com/apps-manage/$workspace-id/integrations/installed and select the app. Alternatively, navigate directly to the Oblique Slack app at https://$workspace-name.slack.com/marketplace/A09EG3AJEHZ-oblique (US) or https://$workspace-name.slack.com/marketplace/A0A5AA3PHC0-oblique (Europe).
2. On the app listing, find the desired workspace. Next to Manage app for entire workspace?, select Approve.

If you have app requests ↗ enabled, and a workspace member has requested the app, then:

1. Find the app in your list of app requests, at https://app.slack.com/apps-manage/$workspace-id/integrations/requests and select the app. Alternatively, navigate directly to the Oblique Slack app at https://$workspace-name.slack.com/marketplace/A09EG3AJEHZ-oblique (US) or https://$workspace-name.slack.com/marketplace/A0A5AA3PHC0-oblique (Europe).
2. On the app listing, find the desired workspace. Next to Manage app for entire workspace?, select Approve.

Once the app is approved, it will be listed in your list of installed apps, at https://app.slack.com/apps-manage/$workspace-id/integrations/installed, with the App resolution Approved. The app listing, at https://$workspace-name.slack.com/marketplace/A09EG3AJEHZ-oblique (US) or https://$workspace-name.slack.com/marketplace/A0A5AA3PHC0-oblique (Europe), will also show as approved for your workspace.

Enable or disable DMs for all users

When you add the Oblique Slack app to a workspace, all users will begin receiving DMs by default.

You can enable or disable DMs for all users from the Slack integration’s detail page:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. In the Slack settings section, next to Direct messages, toggle Enabled or Disabled.
3. Select Save.

Enable or disable DMs per user

When you add the Oblique Slack app to a workspace, all users will begin receiving DMs by default.

Users can enable or disable DMs in their notification settings:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. Under Notification settings, next to Slack direct messages, toggle on or off.

Change the Slack channels used by the Oblique app

The Oblique Slack app can be configured to send notifications to none, one or several Slack channels. Only public channels are supported.

To change the channels used, from the Slack integration’s detail page:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. In the Slack settings section, next to Channels, select the Slack channel or channels where notifications should be sent. These must be public channels.
3. Optionally, test that the integration is working as expected and sending messages to the correct Slack workspace and channels. Select Send test notification to add the Oblique app to the channels and send a test notification.
4. Select Save.

Note

The Oblique Slack can only be connected to one workspace. To change workspaces, delete the integration and add it again.

Remove the Oblique app from your Slack workspace

Remove the Oblique app from Slack to stop receiving Slack notifications about requests in Oblique.

From the Slack integration’s detail page:

1. Navigate to Settings.
2. Under Danger zone and Delete integration, select Delete….
3. Review and confirm you wish to delete the integration. Select Confirm.

Troubleshooting

If you get the error Apologies, but Oblique can't be installed, your Slack workspace or organization has configured app approval ↗ to restrict installing Slack apps that aren’t approved or aren’t in the Slack Marketplace. See Approve the Oblique app in your Slack workspace.