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Mention the Principal in Slack Messages and Channels (Pyn 2)

When sending automated Slack messages, you can directly mention the principal—the person the flow is currently running for (such as a new hire, an employee celebrating a milestone, or someone returning from leave).

Written by Dame Dingding

Inserting this widget places an @Principal pill into your message editor, which resolves into an active Slack @mention upon delivery to ping the employee directly.

1. How Principal Mentions Work in Slack

  • The Principal: In Pyn 2 flows, the principal is the individual who triggered the flow.

  • Recipient vs. Principal: In a message sent to a public channel or to a manager, inserting a principal mention tags the employee the message is actually about (e.g., "Please join us in welcoming @Principal to the team!").

  • Editor Appearance: The widget displays in your message canvas as an @Principal pill badge.

  • Delivery Behavior: Unlike plain text tokens, this pill converts into an active Slack mention upon delivery, triggering a notification for that person in Slack.

2. Step-by-Step Configuration

  1. Add or Select a Slack Step in Your Flow

    • Go to Flows in the left sidebar and select the automation flow you want to edit.

    • Click Add Step (or select an existing step).

    • Under the Communication section, choose either:

      • Send Direct Message: Sends a Slack direct message to an individual (e.g., the manager or buddy).

      • Post to Channel: Sends an announcement to a specific Slack channel.

  2. Configure Sender, Recipient, and Schedule

    • In the right-hand editor drawer under Configure:

      • Schedule: Set the delivery date, send time, and recipient time zone.

      • From: Choose whether the message sends from Pyn Bot or your authenticated personal Slack account.

      • To: Select your recipient role (for DMs) or search and pick the target channel (for Post to Channel).

  3. Insert the "Mention Principal" Widget

    • Place your cursor in the message text box where you want the mention to appear.

    • In the bottom formatting bar, click the puzzle icon (Insert Widget).

    • Select Mention Principal from the dropdown menu.

    • The @Principal token pill will insert directly into the text.

  4. Preview and Test

    • Click the eye icon (Preview) on the far right of the formatting bar.

    • Use Preview as to select a sample employee profile and confirm the token resolves to the expected employee name.

    • Click Send a test to yourself to verify how the mention and notification render in Slack.

  5. Publish Your Flow

    • Click Publish in the top bar to save and apply the changes across your flow.

Important Details to Keep in Mind

  • Channel Permissions: If sending via Pyn Bot, the bot must already be invited to the destination channel (/invite @Pyn).

  • Personal Senders: If sending from a personal Slack user account, that individual must already be a member of the destination channel.

  • Re-authentication: If Slack permissions or sender tokens ever expire, re-authenticate them under Settings > Senders or the Needs Attention tab.

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