Surfaces are places on the UI in which you can create further communications and interactions. The surface types are as follows:
Messages
Contextual bars
Modals
Let’s learn about these surfaces.
Messages
You can define the app to send messages, such as updates or reminders to channels. These messages can be triggered in response to certain user actions, or sent to users and channels at regular intervals.
In the following screenshot, the app bot sends a notification message to a channel. This is a basic example, and you can add more components to control the look of such messages.
In this section, we will learn how to utilize the message surface using various UI blocks, elements, and objects.
Contextual bars
Contextual bars are sidebars displayed on the screen that can provide users with further information or options. They are triggered by specific user actions.
In the following screenshot, the app displays the contextual bar in a channel. They span the vertical screen and can be adjusted horizontally if the workspace admin has enabled the feature preview option.
Modals
Modals are like pop-up displays or dialog boxes. Like contextual bars, they can be used to share additional details and are triggered by user actions.
The following screenshot shows a modal surface:
To learn how to use contextual bars and modals, see these examples: Create Contextual Bar and Create Modal.