Guide to taking and sending automatic screenshots to Slack

Learn how to automatically capture screenshots and send the images to Slack public and private channels.

Introduction

PagePixels is a screenshot automation tool for capturing online content on a recurring schedule.

With PagePixels Slack integration, you can automate the process of taking screenshots and sending the images to Slack on a schedule you define.

PagePixels is free to start and the Slack integration is built-in and available to all plans. No other tools are required.

This guide includes instructions for how to connect Slack to PagePixels and how to automatically take and send scheduled screenshots to public and private Slack channels.

How to connect Slack to PagePixels

To connect your Slack workspace to PagePixels:

1

Create a screenshot

Log in to your PagePixels account, and click the "+Create Screenshot" button.

2

Click connect

Look for the Slack integration in the right sidebar, and click the blue "Connect" button.

3

Authorize the connection

Log in to Slack and click the "Allow" button. This will permit PagePixels to send screenshots to channels in your Slack workspace.

Note: As shown in the image above, you'll see a "This app is not approved by Slack" message. If you're not comfortable connecting PagePixels to Slack, you can use approved apps Zapier and Make instead.

Once you've successfully connected Slack to PagePixels, you're ready to configure your screenshots and Slack channel settings.

How to automatically take and send screenshots to Slack channels

Below are examples of how to use the PagePixels web app to send screenshots to public and private Slack channels.

PUBLIC SLACK CHANNELS

How to take and send scheduled screenshots to a public Slack channel

For this example, we're going to create a screenshot automation that takes daily screenshots of a random XKCD comic and posts the images to a public Slack channel.

1

Create a screenshot

Log in to your PagePixels account, and click the "+Create Screenshot" button.

2

Set your schedule

By default, recurring screenshots are taken every 5 minutes.

For a daily screenshot, use the input and dropdown fields to change the default values to: 1 Days

3

Add URL

Copy and paste the web page URL you want to screenshot into the Website URL to Capture field.

For example: https://c.xkcd.com/random/comic/

4

Configure your screenshot

Get your screenshot to look just right with over 20 different setting options in PagePixels.

For example, using the CSS Selector field, you can capture just the comic element on the XKCD page with the following selector: #comic

4

Configure Slack

After you connect your Slack workspace to PagePixels, configure your Slack post.

Slack Connection: Select your Slack workspace from the drop-down menu.

Channel: Tell us where to send the screenshots. The default channel is: #general

Private channel? To send screenshots to a private channel, you'll need to first invite PagePixels to that channel.

Note: Optionally give your screenshots a title. The title will appear above your screenshot image.

Send Message As: You can post screenshots as PagePixels or as your Slack user.

Send a Test: You can send a test screenshot to the Slack channel using the "Send a Test" button. For this to work, you need to have already taken a screenshot with that configuration.

5

Save Screenshot

Click the green Save Screenshot button (top-right).

Once your screenshot generates, you'll see the image post to your Slack channel. For example:

🎉 Your screenshot automation is officially running and every day it will take and send screenshots to your Slack channel.

PRIVATE SLACK CHANNELS

How to send screenshots to a private Slack channel

To post screenshots to a private Slack channel, you'll need to invite the PagePixels app to that channel, as detailed below.

1

Open channel details

Go to your private channel in Slack.

Click on the more icon in the top-right (three vertical dots) and select "Open channel details" from the drop-down menu.

2

Click Add an App

Select the integrations tab for your channel. Click the Add an App button.

3

Add PagePixels Screenshots

Type "pagepixels" in the search box and click the Add button.

This will invite PagePixels to your private channel.

4

Set up your screenshot in PagePixels

You can now create screenshots in PagePixels that will send to your private channel following the same steps for a public channel.

Support

Questions? Contact us anytime by email:

support-tickets@pagepixels.com

Or send us a message through our Support page.