# How to mark message unread in Slack on Mac: three dots and Option click steps

> How to mark message unread in Slack on Mac: hover, click the three dots, or hold Option and click. Desktop steps, shortcuts and fixes.

URL: https://www.lazur.app/how-to/mark-a-message-as-unread-in-slack
Updated: 2026-11-06

To mark a message as unread in Slack on Mac, hover over the message, click the three dots, and choose Mark unread. You can also hold Option (⌥) and click the message, which is Slack's keyboard shortcut for the same action on Mac.

## Quick answer

- Hover over the message, click the three dots, then choose Mark unread. This is the method in Slack's help center.
- Or hold Option (⌥) and click the message. Slack's shortcut table lists it for Mac.
- Esc marks every message in the current conversation as read. Press it only when you are done with that conversation.
- On a phone, tap and hold the message, then tap Mark unread. The browser version is not covered on this page.

Applies to: Slack desktop app on macOS, steps checked against Slack's help center. Time: 2 min. Difficulty: Easy.

## What you need

- Slack desktop app for Mac, signed in to your workspace
- A channel or direct message that contains the message
- A Mac keyboard with Option (⌥), Command (⌘) and Shift (⇧) keys

## How to Mark a Slack message as unread on a Mac in Slack on a Mac

1. **Open the conversation.** Open the Slack desktop app on your Mac. Click the channel or direct message that holds the message. Scroll until the message is on screen, and keep it in view for the next step.
2. **Hover over the message.** Move your pointer onto the message text. Options appear on that message while the pointer stays over it. Keep the pointer there until the three dots show. Tip: If nothing appears, the pointer is probably over the sidebar or the message box.
3. **Click the three dots.** (Three dots) Click the three dots that appear with the message options. The menu opens with a list of actions for that message.
4. **Choose Mark unread.** (Three dots > Mark unread) Click Mark unread in the menu. The message is now marked unread, and it stays in its conversation. Tip: Slack's help article lists this order: hover, three dots, then Mark unread.
5. **Or use Option click.** Shortcut: ⌥ Click. To skip the menu, hold Option (⌥) and click the message once. Slack's keyboard shortcuts page lists this for Mac. Release the key after the click. Tip: If nothing changes, go back to the three dots menu.
6. **Check the result in Unreads.** Shortcut: ⌘ ⇧ A. Press ⌘ Shift A to open the Unreads view. Look for the conversation and the message you marked. Click the timestamp of the message to reply in its conversation.

Marking a message as unread is useful when you have read something but cannot deal with it yet. A question that needs a file you do not have is a good example. The message stays in its conversation, so you can come back to it without scrolling the whole channel.

## The three dots menu on a Mac

Slack's help center describes this method for the desktop app. Hover over the message, click the three dots, and click Mark unread. The article does not list a right-click path or a macOS menu bar item for this action, so do not expect one there. On a phone the steps differ, and that section comes later on this page.

The three dots only show while your pointer is on the message. People often move the pointer to the sidebar or the message box and then wonder where the button went. Keep the pointer over the message text. Then move it up to the row of options that appears on that message.

![Person working at a laptop in an office, reading team messages in Slack on Mac](https://lfobmih1tpj3sgpo.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/content-images/howto/mark-a-message-as-unread-in-slack/how-to-mark-message-unread-in-slack-1-487417.jpg)

## Option click, the faster route on Mac

Slack's keyboard shortcuts page lists Mark a message as unread with Option Click on Mac. On Windows and Linux the same action is Alt Click. On your Mac, Option is the key labeled ⌥, next to Command. Hold it down, click the message once, and release.

There is one caveat. The keyboard navigation article places Option Click under the Unreads view section. It does not say whether the shortcut works in the desktop app, the browser, or both. This page treats it as a Mac desktop shortcut, since that is the app it covers. Test it once on a message you do not mind changing before you rely on it.

| Method | What you do | What Slack's sources say |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Three dots menu | Hover over the message, click the three dots, then click Mark unread | Help article for sending and reading messages, desktop steps |
| Option click | Hold ⌥ and click the message | Keyboard shortcuts table, listed for Mac |
| Option click in Unreads | Hold ⌥ and click the message in the Unreads view | Unread messages article, single message |

_The three documented ways to mark a message as unread on a Mac._

Use the menu when you are learning, or when you teach someone else. Every click is visible, so there is nothing to remember. Switch to Option click once the steps feel automatic. It takes less time, and you do not need to move your pointer to reach the dots.

## Reading Slack's shortcut list on a Mac

Slack's shortcut page is the one place with the exact keys for this action. It writes Command as ⌘, but it spells out Option, Shift and Control as words. A Mac user has to map those words to the symbols on the keyboard. Option is ⌥, Shift is ⇧, and Control is ⌃.

- Option, written as ⌥. Used for Option Click to mark a message as unread.
- Shift, written as ⇧. Used in Shift Esc, which marks all messages as read.
- Command, written as ⌘. Used in ⌘ Shift A for the Unreads view and ⌘ J for the newest unread message.
- Esc has no symbol in Slack's list. It is the Escape key at the top left of most Mac keyboards.

Those four keys cover every shortcut on this page. A common confusion is reading Shift Esc as a single key. It is two keys pressed together. Read the list one line at a time, and check each key against your keyboard before you press anything.

## Esc and Shift Esc clear more than you expect

Esc marks all messages in the current conversation as read. Shift Esc marks all messages as read. Both are useful when you are done with a backlog. Both cause trouble when you press them by accident while you still need a message.

This mistake is easy to make. You want to mark one message unread, your hand hits Esc, and the whole conversation is marked read. Keep Esc for conversations you have finished. Use the three dots or Option click when you want a single message to stay unread.

## Find your unread messages in the Unreads view

Press ⌘ Shift A to open the Unreads view. From Home, you can also click Unreads at the top of the sidebar. If you do not see it, Slack's article says to adjust your sidebar preferences. The view is where you go to catch up after you mark something unread.

Inside the view, each conversation has a Mark as Read option. Mark All Messages Read sits at the bottom. Slack's article says Undo is available if you click it too quickly, so look for that prompt right away. You cannot send a message from this view. Click a message's timestamp to reply in its conversation.

![Person typing on a laptop keyboard while checking a message to mark unread](https://lfobmih1tpj3sgpo.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/content-images/howto/mark-a-message-as-unread-in-slack/how-to-mark-message-unread-in-slack-3-296e13.jpg)

## Jump to the newest unread message

Press ⌘ J to jump to the most recent unread message in a conversation. Slack lists this as a desktop app shortcut only. It pairs well with marking messages unread, but it goes to the newest unread message. That may not be the one you marked, so check the messages above it too.

## Common mistakes when marking messages unread

- Pressing Esc to clear a busy channel. It marks the current conversation as read.
- Looking for a right-click menu. The help article describes hover and the three dots, and lists no right-click option.
- Assuming the phone steps match. On mobile you tap and hold the message, then tap Mark unread.
- Clicking Mark All Messages Read in the Unreads view by mistake. Look for Undo right away.
- Marking a message unread and then forgetting it. Check the Unreads view at the same time each day.

Most of these mistakes come from pressing keys too fast. Slow down for one second when a shortcut touches many messages. That pause is cheaper than digging back through a channel.

## When Option click does nothing

Slack's help center does not describe a fix for an Option click that does nothing. Try holding Option before you click, not after, and make sure the pointer is over the message. If it still fails, use Mark unread from the three dots menu, which the help article documents for desktop.

## What the Mac release notes say

Slack's Mac release notes list version 4.53.280, dated November 3, 2026, as the most recent entry on or before November 7, 2026. None of the recent entries mention unread messages or menus. A recent update is unlikely to have moved these steps, but the release notes do not confirm that either.

The notes also show older unread fixes. Version 3.1.0, from March 9, 2018, fixed unread badges that lingered on the Dock icon. Version 4.2.0, from December 4, 2019, fixed some messages being marked read while Slack was hidden behind other apps. Both fixes are old, so they are unlikely to explain a problem on a current build.

## On iPhone and in the web app

On mobile, Slack's help article says to tap and hold the message, then tap Mark unread. Mobile also has a view called Catch up. There you swipe right to mark read, swipe left to skip, and press and hold Mark as Read to clear all.

The web version is a different case. The sources used for this page do not cover the browser app, so the steps here are not checked for it. If you use Slack in a browser, check Slack's help center for the browser steps before you rely on the three dots or the shortcut.

![Desk with an open laptop beside a notebook during a busy workday](https://lfobmih1tpj3sgpo.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/content-images/howto/mark-a-message-as-unread-in-slack/how-to-mark-message-unread-in-slack-2-63ab59.jpg)

## A worked example: a question you cannot answer yet

Say a teammate posts a question about a budget file late in the afternoon. You read it, but the file is on another computer, and you will not have it until morning. Hover over the question, click the three dots, and choose Mark unread. The message stays in the conversation, so you can find it again.

The next morning, press ⌘ Shift A to open the Unreads view. Find the conversation and click the timestamp of the question. The timestamp takes you into the conversation, since you cannot send a message from the Unreads view. Reply there, and skip the search through the channel.

## Menu or Option click: which to use

Use the menu when you are learning or teaching someone else. Every click is visible, so there is nothing to remember. Use Option click once the steps feel automatic. Either way, open the Unreads view once afterward to confirm the conversation shows up there.

## Where to go next

To see every Slack shortcut in one place, read [how to show keyboard shortcuts in Slack on Mac](https://www.lazur.app/how-to/show-the-keyboard-shortcuts-list-in-slack). To go straight to the newest unread message, read [how to jump to unread message in Slack on Mac](https://www.lazur.app/how-to/jump-to-the-latest-unread-message-in-slack). For the full Unreads view, see [how to view unread messages in Slack on Mac](https://www.lazur.app/how-to/view-all-unread-messages-in-slack).

If you need to keep a message for a later task instead of a reply, saving it may suit you better. [How to save a message for later in Slack on Mac](https://www.lazur.app/how-to/save-a-message-for-later-in-slack) covers that route in detail.

## Shortcuts

- Mark a message as unread: ⌥ Click
- Mark all messages in the current conversation as read: Esc
- Mark all messages as read: ⇧ Esc
- Open the All unreads view: ⌘ ⇧ A
- Jump to most recent unread message, desktop app only: ⌘ J

## If it does not work

- **The three dots do not appear** Keep the pointer on the message itself. The options show while the pointer is over that message. If they still do not show, check that you are in the Slack desktop app, since the help article covers desktop steps.
- **Option click does nothing** Slack's help center does not describe a fix for this. Hold Option before you click, and point at the message. If it still fails, use Mark unread from the three dots menu.
- **Esc cleared unread messages in a conversation** Esc marks the current conversation as read. Open the Unreads view with ⌘ Shift A to see what is left, then find the message and use the three dots menu to mark it unread again.
- **Mark All Messages Read was clicked by accident** Look for Undo right after the click. Slack's Unreads article describes an Undo option for this action.
- **Unreads is missing from the sidebar** Adjust your sidebar preferences. Slack's Unreads article says to do this when Unreads is hidden.
- **Browser steps do not match this page** This page covers the Mac desktop app. The browser version was not checked, so use Slack's help center for those steps.

## With Lazur

Lazur is a voice assistant for the Mac that lives in the notch. Hold ⌥ ⌘ and ask; it sees your screen, answers out loud, points at buttons and walks you through apps. Hold fn to dictate. Free for 3 days, then $18/month: https://www.lazur.app/download

- “Where is the Mark unread option?”: Lazur circles Mark unread in the menu and labels it on screen so you know where to click. (Points at it)

## FAQ

### Does Option click work in the Unreads view too?

Yes, according to Slack's unread messages article. Hold Option (⌥) and click a single message in the Unreads view to mark it unread. You cannot send messages from that view, so click the message's timestamp to reply.

### What is the Mac shortcut to mark a message as unread?

Hold Option (⌥) and click the message. Slack's keyboard shortcuts page lists this as Option Click on Mac. On Windows and Linux the same action is Alt Click.

### Does Esc mark a single message as unread?

No. Esc marks all messages in the current conversation as read, which is the opposite of what you want here. Use the three dots menu or Option click to mark one message unread.

### Is the Unreads view shortcut the same on Windows?

No. On a Mac, ⌘ Shift A opens the All unreads view. On Windows, Slack's shortcuts table lists Ctrl Shift A for the same view.

### Can I jump to the newest unread message on my Mac?

Yes. Press ⌘ J in the Slack desktop app. Slack lists this shortcut for the desktop app only, so do not expect the same keys in the browser or on a phone.

### Is there a phone version of these steps?

Similar, but not the same. On mobile, tap and hold the message, then tap Mark unread. Catch up on mobile uses swipes, not the Unreads view with ⌘ Shift A.

### Which version of Slack for Mac do these steps match?

Slack's Mac release notes list 4.53.280, dated November 3, 2026, as the latest entry on or before November 7, 2026. These steps were checked against Slack's help center, not against one specific build.

## Sources

1. [Send and read messages - Slack Help Center](https://slack.com/help/articles/201457107-Send-and-read-messages), Slack, checked 2026-11-07
2. [Slack keyboard shortcuts - Slack Help Center](https://slack.com/help/articles/201374536-Slack-keyboard-shortcuts), Slack, checked 2026-11-07
3. [View all your unread messages - Slack Help Center](https://slack.com/help/articles/226410907-View-all-your-unread-messages), Slack, checked 2026-11-07
4. [Navigate Slack with your keyboard - Slack Help Center](https://slack.com/help/articles/115003340723-Navigate-Slack-with-your-keyboard), Slack, checked 2026-11-07
5. [Slack for Mac - Release Notes](https://slack.com/release-notes/mac), Slack, checked 2026-11-07