We have to admit, Notion is a truly incredible tool!
Over the past few years, Notion has propelled itself into the spotlight and has become an essential tool for a growing number of individuals and companies. I even know some who really manage their whole personal life on it 😉
But then why did a start-up like Dropcontact go against the flow and abandon Notion?
What is Notion?
Notion is a no-code tool, widely used in companies as a collaborative application for note-taking, databases, Kanban boards, wikis, calendars, and reminders.
Created in 2013 by a young San Francisco company, the app took a turn in 2016 when it was launched for web browsers and OS X. Between 2017 and 2018, the Notion app became available on IOS and Android and conquered the hearts (and the daily life) of many users.
To be more precise, Notion now has over 20 millions users 😱
Notion is used by 90% of the Start-up Nation daily. At Dropcontact, we have been using it since 2016!
Youtube channels 100% dedicated to the tool have even emerged, they show tutorials for configuring and personalizing your Notion with millions of possibilities according to the different needs of each.
The tool contains an infinite number of features and templates for multiple possibilities of use. This product is a goldmine.
So, Why did we leave Notion?
So why did we decide to leave Notion? Well precisely because of its too many features, we got lost 🤯
We spotted a few limitations in our daily use of Notion:
- Notion's search engine is not really up to standard… relatively slow and not very powerful, unfortunately, it does not allow advanced searches.
- On Notion, everyone has the ability to create, organize, and modify pages in all directions. If you are a team of several people, can you imagine the mess after only a while?
- Notion does not allow to have a Big Picture, the reorganization of themes is therefore complex, because Notion does not offer an overview of all documents and pages.
Moreover, Notion's endless customization possibilities are ultimately a waste of time! The time spent customizing your pages, location of blocks, emojis, cover photo, and appearance of your tables, is ultimately counterproductive...
Too many Notion features were untapped, and the ones we were interested in weren't developed enough, so we thought about it, searched for it, and then we chose a tool that does better 😉
Simple is the new smart: Slab
Since September 2022, after saying goodbye to Notion, Dropcontact has moved into a whole new dimension thanks to Slab ❤️
Slab is a tool still very little known (but why?) and yet, it's a real treasure 🤩
Well, we know you can't wait, so we're going to give you a little gift, we're sharing this discovery with you without further ado!
Slab, What is it? 🤔
Like Notion, Slab is a no-code tool focused on a wiki function: a collaborative knowledge-sharing tool for your entire organization. 🚀
The tool is a goldmine in terms of use for all documentation, notes, reports, draft content... In short, enough to feed your common knowledge (this article was written on Slab 👀).
Slab is available on all browsers, but the tool also offers a Chrome extension, as well as a desktop app for Mac and Windows.
Its only weak point? It is clearly not known enough considering all the features it offers 🤩
Speaking of features, let's go for a tour of the tool's top features! 💚
Top 8 Slab Features
1 - The search function
Available from the "map" view but also from any Slab page, the search function is THE function that will save you.
Notion users, have you ever lost time trying to find a specific document whose name or exact location you forgot?
With Slab, the search function is a real gem 🤩
First, a simple click in the search bar allows you to access recently viewed publications, which saves research time!
Not only does the smart search find all documents related to your query, but Slab also searches your query across all of your built-in apps. A dream, right?
To perform a search, simply type in the name of a document, a title or subtitle in a publication, or even text. Slab presents the most relevant results based on your query. You can then click on "Enter" or simply access the quick results offered by Slab, the results belonging to integrated applications are indicated by an icon!
To use the unified search function and thus search your query in all your integrated applications without leaving Slab, click on the "manage ⚙️" button.
This research includes tools such as:
- Asana
- Confluence
- Dropbox
- Google Drive
- Jira
- Linear
- Slack
- Trello
2 - Topics and subtopics
For all the organization kings, Slab lets you structure your documents so you never get overwhelmed.
Slab has its own little vocabulary 👇
Topics: as its name suggests, the topic designates the subject, and refers to the large file in which all the knowledge and documents of the said subject are stored.
The subtopics: The subtopics are Slab's sub-folders, they allow you to structure your documentation inside your topics.
Posts: Posts are the documents that you create within your topics or subtopics, and on which you can write your knowledge and information to share!
As we have just seen, your topics and subtopics are hierarchized in the Slab map in order to offer you an unobstructed view of your existing content. However, Slab also allows you to reorganize your topics and subtopics in just a few clicks, in order to choose the order that suits you best, depending on the recency or priority of your documents for example!
3 - The Content Map
The Slab map is a global view of your entire wiki, your knowledge, and shared documents.
The best part? You can organize your map as you see fit: by departments in your company, by stages of your project, etc.
This overview allows you to keep an eye on the structure of your projects, as well as on your shared knowledge and documents, in order to have a common space that is always tidy, and above all very visual 😉
If you use Slab for all departments and employees of your company and you want certain topics or documents to remain confidential, Slab offers the possibility of making folders and publications of your choice private. Thus, you can grant access to certain people only.
You can also create groups, according to your different services for example. This feature allows you to give access to the files of your choice only to certain groups.
4 - Integrations
Another great gem from Slab in terms of functionality: integrations!
Slab allows you to directly integrate your external applications in 1 click to have access to all your documents:
- Type "/"
- Select the app of your choice from the built-in ones
- Paste Destination URL
The best part is that Slab not only allows you to view your documents from its platform, but also to modify them! Do you want to import a Google Sheets or a Google Slide to your Slab publication?
Good news, you can not only view it but also modify it live without leaving the platform 🤩
Here is a non-exhaustive list of tools natively integrated into Slab:
- Slack
- Gitlab
- Linear
- Figma
- Google drive
- Loom
- Miro
5 - The Verify function
Good information is up-to-date information! For this, Slab offers the "Verify" feature.
You can enable verification of your posts by clicking the "..." icon in the top right corner and selecting "Verify". You can then choose the verification frequency: monthly, quarterly, annually, or even personalized.
With post-verification, you will also be able to know when your content was last verified.
Once the post is verified, a verification banner will appear. As the verification expiration approaches, the banner will indicate the number of days remaining.
This function can be very useful for certain types of documents requiring very regular updating such as analytics, or even databases, the information of which changes regularly (change of job, company, etc.).
Slab also offers you the possibility of directly integrating the documents present in your various business tools!
Do you store your databases on Google drive but still want to access them from Slab?
Nothing could be simpler, integrate your Google Sheets into your Slab publication in 1 click:
- Type "/"
- Select "Google drive"
- Paste your file URL
There you go 😉
All you have to do is set a reminder to check the file, at a personalized frequency, so that your database is always up to date!
To update and enrich your database every time Slab reminds you, update your database 100% automatically with Dropcontact! 👇
If you haven't done yet, create a Dropcontact account. You benefit from 100 credits offered when you register, i.e. 100 contacts to update and enrich for free 🎁
- Export your Google Drive database in .CSV format
- Drag and drop your file into the Dropcontact app
- Start the treatment
- Get your file enriched and updated 100% automatically by Dropcontact.
Once your database has been updated in 2 minutes flat, you can now integrate this new database and validate the Slab verification ✅
6 - Series
To organize your different posts within the same group or sequence, Slab has a function called "series". This function, unlike a folder or sub-folder, allows you to organize your publications in the desired order.
When reading a document that is part of a series, the arrows at the bottom of the document allow you to move from publication to publication in a defined order. This feature can be very useful when onboarding new employees, for internal processes, or content to read in a specific order.
7 - Comments
A change to suggest? An opinion to give? Slab's comment feature lets you make suggestions without changing the nature of your post.
Moreover, Slab offers the possibility to tag users or groups in your comments. Thus, the tool sends an email notification to the people concerned in order to process your comments as quickly as possible 😉
To mention a teammate, click the "@" icon or type "@" and the teammate's name in the comment box.
You can then respond to the comments with a counterproposal, or simply resolve the comment request by directly editing the post, and clicking "resolve".
If you want to mention another document to refer a contributor to another post for more information, type "+" followed by the name of the post or topic in the comment box to mention a post or topic.
8 - Favorites
Still in the spirit of productivity and time saving, Slab lists your favorite topics and publications in the drop-down menu so that you can access them at any time.
This is certainly a very classic feature, but, it must be said, still saves us a considerable amount of time 😉
And that's about all Slab offers in terms of advanced features, but we can already tell you that it does it very well. From our side, we can't live without it anymore 🙃
If you too are looking for the perfect no-code tool to organize and structure the documents and common knowledge of your teams, Slab is the perfect tool!
You are won over? Know that, like us, if you decide to switch to Slab, you can migrate your entire Notion 100% automatically! 🤩
