What’s an MS Teams channel and what can I do with it?

In MS Teams, a “team” is made up of group of “channels.”

• Channels can be created to discuss a topic, contain department details, just for fun, to work on a file together, and more.
• At the top of each channel are tabs, like “Conversations,” “Files,” “Apps,” and “Services”. You can even add tabs by clicking the Add (plus sign icon) tab to select from a list of apps that display. For example, you could add the Planner app, plan team tasks and track progress for a project, all within MS Teams.
• When you select a channel, a drop down menu displays this list of options: Favorite a channel, Edit the channel, Connections, Get email address, Get link to channel, Delete this channel, and Follow this channel.
• If you have MANY channels to keep track of, you can favorite the ones that are most important, and unfavorite them when they are no longer a primary concern.

Open and view a channel

All channels must be part of a team. If you have not set up or are not added to a team, you cannot view its channels. To view a team's channels:

1. Log into MS Teams.
2. Click Teams to display your list of teams.
3. Select a team. If any have been added, a list of channels displays. Select the channel you wish to view.

Favorite and unfavorite a channel

If you have many channels, you can favorite the most important ones, to make it easier to keep track of what’s happening:

• To favorite a channel: Click a channel name > star icon next to the channel name.
• To unfavorite a channel: Click the channel name > three dots icon next to the channel name > Remove Favorite.

Show and hide a team

If you have multiple teams and want keep up with those that are more important, you can hide the ones you don't need, and unhide them when preferred:

• To hide a channel: Open a channel, Select More options (three dots) > Hide.
• To unhide a channel: Open a channel, select hidden channels > Show.

Customize channel notifications

To set up a channel so it provides you with notification:

1. In a channel click More Options (three dots icon) > Channel notifications.
2. Select your your channel notification settings.
3. Select Save. Notifications appear based on your preferred settings.

Get someone’s attention in channel

Note: This feature is available if it has been enabled by the admin.

To get someone’s attention, @ mention them:

1. In the message text box, enter an at sign (@) and the first few letters of the person that you want to chat with and select the person when their name populates. Repeat for as many people as you want to @mention.
2. Type your message into the text bar and press Enter or Return. Each person you @mention gets a notification in their Activity feed!

See if someone @mentioned you

To see if someone has @mentioned you:

1. In Teams, click Activity (alarm or bell icon) in the upper left corner.
2. See if there are any red circles (which means someone has @mentioned you).
3. Click the red circle to review the notification.

Edit a file with other team members

If a document has been uploaded to a conversation or file, you can edit it with other team members:

1. Go to the channel or File where the file has been uploaded.
2. Click More Options (three dots icon) next to the file.
3. Select where you want to edit the file from the list of options and click Edit Document. Now you can now edit along with anyone else who might be in the file!
4. (Optional) Start a conversation by clicking the Chat icon (upper right corner). The Chat text box displays in the right panel. Now you can @message a team member to write and send messages.

Send or forward an email to a channel

1. Get the channel’s email address: In the channel that you want to send the email to, click More Options (three dots) > Get Email Address > Copy.
2. Forward the email to the channel: Go to the email that you want to forward and paste the copied email address into the To field, add an email message if you like, and send the email. The channel receives the email!

Set up project plan with the Planner app

Use Planner to create and assign project tasks, chart progress, and more.

1. Add the Planner app to your non-private channel: Go to your channel and click Add a Tab (plus icon) > Planner app.
2. Select New Plan… or Existing Plan and Save.
3. Follow the prompts to set up your plan:
   • Create buckets (for example, To Do, In Progress, Completed, etc.)
   • Add and assign tasks
   • Set due dates
   • Assign to team members
   • Add descriptions
   • Opt to “show a card”
   • Create checklists

(After progress is made) Update tasks: update the description field, check off completed tasks, update progress, update progress, etc.