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Microsoft Teams - Overview

This guide provides an overview of the Microsoft Teams application and basic functionality.
Microsoft Teams Icon
Microsoft Teams is a communication and collaboration platform that combines real-time chat, video meetings, file storage, and integration with other popular applications
 
To view a live web demo of Teams, visit Microsoft's Teams demo page: https://teamsdemo.office.com/


Installation & Sign-In

Windows - SWTC Issued Hardware

1. Launch the Teams application from your computer (icon pictured below).

Teams_icon.png

2. When Teams is first launched, you will prompted to login with work credentials. If you are on an SWTC computer, this field will auto-populate with your SWTC email address.

Microsoft Teams sign-in window.

3. Click Sign in. You should now be signed into Teams.

Teams on the web

1. Navigate to teams.microsoft.com

2. Enter your SWTC email address, then click Next.

Office 365 Sign-in page.

3. Enter your password and click Sign In. You should now be signed in to Teams for Web.

Getting Started

 
Once logged in, the main Teams window shows the available collaboration options. The Teams application can be broken up into 4 parts.
 
Teams application main window.
  • The top portion of the window (red) has a forward and back navigation button , a new chat button , the command (search) bar, and your profile information in the top right.
  • The leftmost section (blue) will show notifications for recent activity, chat, teams, meetings, files, and apps.
  • The middle section (green) displays current teams and channel conversations.
  • The rightmost section (yellow) is the collaboration window where you will see content related to the chat or team selected.

Teams and channels



Source: Microsoft

A team is a group of people, like department or a committee. Teams are made up of channels, which are where you hold meetings, have conversations, and work on files together.

Create a Team

1. Select Teams from the left side of the windows.

 
2. Select Create a team from the top right of the window.
 

 
3. Choose a Team template. (More information about templates)
 

 
4. Create a Team name, description, and make the team public or private. If the Team is private, only the owner add members.
 

 
5. Add Team members that can view Team content and collaborate with each other.
 

 

Create a team channel



1. Once a team has been created, you can add channels for collaboration. To begin, click the More options menu to the right of the team you wish to add a channel to.


 
2. From the More options menu, select Add channel.
 

 
3. Create a channel name, description, and make it public or private, then click Add.
 

 
4. Your channel has now been created and collaboration can begin.
 

 

Manage your teams

1. Once a team has been created, you can manage and change settings. To begin, click the More options menu to the right of the team you wish to manage.

 
2. From the More options menu, select Manage team.
 

 
3. From the Manage Team window, you can manage Members, Channels, and Settings for the team.


Collaborate with chat, video, and audio calls

Chat allows private conversations between individuals or groups which are separate from the Team channels. Chat also enables you to share files and make video or audio calls directly to  members of the chat.

Create a Chat

1. Select the New chat button at the top of the Teams window. The New chat button will always be visible on the top menu.

 
2. Enter the the names of other users you want to chat with. Optional: after you've added users, select the down arrow on the right to name the group chat.
 

 

 
3. Send a message to begin chatting.
 

 

Make video and audio calls from Teams

1. When in a chat, select either the video or audio calling buttons in the top right corner of the chat window. This will alert all participants.



2. Alternatively, you can schedule Teams meetings from your Outlook Calendar. Navigate to the Outlook Calendar and select New Teams Meeting from the ribbon above.



3. This will create a new meeting with a Teams meeting link that can be sent to anyone with Teams access.



4. When in a Teams video or audio meeting, the menu at the bottom of the window has a number of options to customize the experience.



From here, you can turn on/off your video and audio, share your screen, access the chat settings, open the chat window, and view participants.

5. To view device settings and change audio/video/microphone settings, open the settings menu, then select Show device settings at the top.



6. To view the group chat while in an audio or video call, select the chat button from the menu.



7. To add or view participants, select the participants button from the menu.

Share and collaborate with files

 
Source: Microsoft

Files can be uploaded to Team channels and chats. To attach a file, select the paperclip icon at the bottom of the channel or chat window, select your files, then click upload.

You can also attach files by:

  • Clicking and dragging an image or file to the message box of a channel or chat.
  • Selecting the Files tab, selecting the appropriate source, and clicking the “Share” button. Files can be uploaded from your computer, or shared from files within your OneDrive folder.


Keywordsteams microsoft chat message collaborate   Doc ID99655
OwnerAndy M.GroupSWTC
Created2020-03-27 09:43:55Updated2024-09-03 08:43:30
SitesSouthwest Wisconsin Technical College
CleanURLhttps://kb.swtc.edu/teams
Feedback  1   0