Today I helped answer your questions at the free Microsoft Teams Helpline all day today on the ACE Training website. It was great to see so many people logging in to share their questions, experiences and struggles.
No question is a silly question, Microsoft Teams is being updated and developed daily with new features and functionality coming at us fast.
To help you get around Teams like a seasoned pro, I've compiled some of the more frequently asked questions from our helplines over the past few weeks. If you don't see your question in the list below, leave a comment and I'll respond right away, providing you with the experience and knowledge to help you out with the technical how to as well as some best practice tips to make your conference calls more productive and less disruptive.
No question is a silly question, Microsoft Teams is being updated and developed daily with new features and functionality coming at us fast.
To help you get around Teams like a seasoned pro, I've compiled some of the more frequently asked questions from our helplines over the past few weeks. If you don't see your question in the list below, leave a comment and I'll respond right away, providing you with the experience and knowledge to help you out with the technical how to as well as some best practice tips to make your conference calls more productive and less disruptive.
Meetings: Outlook and Microsoft Teams
Did you know that your Outlook calendar and Teams calendar are synced? Both calendars show you exactly the same appointments, just with different interface and functionality when creating the meeting.
I have multiple Teams meetings relating to one project, how can I best capture the minutes and video recordings in one place?
It's great that we can easily record meetings with Microsoft Teams, giving team members more flexibility over their schedules and fostering a transparent, collaborate work environment. The recordings are saved to Stream, Microsoft's video hosting platform, which is designed to handle large video files with ease. Meeting minutes taken using the Microsoft Teams meeting minutes button are stored in a 'Wiki' file in SharePoint or OneDrive. In order to make these resources easy to reference later, I recommend using the "Add channel" functionality for Microsoft Teams meetings. To truly get the most benefit from Microsoft Teams, you should be prefer using the Teams area over private chat and meetings. If you have an ongoing project with multiple meetings, files, videos and content to share then set up a Channel in Microsoft Teams dedicated to that project. Use this channel for all communication and files relating to the project. When scheduling meetings for the project team, use Microsoft Teams (not Outlook) to create the meeting and make sure to type the Project Channel name in the "Add channel" setting of the meeting invite. This will prompt Microsoft Teams to automatically save all meeting minutes in that project channel and will keep all recordings in one easy to find group channel within Microsoft Stream.
Bonus tip: Using channels for meetings also makes it easier for new team members to join meetings, view minutes of meetings that happened before they joined and generally promotes collaboration and transparency.
How do I invite external people to our Teams meeting?
External invites are best sent from Outlook. If you have Teams desktop app installed on your computer, then just open up your Outlook calendar to schedule a meeting like you normally do. You will have a "New Teams Meeting" button available in the Home tab. This allows you to set up a meeting as you have always done, inviting both internal and external attendees. If you have already scheduled the meeting using Microsoft Teams, you can open the meeting in Outlook to invite external attendees.
How do I turn existing meetings into Teams meetings?
If you aren't using the built in meeting minutes functionality and aren't worried about attaching existing meetings to a channel, then you can use Outlook to convert any existing meeting into a Teams meeting. From your Outlook calendar, open an existing meeting and edit the series or single appointment. In the ribbon click the 'Teams Meeting' button and then 'Send update'. This will generate a Teams meeting link and enable everyone to join using Microsoft Teams.
Files: SharePoint, OneDrive and Microsoft Teams
Did you know that Microsoft Teams uses SharePoint to store all files you share within Teams? If you do this from a private chat, they will be saved to your personal OneDrive and shared with the other members of the chat. Best practice though is to share files using Teams channels. In this case, files are saved to SharePoint document library and accessible to anyone in the Team, even if they join the team after you've already shared the file. Great collaboration!
How do I attach a photo from my phone?
The Teams mobile app allows you to attach files the same way you can in Teams desktop, by using the paperclip icon to attach files. If you click the paperclip icon at the bottom of a chat in Teams, you can attach photos or any other files to the post. The photo or file attachment will automatically be saved in the SharePoint document library for the Team channel in which you make the post. We have another option for sharing photos with the Teams mobile app. From your phone, you also can share the photo as an embedded chat image by using the photo icon. Unlike the paperclip, sharing photos using the image icon will NOT save a copy of the photo in SharePoint. Instead, it assumes you are sharing it purely for entertainment or morale purposes and makes the photo easy to see and enlarge from within the chat.
If I create a private channel in Microsoft Teams does that mean that all posts and chats are only available to those members of the private channel?
Private channels were released in November, 2019 and enable you to add a second layer of security within a Team. Chats, files and posts made within a private channel are only visible to members of that private channel. Only the Team owner and members of that channel even know the channel exists. However, private channels do add a layer of complexity to the SharePoint site collection permissions and are still in development. Ensure you consider your options and weigh the pros and cons before creating lots of private channels. Leave me a message below if you want to discuss this further.
Teams: Overview and functionality
Did you know that Microsoft Teams brings together Microsoft 365 apps and external apps into one handy place? Teams, channels, chat, calendar, calls and files can all be managed within Microsoft Teams. It is a highly customisable interface and you can make it your own hub for internal communication. Take time to get to know the features and discuss the best plan of attack with your team.
I still "don't know what I don't know". What else can you tell me about Microsoft Teams?
Check out my previous blog posts on Microsoft Teams, which includes some best practice tips and cheat sheets. Explore the built in 'Help' button in the bottom left of Microsoft Teams. It has a super handy 'What's New' feature that I check regularly and also has some helpful training videos and tips. The best way to learn is to start using it - share and collaborate with your team and others in your network. See how others are using it and adapt for your needs.
As always, I'm here to help. I talk to clients daily about their joys, struggles and discoveries using Microsoft Teams and can help shine some light on how to get the most out of Microsoft Teams.
