Hands-On Microsoft Teams. E-Book

João Ferreira

• Herausgeber: Packt Publishing
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 422

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Microsoft Teams is a permanent fixture in the modern workplace, but many of its productivity-boosting features go unnoticed or unused. Hands-On Microsoft Teams shows you how to use Teams to its full potential through easy-to-follow practical tutorials.

This guide to mastering Teams explores the platform in comprehensive detail and how it interacts with the rest of the Microsoft ecosystem to help you work efficiently and manage your resources. You'll get to grips with core functionality like setting up and managing teams, channels, chats, tabs, and meetings.

You'll also learn to get the best out of Teams by adding custom apps, integrating with Microsoft 365, using PowerShell automation, and exploring useful settings you didn't know existed. Along the way, you'll be shown various real-world scenarios and how to implement solutions for them in Teams that will increase your productivity.

Whether you're an administrator, manager, or team member, by the end of this book you'll be confident in using everything Microsoft Teams has to offer.

Leseprobe

Hands-On Microsoft Teams

Second Edition

A practical guide to enhancing enterprise collaboration with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365

João Ferreira

BIRMINGHAM—MUMBAI

Hands-On Microsoft Teams

Second Edition

Copyright © 2021 Packt Publishing

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Contributors

About the author

João Carlos Oliveira Ferreira is a Microsoft MVP in the Office Development and Windows Insider categories. With a degree in computer science, João has been working with Microsoft technologies over the last ten years, mainly focused on creating collaboration and productivity solutions that drive the adoption of Microsoft modern workplace. A true tech enthusiast, Hands-On Microsoft Teams and Hands-On Microsoft Lists book author, and author of four blogs, he writes weekly about SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Lists.

Hands-On Microsoft Teams was the first title I had the pleasure to write with Packt a few months before the pandemic hit the world, sending everyone home to a new and unknown remote work lifestyle. While the first edition taught a lot of Microsoft Teams users how to use the platform, this second edition will teach you how to bring the platform to a whole new level with all the new features that have been released over the last 2 years.

None of this would have been possible without the support of my family, my fiancée Francisca Peixoto, and my friends, who gave me confidence and helped me to keep up the writing pace.

Thanks to everyone at Packt, who taught me so much about the book-writing process and offered valuable suggestions that will ultimately make you a Microsoft Teams hero.

About the reviewer

James Arber is a Microsoft MVP and Unified Communications consultant at Telstra Purple from Melbourne, Australia. He has been helping businesses with their journey to UC using Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams for more than 10 years. Before that, he was working on SIP-based enterprise phone systems and even installing car phones. When he's not working, James is usually getting dirty working on cars or messing about with his four kids.

I'd like to thank my wife, Sarah Arber, for putting up with my absence during many nights in front of a computer screen; Greig Sheridan, for believing in me and being the fabulous mentor he is; James Turner, for taking in the scruffy kid I was and turning him into something presentable; as well as the entire Microsoft Teams community, for supporting one another.

Contents

Preface

Who this book is for

What this book covers

To get the most out of this book

Get in touch

Microsoft Teams Basics

Accessing Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams plans

Microsoft Teams clients

Web clients

Desktop clients

Windows

macOS

Linux

Using multiple Teams accounts simultaneously

Mobile clients

How to sign in to Microsoft Teams

What does Microsoft Teams look like?

What is a team?

Creating a new team

What happens when a new team is created?

Adding members to the team

What is a channel?

Creating a new channel

What happens when a new channel is created?

What is a tab?

Creating a new tab

Summary

Microsoft Teams' Core Features

Understanding chats and meetings

Managing your time using the Microsoft Teams calendar

Working faster on Teams with search, filters, and commands

Search

Filters

Commands

Customizing Microsoft Teams

Using Microsoft Teams with multiple organizations

Control your Microsoft Teams presence indicator

Custom status messages

Defining focus time

Where is Microsoft Teams data stored?

Summary

How to Use Microsoft Teams: Chats and Conversation

Understanding the chat feature in Microsoft Teams

How to use private chats

How to manage chats

How to manage contacts

How to use the Chat application

Compose box

Delivery options

Attachments

Emojis

Giphy

Stickers

Scheduling a meeting

Messaging extensions

Praise

Stream

More messaging extensions

Understanding message options

Saving messages

Editing messages

Deleting messages

Mark as Unread

Translate

Share to Outlook

Immersive Reader

More actions

Read by

Reacting to messages

Understanding chats in the context of teams

Reply versus typing a new message

Making an announcement

Targeting a post's replies

Posting in multiple channels

Muting a thread

Copying a link to a thread

Pinning a thread to the channel

Mentioning a user, team, or channel

Using tags

Starting a new channel conversation from Outlook

Managing a channel's email address

Summary

How to Use Microsoft Teams: Meetings, Webinars, and Live Events

Meetings in Microsoft Teams

Schedule a meeting using the Calendar application

Schedule a meeting using Microsoft Outlook

Schedule a meeting using the team calendar application

How to customize Microsoft Teams meeting requests

Options available when joining a meeting

Options available during a meeting

Personal meeting controls

How to use breakout rooms

How to fine-tune a meeting using Meeting options

Sharing content during a meeting

Managing meeting recordings

How to manage meeting recordings using Microsoft Stream

How to manage meeting recordings in SharePoint

Meeting recap: A central location for your meeting assets

Managing meetings as an administrator

Audio Conferencing

Audio Conferencing for administrators

Live events on Microsoft Teams

Live event profiles

How to create a live event

Options available during a live event

Producer

Presenter

Attendee

Accessing live event reports and recording

Managing live events as an administrator

Webinars in Microsoft Teams

How to schedule a webinar in Microsoft Teams

Getting access to the registration and attendees reports

Managing webinars as an administrator

Meetings, webinars, and live events limits

Summary

Private vs Public vs Shared: Teams and Channels

Understanding public and private teams

Guest users on Microsoft Teams

Understanding standard channels

Understanding private channels

How to create a private channel

The structure and features of private channels

Understanding private channel security

Understanding shared channels

Understanding team creation governance

Governance as a global Microsoft Teams administrator

Governance as a team owner

Archiving and deleting teams

Deleting channels

Organizing your teams and channels

Understanding team and channel limits

Summary

Teams Templates

Understanding Microsoft Teams templates

How to create a team from a template

Managing Microsoft Teams templates as an administrator

How to create new Microsoft Teams templates

Create a new template

Use an existing team as a template

Start with an existing template

How to manage Teams templates

How to create custom template policies

Summary

Employee Experience in Microsoft Teams Using Microsoft Viva

Understanding Microsoft Viva

Microsoft Viva Connections

How to configure Microsoft Viva Connections

How to create a SharePoint home site

How to define a SharePoint global navigation

How to create a Viva Connections Dashboard

How to make Viva Connections available in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Viva Topics

Microsoft Viva Insights

How to protect your schedule using Viva Insights

How to stay in touch with key members in your organization

Microsoft Viva Learning

Summary

Other Microsoft Teams Use Cases

Microsoft Teams for Education

Layout

Profiles and team types

Dedicated applications

Microsoft Teams for frontline workers

Dedicated applications

Microsoft Teams for personal use

On the desktop

On mobile

On Windows 11

Microsoft Teams devices overview

Microsoft Teams non-certified devices

Summary

Extending Microsoft Teams Using Apps

Understanding apps in Microsoft Teams

Installing apps in Microsoft Teams

Getting familiar with Microsoft Teams app types

Personal apps

Bots

Tabs

Connectors

Messaging extensions

Meeting extensions

Managing personal apps

Personalizing the app bar as an end user

Personalizing the app bar as an administrator

Managing the app installation as an administrator

Managing apps as an administrator

Uninstalling apps from Microsoft Teams

Summary

Extending Microsoft Teams Using Custom Apps and Microsoft 365

Working with custom apps

Enabling custom apps

Disabling custom apps

Uploading custom apps

Installing custom apps

Submitting an application to the organization app catalog

Approving a submitted application as an administrator

Installing custom apps as an administrator

Blocking Microsoft Teams apps as an administrator

Extending Microsoft Teams using SharePoint

Using out-of-the-box SharePoint integrations

SharePoint document libraries

SharePoint News

SharePoint pages

SharePoint lists

Extending Microsoft Teams using Power Automate

Triggers

Actions

Extending Microsoft Teams using Power Apps

Summary

Building Your Own App for Microsoft Teams Using the Developer Portal

Understanding the Microsoft Teams Developer Portal

Getting familiar with the Microsoft Teams Developer Portal

Home

Apps

Tools

Building an app using the Developer Portal

Integrating SharePoint and Microsoft Teams using the Developer Portal

Creating a custom Together mode scene using the Developer Portal

Summary

Building Your Own Bot for Microsoft Teams

Creating and packaging a bot using QnA Maker

Packaging the bot using QnA Maker

Creating and packaging a bot using Power Virtual Agents

Packaging the bot using Power Virtual Agents

Using a bot in Microsoft Teams

Summary

Microsoft Teams PowerShell: A Tool for Automation

What PowerShell is

How to use PowerShell

Installing Microsoft Teams PowerShell

Cmdlets available in the Microsoft Teams module

Data types

Connection cmdlets

Get- cmdlets

Set- cmdlets

New- cmdlets

Add- cmdlets

Remove- cmdlets

Grant- cmdlets

Update- cmdlets

Learning how to use PowerShell from examples

Summary

Other Books You May Enjoy

Index

Landmarks

Cover

Index

Share your thoughts

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1

Microsoft Teams Basics

Microsoft Teams is a collaborative tool released by Microsoft in 2017 that is transforming the way people work and communicate with each other. With an ongoing global pandemic, Microsoft Teams usage has grown exponentially, reaching more than 250 million active users as of July 2021.

Workers spend part of their day switching between platforms to chat with their peers, accessing project documentation, scheduling meetings, sharing files, and more. All these tasks can be centralized in a single workspace, and that workspace is Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft has a lot of experience with communication and collaborative tools, and Microsoft Teams is an evolution of their previous solutions. Teams inherits all the experience and know-how acquired from other Microsoft enterprise solutions over the last 20 years, and is the natural successor of Microsoft Lync and Skype for Business.

If you are reading this book, you have probably asked yourself, why Microsoft Teams? Microsoft Teams connects the dots between other Microsoft services and applications used in business environments, empowers users to achieve more by reducing the time spent switching between applications, reduces the associated costs, and boosts employee engagement.

If you want to embrace the modern workplace journey and give your teams a boost using Microsoft Teams, this book is for you.

In this chapter, we are going to cover the following topics:

Accessing Microsoft TeamsHow to sign in to Microsoft TeamsWhat does Microsoft Teams look like?What is a team?What is a channel?What is a tab?

Accessing Microsoft Teams

First things first, before we start digging into Microsoft Teams concepts, you need to know how and where you can access it so that you can begin working with Teams right away.

Microsoft Teams plans

If you are just starting your Microsoft Teams journey now, the first thing you must do is select the plan that best suits your business needs. Teams has four different plans: a free version that is available for anyone to use and three different paid versions that are included in the Microsoft 365 business plans and Office 365.

If you are planning the implementation of Microsoft Teams, it is recommended to carefully check the features and the limits included in each of the plans – be aware of the limitations and make sure you choose whichever version best suits your needs.

Table 1.1 shows a comparison between all the plans, with their main features and respective limitations.

Free

M365 Basic

M365 Standard

Office 365

Online video and audio calls

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Meetings and calls capacity

100 participants

300 participants

300 participants

10,000 participants

Max. meeting duration

1 hour

24 hours

24 hours

24 hours

Screen sharing

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Customized backgrounds

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Meeting scheduling

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Meeting recordings

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Guest access to Teams

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

File attachment limits

2 GB per user

1 TB per user

1 TB per user

Unlimited

File storage limits

10 GB for whole team

1 TB per user

1 TB per user

1 TB per user

Real-time collaboration in Office

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Multi-factor authentication

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Configurable user settings and policies

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Support

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Table 1.1: The various options that are included in each version of Microsoft Teams

With each Microsoft Teams plan, as an administrator you will be able to include extra add-ons within your plan to utilize other features in Microsoft Teams. Add-ons are not mandatory in Microsoft Teams and can be purchased for each user instead of being added to the entire organization. Features that require the use of a Teams add-on are identified in the book and explained alongside the configuration steps.

If you are responsible for the implementation of Microsoft Teams in your organization, or you are simply a user looking to better understand the platform and the features it has, you should keep this table in mind and return to it every time you need to validate the limits and features to which your Teams plan gives you access.

As you can see, the free version of Microsoft Teams has some limitations, and it might not suit all scenarios. However, if you are building a proof-of-concept to drive the adoption of the platform, it can be a starting point.

A detailed and updated comparison of all the Teams versions can be found online: https://products.office.com/en/microsoft-teams/free

Microsoft Teams clients

To get started with Microsoft Teams, you need to know how to access it. Teams is available for a variety of platforms, and you can use it through any of the following:

A web browserA desktop applicationA mobile applicationA certified Microsoft Teams device

Each version has its own specifications and features, so be aware that your experience in Microsoft Teams might be different if you are using it on multiple devices. To get the best experience while using Teams, it is recommended to use the native clients for mobile and desktop.

Web clients

Microsoft Teams is available as a web app and can be accessed directly from a supported browser by going to https://teams.microsoft.com. The web version allows you to use the main functionalities of Microsoft Teams, but you might face some limitations, depending on the browser you are using.

In Table 1.2, you can find the main browsers supported by Microsoft Teams and the functionalities available in each one.

Calls

Meetings

Audio

Video

Sharing

Audio

Video

Sharing

Edge RS2

Yes

Yes

Yes*

Yes

Yes

Yes†

Edge (Chromium)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Google Chrome

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Firefox

No

No

No

Yes*

No

Yes†

Safari 14+

Yes

Yes

No

Yes*

Yes

Yes†

Table 1.2: Browsers with support for Microsoft Teams and supported functionalities

* PSTN (public switched telephone network) coordinates are required to attend the meeting.

† Incoming sharing only.

When accessing the Microsoft Teams web app for the first time, you will have to bypass the download app screen by clicking the Use the web app instead link.

Figure 1.1.1: Microsoft Teams joining screen in the browser

If your browser is not compatible with the web version of Microsoft Teams, access to the app will be blocked and you will see a message asking you to download the app for your operating system.

As seen in the browser list, Microsoft Edge RS2 is still supported by Microsoft Teams, but since Microsoft is no longer providing security updates to Edge RS2 (since March 9, 2021), it is strongly recommended that the Chromium version of the Microsoft browser is adopted.

Despite not being listed as officially supported by Microsoft, there are other Chromium-based browsers where you will be able to use Microsoft Teams. If you are using the latest version of the Opera, Vivaldi, or Brave browsers, you will find the same functionalities available as the ones listed for Microsoft Edge (Chromium) and Google Chrome.

Desktop clients

The full-feature experience of Microsoft Teams can only be achieved when using the desktop clients available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

If you do not have Microsoft Teams installed on your computer yet, you can get the installation package for all the supported operating systems from the following site: https://teams.microsoft.com/uswe-01/downloads.

Windows

The Microsoft Teams client for Windows supports both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures; unlike other Office apps, it is agnostic about the architecture of the version of Microsoft Office you have installed and does not require administrator privileges to be installed. This is because the application is deployed locally in the AppData folder. This folder is used to store application data specific to the user and does not affect the rest of the system.

To install Microsoft Teams on Windows, you need to have the minimum requirements listed below in Table 1.3.

Component

Requirements

Processor

Minimum 1.6 GHz with 2 cores, 32-bit or 64-bit

Memory RAM

4 GB

Disk space

3 GB

Screen

1024 x 768 or higher

Operating system

Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 10 on ARM, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016

Devices

Camera, microphone, speakers, or a suitable Teams-certified headset/speakerphone

Table 1.3: Minimum system requirements to run Microsoft Teams on Windows

macOS

The Microsoft Teams client for macOS is available for 64-bit architecture only as a PKG installation file and requires administrator privileges to be installed; the application is deployed to the /Application folder.

To install Microsoft Teams on macOS, you need to have the minimum requirements listed in Table 1.4.

Component

Requirements

Processor

Minimum Intel Core Duo processor

Memory RAM

4 GB

Disk space

1.5 GB

Screen

1280 x 800 or higher

Operating system

The three latest versions of macOS

Devices

Camera, microphone, speakers, or a suitable Teams-certified headset/speakerphone

Table 1.4: System requirements to run Microsoft Teams on macOS

Linux

The Microsoft Teams client for Linux is available for 64-bit architecture, for Debian- and Red Hat-based distributions. The installation packages are provided in DEB format (for Debian) and RPM format (for Red Hat).

Linux has a lot of different distributions but among the most used ones are Ubuntu, which is based on the Debian distribution, and CentOS and Fedora, which are based on the Red Hat distribution.

To install Microsoft Teams on Linux, you need to have the minimum requirements, listed in Table 1.5.

Component

Requirements

Processor

1.6 GHz dual-core, 64-bit

Memory RAM

4 GB

Disk space

3 GB

GPU

128 MB

Screen

1024 x 768 or higher

Operating system

Linux distribution with support for DEB or RPM packages

Devices

Camera, microphone, speakers, or a suitable Teams-certified headset/speakerphone

Table 1.5: System requirements to run Microsoft Teams on Linux

Using multiple Teams accounts simultaneously

If you find yourself in a scenario where you need to work in two or more Microsoft Teams tenants (in Microsoft 365, a tenant refers to the full suite of products attached to the domain/company) at the same time, you will notice that the desktop client does not allow you to open more than one instance of the app. To overcome this limitation, you can combine the use of Microsoft Teams for desktop and web simultaneously.

If you are looking for a solution to get multiple instances of Microsoft Teams running at the same time, here is what I recommend you do when using Microsoft Edge (Chromium):

Open Microsoft Edge and click on the avatar next to the address bar.From the menu, select Add profile.

Figure 1.1.2: Select Add profile in the drop-down menu of your personal avatar

On the pop-up window, click on the Add button.The profile can be optionally connected to an account to sync your favorites, history, and profile pictures. To sync with an existing account, click on Sign in to sync data; if you prefer to keep this profile local to the computer where you are creating it, click on Continue without sign in.Provide the required information to create a new browser profile.Click on the user avatar again and switch to the newly created user profile.Open Microsoft Teams in the browser at https://teams.microsoft.com and perform the authentication.Once logged in, click on the three dots next to the user avatar, and from the menu, expand the Apps submenu, and click on Install this site as an app.

Figure 1.1.3: Select Apps from the drop-down menu next to your avatar, and select Install this site as an app

Provide a name for your Teams application and click Install.

The application will open immediately on a new window and you will be able to access it from the list of applications on your computer. Despite looking similar to the desktop version of Microsoft Teams, keep in mind that the same limitations of the Microsoft Teams web version apply to the newly installed application.

Mobile clients

As a platform that aims to facilitate communication and collaboration in the modern workplace environment, Microsoft Teams is also available for Android and iOS.

Android

The Android version of Microsoft Teams is available for download on the Google Play Store and is compatible with the last four major versions of Android. For example, at the time of writing, Android is on version 12, which means that Microsoft Teams is officially supported on Android 9 or higher.

Depending on the evolution of the Android operating system, support for Microsoft Teams can be extended to older versions. To find out what the latest version supported is, you can check the requirements for Microsoft Teams on the Google Play Store.

iOS

The iOS version of Microsoft Teams is available for download on the Apple App Store and is compatible with the last two major versions of iOS. Microsoft Teams is compatible with all iOS devices, including iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. For example, at the time of writing, iOS is on version 15, which means that Microsoft Teams is officially supported on iOS 13 or higher.

Depending on the evolution of the iOS operating system, support for Microsoft Teams can be extended to older versions. To find out what the latest version supported is, you can check the requirements for Microsoft Teams on the Apple App Store.

How to sign in to Microsoft Teams

After installing Microsoft Teams, you will need to sign in to the application. You can do this using your work, school, or Microsoft account. When you first open the Microsoft Teams application, you will be asked for your email, as shown in Figure 1.2.1. Once you have typed in your email, click on Sign in. When you do this, the application will request your password:

Figure 1.2.1: Microsoft Teams will ask for the email and password of your Microsoft account

After providing your credentials, the application will take a few seconds to load your teams and conversations. Then you will be ready to communicate with your colleagues.

When using the web version of Microsoft Teams, the sign-in process is a bit different. The first thing you need to do is enter https://teams.microsoft.com into the address bar of your browser. If your email account has not been authenticated for any Microsoft service, you will be redirected to the default federation authentication page, as seen in Figure 1.2.2:

Figure 1.2.2: Sign-in window when you do not have an authenticated Microsoft account

You will need to provide your email and click on Next. After doing that, provide your password and click on Sign in.

Like the desktop client, the application only takes a few seconds to load after a successful sign-in. The sign-in process in the mobile client is similar and you will need to provide your email and password to go through the authentication process.

What does Microsoft Teams look like?

Now that you have Microsoft Teams installed on one or more devices, it is time to take a look at the application layout and learn how it is organized. Figure 1.3.1 represents the web or desktop version of Microsoft Teams with all the major components identified with numbers.

Figure 1.3.1: The Microsoft Teams user interface upon launch, for desktop

Let's take a look at the different components, all of which have been numbered in the preceding screenshot:

Personal app bar: By default, the app bar shows Activity, Chat, Teams, Calendar, Calls, and Files. These are the main default features of Microsoft Teams. This bar can be customized by the user or by an administrator to decide which apps are displayed and in what order. As a user, you will have the ability to pin and unpin new apps to the bar, including the default ones. Unpinned apps or apps that don't fit in the available space for the personal bar are moved to a submenu that opens when the user clicks on the … icon.Left pane: The content of the left pane changes according to the app that is selected. From this pane, you can access your contacts, chats, and teams. The left pane is not used by all Microsoft Teams apps; apps such as the calendar or custom apps only make use of the stage section.Stage: The stage is where the main content of the app is displayed. It is from this section that you will collaborate with your peers and interact with the Microsoft Teams applications.New chat: This button allows you to start a new conversation thread in the context of a team; the button is only visible in the Teams app, being replaced in 1:1 or group chats by a compose box similar to the one visible in the last message in the stage area.Search and commands: The search box has two functionalities built into it: you can perform a global search of Microsoft Teams for files, people, messages, and apps and also use commands to perform common tasks. To use a command, type a forward slash, /, into the text box and choose a command from the available list.Profile and settings: Your avatar provides access to your personal settings. From this option, you will be able to change your status and availability. It also allows you to access your saved messages, switch between accounts/tenants, and configure the global options of the Microsoft Teams app.Filters: The filter option works in the context of the app you have selected, and it will show the results in the left pane.History menu: This option allows you to easily navigate back and forward between the last locations you visited inside Microsoft Teams – it gives you access to chats, teams, and applications. This menu is only available in the desktop version of the Microsoft Teams client.

Microsoft Teams is also available for mobile devices, but due to the smaller screen size, the app's layout is different. Figure 1.3.2 represents the mobile version of Microsoft Teams, with all the main components identified with numbers:

Figure 1.3.2: The Microsoft Teams user interface upon launch, for mobile

Let's take a look at the different components, all of which have been numbered in the preceding screenshot:

App bar: By default, the app bar shows Activity, Chat, Teams, and Calendar, and, like in the desktop client, the personal app bar can be configured and reordered by the administrator or the user. To view other apps that are not visible in the personal app bar, you must click on the … icon.Stage: The stage on mobile displays the information from the desktop left pane and from the stage area. The stage has several levels and allows you to navigate inside of your Microsoft Teams applications.Tabs: By default, the app shows the Posts and Files tabs. Any other tabs that exist in the channel are displayed when you click on More.New post: This button allows you to start a new conversation thread in the context of a team; the button is only visible in the Teams app, being replaced in 1:1 or group chats by a compose box.Search: The search box allows you to perform a global search on Microsoft Teams, for files, people, and messages.Menu: The menu allows you to access the personal settings. From here, you will be able to change your current status and your availability. It also allows you to access your saved messages and configure the global options of the Microsoft Teams app. From the menu, you can also select all the tenants where you logged on to Microsoft Teams. This option allows you to quickly switch between organizations without the need of signing out and back in again.App actions: In this area you will find action icons that allow you to take actions in the app that is currently open, like creating a new team or starting a new channel meeting.

Now that you are familiar with the look of Microsoft Teams on desktop and mobile, it's time to understand its main components, as shall be explained in the following sections.

What is a team?

A team is a group of people that can represent a department, a project, a class, or even a sports team. Besides grouping people, Microsoft Teams also gathers a set of tools that allows members to share information and work together.

The following scenarios will be used to explain how you can tailor a team according to a set of predefined requirements. In this book you will find a few scenarios used to explain Microsoft Teams' features. They do not cover all the industry sectors but can be easily adjusted to other contexts.

Team scenario #1: Mary, the marketing manager

Mary is the marketing manager for a multinational company, leading a global marketing team currently working on a worldwide campaign for the holidays. Mary has created a team in Microsoft Teams that allows her to do the following:

Keep conversations about the campaign with other members of the marketing departmentShare documents about the campaignInvite guest members to the team who will produce the TV commercials to keep them updated on the campaign ideasAccess the campaign tasks of each member

Team scenario #2: Geno, the basketball coach

Geno is a college basketball coach preparing for a new season. As the head coach, he wants to make the communication and sharing of information between team members easier. Geno has decided to create a team on Microsoft Teams that allows him to:

Keep all the team members, players, coaches, and physical therapists in touch with each other on the same channelSchedule practicesShare the games calendarShare the results from other teams and the standingsShare scouting videos

Creating a new team

Creating a new team is the first step you need to take to take advantage of the collaborative features offered by Microsoft Teams. This can be done from all Teams clients, although the options might appear in different locations, depending on the version you are using.

To create a new team using the web or desktop version of Microsoft Teams, do the following:

Open the Microsoft Teams app.On the app bar, click on Teams.Click on Join or create a team, or click on the Create a team tile, as shown in Figure 1.4.1:

Figure 1.4.1: Creating a new team

On the Create a team popup, you can choose between the options shown in the following screenshot: From scratch: This option creates an empty team with a chat, a document library, and a wiki.From a group or team: This option allows you to create a team from an existing Office 365 group or use an existing team as a template for your new team.Select from a template: This option creates a team from a predefined template, which can include multiple channels and multiple apps that are already configured. To learn more about Microsoft Teams templates, see Chapter 6, Teams Templates.

Figure 1.4.2: Options given when creating a new team

As a team owner, you can choose from three different levels of privacy for the team: Private: People need to be added by a team owner and the team cannot be discovered on the Microsoft Teams app by default.Public: Anyone in the organization can join and the team can be discovered through the Microsoft Teams app.Org-wide: Everyone in the organization is added to the team automatically and is kept in sync with Azure Active Directory as more users join or leave the organization. To get access to the Org-wide option, the following conditions must be met:The organization has a maximum of 10,000 usersLimited to 5 org-wide teamsOnly Microsoft 365 global admins will be able to create org-wide teams

Figure 1.4.3: The three levels of privacy a team owner can choose from in Teams

Provide a name and a description for your team and click the Create button:

Figure 1.4.4: Create a new team, providing a name and a description

If everything went well, then in a few seconds you will see a success message informing you that your new team is ready to be used. You are now ready to start adding members to your newly created team. All the steps done manually up to this point to create a team can be automated with the use of PowerShell. You can learn more about it in Chapter 13, Microsoft Teams PowerShell: A Tool for Automation.

If your organization is already using Microsoft 365 groups and you want to create a team out of them, or you want to use an existing team as a template for your new team, do the following:

Follow the preceding steps until step 4.Click on the From a group or team tile.Select either Team or Microsoft 365 group. Both options will show you a list of the teams or groups that you have access to. To create a team from a Microsoft 365 group, the following conditions must be met:You must be the owner of a Microsoft 365 groupYou must be the owner of a group with a maximum of 5,000 usersFrom the available list, pick the desired team or group:

Figure 1.4.5: Select the team to be used as a template

When a new team is created from an existing team, you will have the option to control everything that is related to it. This includes the following:NameDescriptionPrivacyMembersTabs Channels

Figure 1.4.6: Provide the details for the new team and select the settings to copy

When a new team is created from Microsoft 365 groups, it inherits the settings from the group, namely the following:

NameDescriptionPrivacyMembers

Click the Create button. You are ready to start using your new team.

All the steps done manually up to this point to create a team can be automated with the use of PowerShell. You can learn more about this in Chapter 13, Microsoft Teams PowerShell: A Tool for Automation.

What happens when a new team is created?

Microsoft Teams is tightly connected to other Microsoft 365 applications and makes use of some of them to provide a rich collaboration environment every time a new team is created. The following are created when you create a team:

A new Microsoft 365 groupA SharePoint site collection A shared calendar and mailboxA OneNote notebook A Stream groupA Microsoft Forms group

Figure 1.4.7: Microsoft Teams integrates several other Microsoft applications and tools

Adding members to the team

To take advantage of the potential of Microsoft Teams, you can add members to your teams by doing the following:

Select your team and click on the … icon.On the context menu, click on Add member:

Figure 1.4.8: To start adding members to a team, click on Add member from the drop-down menu of the team

Start typing in the name or group you want to add.While typing, you will get suggestions regarding users that belong to your organization. Find the users you want to add and click on them. Once added to the list, for each user, select whether you want to add them as a team Owner or team Member.If guest access is enabled on your tenant, you will be able to add members to the team that don't belong to the organization. To do this, type in the person's email and select Add <email> as a guest. Guests are always added to the team as members automatically.

Figure 1.4.9: Search for and add members to a team

Once the users have been added to the team, a post will automatically be made in the General channel to let everyone know about the new members.

Pro tip: Identify and manage guest users

Guest users are identified by the word Guest in front of their name, and by default will not be displayed with a profile picture. To clearly identify a guest user, make sure they are added with a legible name. Microsoft Teams will suggest a name based on the email, but while adding the guest to the team, you have the opportunity to rename them. Keep in mind that guest users do not have the option to rename themselves once they are added to the tenant.

To change the name of a guest user, click on the pencil icon and type in a new name, as shown in the following screenshot. You might want to consider adding the organization of the user to their name in case you have users with the same name from different organizations:

Figure 1.4.10: Editing a guest's name

Even though Microsoft Teams does not provide an option for a guest to change the user profile picture for guest users, it can be done by the global administrator in your organization in Microsoft Azure Active Directory by doing the following:

Go to Microsoft Azure: https://portal.azure.com.Once inside the portal, click on the Azure Active Directory icon.In the left pane, click on Users.Look for the user whose details you want to update and click on their name. You will be able to easily identify any external users by the "#EXT#" tag in their email addresses.On the user profile page, click on the Edit button.Upload the profile picture and adjust any other profile field. The image file must be under 100 kB.

Figure 1.4.11: Edit a guest user's details in Azure Active Directory

Click Save. The synchronization process may take a while, but once it's done you will see your guest user with their own profile picture, making it easier to identify exactly who is who. In the following screenshot, you can see a guest user identified with a custom name and a custom picture:

Figure 1.4.12: Microsoft Teams chat with a guest user's comment

So far, you have learned about what Microsoft Teams looks like, how to create teams, and how to add users to them. In the following sections, you will learn how to tailor your teams to your needs and build a structure that better suits your requirements.

What is a channel?

A Teams channel is a section inside of a team that helps you organize conversations, files, and applications inside a container. By default, all teams are created with the General channel, which, by default, includes the conversations tab, files, and wiki.

Channels are public by default, but if it has been enabled by the administrator, it is also possible to create private or shared channels. Private and shared channels will be explained in detail in Chapter 5, Private vs Public vs Shared: Teams and Channels.

Channel scenario #1: Mary, the marketing manager

Mary is the marketing manager for a multinational company, leading a global marketing team currently working on a worldwide campaign for the holidays. She is working with the company designers to create advertisements for the campaign. To avoid distracting other members and to keep the information about this topic centralized, Mary has created a new channel inside the team. In the new channel, the team members working on the advertisements are doing the following:

Chatting about ideas for promoting the campaignSharing files, either specifications or the design files for the different concepts

Channel scenario #2: Geno, the basketball coach

Geno is a college basketball coach preparing for a new season. He has created his team ahead of the start of the season and is organizing a preseason plan with his assistant coaches. Before adding the athletes to the team, Geno has created a Preseason channel so that he can do the following:

Have a common place where the preseason schedule can be sharedCommunicate information about the exhibition games to the athletes and other staff members

Creating a new channel

The creation of a new channel is straightforward and is always done in the context of the team in which you want to create it. To add a channel to a team, do the following:

Select the team and click on the … icon.Click on Add Channel.