MS Teams - Announcements and Activity Alerts

Relevant to: faculty and staff

This article contains information considered accurate at the time of publishing. Technology updates, changes in University security practices, and/or policies and procedures may affect the information in this article - updates to articles are scheduled on a periodic basis and will address any required changes.

Introduction

There are many ways that you can send messages and notifications within MS Teams to members of your teams, participants in a meeting, and/or chats. This article reviews ways that you can send announcements and activity alerts, as well as how to use the “Activity” feed to track what others send to you.

Creating Announcements in the Posts Tab of a Channel

Create a customized announcement in the “Posts” tab of a team to grab everyone’s attention. An activity alert will be sent to all members of the team, directing them to view your announcement when it is sent.

1. Click the “Start a new conversation” button at the bottom of the “Posts” tab in the channel that you’re messaging.
2. Select the “Format” button to expand the “Compose” box.
3. Click the “New Conversation” button to open a drop-down menu.
4. Select the “Announcement” option as your post type. This will let you:
   • Create a headline.
   • Add a subhead.
   • Type your announcement.
   • Select a color scheme.
   • “Choose an illustration” or “Upload an image” to decorate your post. General, Class, and Activity themes are available pre-loaded.
5. Click the “Send” button, and an activity alert will be sent to all members of the channel.

Using @mentions to Send Activity Alerts

Send activity alerts to all members of a team, a channel, or an individual user by typing the @ symbol and the name of whom you’re attempting to contact (no spaces between words or symbols) in the “Posts” tab of a team or a chat message.

When you start typing the name of the team, channel, or user, a “Suggestions” box will appear. If your contact’s name appears, you can click the suggestion to have it autofill.

An “Activity” alert will go to the individual named in the @mention, or all users in the team or channel, when the conversation, announcement, or chat message is sent.

How to Use the Activity Feed

• The “Activity” button presents you with a list of updates for anything that has happened in the channels in your teams list and chat histories. It is located on the left-hand side menu of Teams.
• Select the “Filter” button at the top right corner of the feed to show specific types of messages: unread messages, @mentions, replies, and likes.
• A red circle will appear next to the “Activity” button when you have a notification in your feed. These notifications remain in your feed for 14 days; they expire and no longer show in your feed afterward.