MS Teams - Teams and Channels

Relevant to: faculty, staff, and students

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

Introduction

• A Team in Microsoft Teams is a digital space where a group of people (such as a department, project group, or committee) can collaborate. Each team contains channels where different conversations and workstreams are organized.

• A Channel is a sub-space within a Team where you can organize discussions, meetings, files, and tasks by specific topics, departments, or initiatives.
  
  Every team starts with a General channel, but you can create more to structure your collaboration.

Create a Team 

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
    
2. Select Teams in the menu to the left. 
   
    
3. Select Join or create a team in the upper right, then select Create Team.
   
    
4. Select Create a team from a template, select a template then click Use this template.
   
    
5. Select Private (People need permission to join) or Public (Anyone in your org can join). 
   
    
6. Name your team and add a description.  Then click Create. 

Add Members to a Team 

Add members to your team by typing a name or email, then select Add. 

To add members to your team later :

1. Go to the team.
    
2. Select More Options (...)
    
3. Select Add Member. 
   
    
4. Enter the person’s name or email and choose whether to make them a Member or Owner. 
    
5. Select Add.
   

Create a Channel for your Team

1. In Microsoft Teams, go to the Team that you previously created. 
    
2. To create a new channel select More options (...) next to the team name then Add channel. 
   
    
3. Enter a name for the channel in Channel name box and then Choose a channel type.  See the channel descriptions for help determining what type of channel you want to create. 
   
    
4. Then click the Create button. 
    
5. If you selected to create a private channel the next window allows you to Add members to the private channel. To do this you will Type a name or email in the box.  When you are done adding people click Add. 

Creating Documents & Folders 

Microsoft Teams integrates with SharePoint and OneDrive to offer seamless document storage and collaboration. Each channel within a team has a dedicated Files tab where you can upload, create, organize, and share documents and folders. 

Accessing the Files Tab to work with documents or folders

1. Open Microsoft Teams. 

2. Select the Team and then choose a Channel to add documents or folders (e.g., General). 
   

3. Click on the Files tab at the top of the channel. 
   

This tab reflects a SharePoint document library in the background. 
 

Uploading Documents

1. In the Files tab, select Upload and then choose: 

• Files – to upload individual documents. 

• Folder – to upload a whole folder and its contents. 

2. Browse your computer and select the file(s) or folder. 

3. Click Open. 
   Files upload directly into the current folder view and are instantly accessible by team members. 
   

Creating New Documents and Folders in Teams

1. In the Files tab select New then select: 

   • Folder 

   • Word document 

   • Excel workbook 

   • PowerPoint presentation 

   • OneNote notebook 

2. Enter a name for the document or folder. 

3. Click Create. 
   

You can drag and drop files into folders or move them using the Move to option. 

Collaborating on Files

Once a document is uploaded or created: 

• All team members can view or edit simultaneously. 

• Comments, track changes, and co-authoring are supported. 

• Use the Open in Desktop App option for full functionality if needed. 

Managing Files and Folders

• Rename, Move, or Delete files/folders by clicking the ⋯ (More options) menu. 

• Pin important documents to the top of the Files tab for quick access. 

• Use Version History (via SharePoint) to restore previous versions.