First things to know about channels in Microsoft Teams
Communication and teamwork are handled through channels in Teams. Channels are places where a team can share files, tools, and messages in a single place.
- As a user, you can organize your channels according to groups, projects, features, or anything else that is relevant to your needs.
- Each member of the team can take control over whether they would like to receive notifications from a certain channel.
- A thread allows for side conversation to take place within a channel in an organized and focused manner.
The following are some of the top things that you should know about channels:
1. Channels sit inside of teams
Teamwork is made up of channels, which are different types of communication that occurs between you and your teammates, and it is important to remember that teams are made up of channels. As with files inside folders, channels are part of teams, in the same way that they are within folders. The channels are assigned to the topics, departments, or projects that belong to that channel.
There are 35 channels in the Northwind Traders team, which includes channels such as General, Marketing, Overview, and a number of others that are thought to work to help the traders in their day-to-day operations. Whenever a member of the Northwind Traders team is on the Marketing channel, they will be able to access all of the conversations, meetings, files, and apps that pertain to marketing. These conversations, meetings, files, and apps will be all be linked to specific marketing-related conversations, meetings, files, or apps in the Marketing channel. |
As a team, we use channels to communicate, to share files, and to add apps to the Web. Channels are where work gets done – where text, audio, and video conversations can be held across the whole team.
check it in video
Chats are private conversations between two users (or group of users) that are not visible to the rest of the channel. Basically, they are instant messages, just like how you would send them through other messaging apps.
It is possible to create channels based on anything that you want. The name of a channel should be something that clearly describes what it is about when you are creating it. It is best to choose names that are simple, intuitive, and easy to remember.
2. Every team has a General channel
The General channel is included in every team. The first one is always there and it cannot be deleted. As an example of how this channel can be used, here are some examples:
In the General channel, one can keep track of whether or not any new members of the team have joined the team or whether any of them have left the team, if a team with many employees is trying to keep track of new members joining or leaving the organization. For discussion that is topic-specific, as a general rule, they take place in one of the other channels within the team that are associated with the team in which they take place. |
There may be very few channels available based on the size of your team, along with a more narrow focus, which means you may have to use the General channel to broadcast announcements and communicate with others on the team depending on the size of your team.
3. Teams can have standard, private, or shared channels
- It is possible for anyone to search through any of the standard channels in order to find any information or information that has been posted, and all standard channels are open to all members of the team.
- Having a private channel allows you to speak about topics that shouldn’t be discussed in front of the entire team.
- There are shared channels for your team or organization that can be used in order to collaborate with others both inside and outside of it.
The following sections explain why you might want to use a shared channel compared to other types of channels. Teams can have standard, private, or shared channels.
Note: As part of the public preview program, shared channels will be accessible to the public and, if necessary, will undergo additional modifications before they are made public. The Teams public preview is a great way for you to get access to this feature and many others that will be coming up in the near future. Simply switch over to it to gain access to them all.
4. Channels have tabs
There are a number of tabs available by default in Teams when you open a channel.
There are two tabs at the top of the screen.
The messages can be seen on the Posts tab of the channel by anyone who has access to it. As a group, we will be chatting as if it were one big chat room. It is also important to note that replies to channel messages remain attached to the original message in order to ensure the communication does not become slowed down in the future if there is an interruption in communication. In this way, anyone reading the conversation will be able to follow all of the threads related to the conversation in an easy manner. Having a threaded conversation allows you to talk about a variety of topics at the same time.
- There is a little Reply link underneath each message in the channel that can be clicked to reply to a message in the channel.
- When you click the Send button at the bottom of the discussion window, you will be taken to the dialogue box where you can type your message, and then click the Start conversation button at the top.
The next tab that is available to you is the Files tab – this is where all of the files shared in the channel will be kept.
In a channel, there are two ways in which you can share files:
- Click on the Files tab when you are in a channel. By selecting the file in the choice box within the message window and choosing the link option as an additional option, you will be able to copy the link into your message.
- Your document can be uploaded by selecting Attach in the toolbar below your message, and then clicking the Upload button.
5. You can add more tabs
If you would like to create tabs at the top of your channel to display apps and files that you use on a regular basis, click on the Add a tab icon next to the name of the tab you wish to create. I am sure that you are familiar with the fact that when you go into your Suggested Items section, you will see everything you’ve liked to add (favorite apps, files). You can also search for specific items that you’ve liked to add.
Adding a Wiki tab to a team channel is a very easy process that can be done in a couple of minutes. Essentially, it is a text editor combined with a communication tool that gives you everything you need in one application. Right there in the channel you have the option of drafting, editing, and chatting from one place all at the same time. It is recommended that you refer to the Add and use a Wiki tab in Teams for more information about this so that you can better understand how it works.
6. Customize your notifications per channel
If you want to adjust the notifications you receive from a particular channel, you can do so by:
Choose More options > Channel notifications by clicking on the name of the channel. This allows you to be notified of channel activity.
You will then be able to select where and what notifications you would like to receive from there.
You can also turn on the banners and feed notification option within the Teams app at the top left of the screen to receive notifications to your device in addition to receiving notifications through the Activity tab, which can be found at the top left of the screen. Feed will now be skipping sending notifications to the desktop completely, which means that you’ll be able to see the notifications only in the activity feed, not the desktop version.
The Manage notifications in Teams section will provide you with even more options for customizing your notification settings.
7. Show and hide teams to stay organized
There is an alphabetical organization of channels after clicking the General tab. The order of the items cannot be changed, but they can be shown or hidden based on your preference. If you want to hide or show a channel, you need to select More options next to it.
Do you want your favorite team to return to the list? The Hidden team list can be found at the bottom of your screen. Scroll down and open it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a channel and a team in Microsoft Teams?
How many channels can you have in a Teams team?
How do you organize Teams and channels in a team?
How many channels should a team have?