24 Microsoft Teams Tips and Tricks to Help You Get the Most Out of Messaging and Meetings
- Author: Colin McCall – Modern Workplace Analyst
With more than 300 million users worldwide, there’s a good chance you’ve sent a message—or a few thousand—in Microsoft Teams.
Now the world’s leading collaboration platform, Teams’ adoption skyrocketed during and after the pandemic. Over 1,000,000 organizations actively use it as their default messaging application.
But Teams is a lot more than just AOL Instant Messenger on steroids. To really harness its power and get the most out of Teams you need to dive deeper into its features and functionalities.
We’ve compiled a list of 24 tips, tricks, and hacks to help you unlock the full potential of Microsoft Teams. Enjoy!
Teams Hacks to Help Save You Time
- Master the Command Line
Type a forward slash (/) in the search bar to access commands like /available, /busy, /call, /files, etc. This will save you time by performing quick actions without navigating through menus. Here’s a list of compose box commands.
- Navigate with Keyboard Shortcuts
Use shortcuts like Ctrl + E (search bar), Ctrl + Shift + M (mute/unmute), and Ctrl + 2 (Teams section). Refer to the Teams keyboard shortcuts guide for a complete list.
- Search Through Your Conversations
Find exactly what you’re looking for by typing it into the search bar. Use advanced search keywords like “From:,” or “Sent:” to find messages from a specific user or messages sent on a specific date.
You can narrow your search to a specific chat by clicking the three dots on the right side of the chat window and selecting “Find in Chat.”
- Send a Message as Important or Urgent
Click on the “+” icon on the right side of the text box and then “Set delivery options.” From there you can select “Standard” (the default), “Important” or “Urgent.” When selecting Urgent the recipient will be notified every 2 minutes, for up to 20 minutes or until they respond.
- Efficient Messaging with @Mentions
Type "@" followed by the person's name in the message field. This sends a direct notification to the mentioned person, ensuring they see your message. When messaging entire groups or channels, type “@everyone” to notify everybody in the group/channel of your message.
- Schedule a Message to be Sent at a Later Date or Time
Type a message as you normally would and then right/secondary click on the send arrow. This will bring up a scheduling box for you to choose the best time to send your message. Note that you can only schedule a message to send a maximum of one week out.
- Use Meeting Notes
During a meeting, click on the three-dot menu and select "Meeting notes." Use this feature to document discussions and action items in real-time.
- Using Scheduling Assistant
When creating a new meeting or event, add all relevant parties to the invite and select the Scheduling Assistant tab at the top of the meeting invite window. This allows for the viewing of all calendars and events of all invitees, streamlining meeting scheduling.
Optimizing Tips for Microsoft Teams
9. Customize Notifications
Go to Settings > Notifications and activity. Customize which activities trigger notifications and how you receive them (banner, activity, off).
- Organize Team Channels
Drag and drop teams in your sidebar to reorder them based on your preference. This helps you quickly access the most important ones.
- Mute a Conversation
Click on the three dots on the right side of a chat in the Chat list pane and then click “Mute.”
- Pin Important Channels
Right-click on a channel name and select "Pin." Pinned channels will appear at the top of your Teams list for quick access.
- Manage Notifications for Specific Channels
Go to the channel, click on the three-dot menu next to the channel name, select "Channel notifications," and customize your notification preferences.
- Use the Files Tab
Access the Files tab in any channel to view, share, and collaborate on documents without leaving Teams.
- Integrate Third-Party Apps
Click on the Apps icon in the left sidebar, search for the app you need (e.g., Trello, Asana, Adobe Creative Cloud), and integrate it into Teams to enhance functionality.
- Add Specific Files or Applications as Tabs
Have an Excel file or a productivity tool like Smartsheet that you and your manager work on together all the time? Click on the “+” icon on the right of the tab bar and then select a file (through Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) or application you want to be able to easily access in your chat.
The Rest of Our Favorite Teams Tricks
- Set Status Duration
Click on your profile picture, set your status (e.g., Available, Busy), and select "Duration." Choose the time frame for your status, which will automatically update once the duration ends.
- Schedule Out of Office and Set Automatic Replies
Go to Settings > General. Scroll down to see Out of Office. Let people know you’re on vacation or not available, and set a customized Out of Office message.
- Get a Notification When Someone Becomes Available
Click on the three dots on the right side of a single user in the Chat list pane and click “Notify when available.”
- Translate Messages
Hover over a message in a different language, click on the three-dot menu, and select "Translation." Teams will translate the message into your default language.
- Use Immersive Reader
Hover over a message, click on the three-dot menu, and select "Immersive Reader." This feature improves text presentation for easier reading.
- Enable/Disable Read Receipts
Go to Settings > Privacy and enable "Read receipts." This allows you to see when your messages have been read by the recipients.
- Hide Channels or Teams
Click the three-dot icon to the right of a channel or team, then click “Hide.” This helps tidy up low-priority channels or teams that are not important to your current work.
- PowerPoint Live
Any recently opened PowerPoints uploaded to the cloud can be presented in Teams calls as a PowerPoint Live presentation. Additional tools such as presenter view, highlighter and pens, slide translation, private notes, and slide viewing modifications such as zoom and high contrast mode are all available during a Live presentation.
Teams Shortcuts Make Your Day Just a Little Bit Better
Teams is one of the many great modern workplace tools Microsoft offers, and thanks to a recent update, Teams can now be purchased as a standalone product for Enterprise customers.
Here at HBS, we use Teams extensively for collaboration. Knowing and using these Teams shortcuts, tips and tricks helps our people save time and boost productivity in countless little ways. We’ve even learned a few new ones researching this article.
HBS has a dedicated Modern Work Team with extensive Microsoft expertise and certifications, and we’re ready to help organizations of all sizes find the right solutions. Let’s talk.
