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Hello, and welcome back to IT Soho! Since our last blog post about Microsoft Teams, we've been inundated with questions, and so to help everyone, we thought we'd complete a "How to use Microsoft Teams" article covering the most commonly asked questions.
First, let's recap on what we've already covered:
If you can't find what you need, scroll down for some more helpful tips on getting the most out of Teams.
1. How do I set up and join a Microsoft Teams meeting?
This is the one question that we get asked a lot, and the answer is that there are lots of ways to access Teams from your Microsoft 365 applications.
We recommend opening the Teams app. It's an easier place to start and access everything the application has to offer.
Setting up a Teams meeting is actually very simple:
First, go to the Calendar tab in Teams and click New Meeting.
Fill in the usual details like the meeting name, date, and invitees, then hit Send.
When it's time to join:
Just click the meeting in your calendar and hit Join.
If you're on mobile, open the app, find your meeting, and tap Join.
Pro tip: If you have trouble joining, it's usually something small like needing to accept the invite from a meeting someone sent you or a spotty internet connection—so check those first!
2. How do I share my screen during a Teams call?
Sharing your screen is great for presentations or even quick "I need help with this" moments.
Here's how you do it:
While you are in a meeting, click the Share Content button (the little upward arrow).
Choose if you want to share your whole screen or just one window.
And if you're feeling fancy, there's PowerPoint Live, which lets you present slides without taking over everyone's screen. People can even click through the slides on their own—a great tip if you are sharing a presentation that is still in the planning and design stage.
Quick tip: Close down any tabs you don't need to share before your meeting!
3. How can I manage notifications and avoid feeling overwhelmed?
Teams can run wild with notifications if you have a busy team, so if you need to concentrate or take yourself out of the loop for a small period of time, then mute might be an option.
Here's how to do that:
Click your profile picture in the top right, go to Settings > Notifications, and tweak what you want to get alerts for.
You can also mute specific channels or chats by right-clicking on them and selecting Mute.
And for those times when you need a break, or you are away, set your status to Do Not Disturb or Away to pause notifications.
Pro tip: If you have your email and Teams connected, your Teams status should appear as "away" in synch with your email holiday mode.
4. How do I collaborate on documents within Teams?
One of the best things about Teams is how easy it is to work on documents together—no more sending files back and forth! You can open and edit Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files directly in Teams and in real-time.
Here's how to get started:
Go to the Files tab in a channel, click Upload, and add your file.
Click on the file to open it and start editing—everyone with access can join in, and all changes save automatically.
Pro Tip: Need to undo a mistake? Right-click on the file and select the link for Version History to roll back to a previous version. Crisis averted!
5. How can I organise Teams, channels, and tabs for better productivity?
Firstly, let's break down what's what:
Teams are for big projects, departments, or groups. Following your business team setup might be the easiest organisation rule.
Channels are where you break down the conversation—maybe by topic or workstream.
Then there are Tabs, where you can pin important things like apps (Planner, OneNote), files, or even websites, so they're always handy.
Pro Tip: Make sure you name things in a way that is easy to find and reference for everyone. Otherwise, you can get lost in a big team with several active projects and groups!
6. What are the best ways to use Teams for project management?
Here's how we would use it:
In any channel, you can add Planner as a tab and create tasks for team members. You can assign them, set deadlines, and even track progress with easy-to-read charts.
The Tasks app pulls together all your to-dos from Planner and other sources so you can see what you need to do on one screen.
This way, you're not juggling a million apps—everything's centralised in Teams!
Pro Tip: Make sure everyone on your team has some training on how to use Teams so that they know how the app works and how you need them to use it. Being more systematic in your approach means everyone uses one tool for projects, and nothing gets forgotten on a list someone wrote in an old notebook.
7. How do I record a meeting and access the recording later?
Here's what to do:
Firstly, make sure that everyone is notified that the Teams meeting will be recorded and for what purpose.
In the meeting, click More Actions (the three dots) and choose Start Recording.
When the meeting ends, the recording will be saved automatically to OneDrive or Microsoft Stream (depending on your settings).
To find the recording, go to the meeting chat or your OneDrive under Recordings. You can easily download or share it from there.
Pro Tip: If the recording is helpful for a specific project or training, make sure you share it in the correct Teams channel so everyone can reference it.
8. How can I integrate other apps with Microsoft Teams?
You can integrate loads of apps like:
Trello for project boards (here's our guide),
Asana as an alternative (here's our guide),
Salesforce for managing customer relationships (here's our guide) or
HubSpot as an alternative CRM (here's our guide).
Firstly, you need to check if your company policy allows further app integrations or if your IT team needs to set that up for you (for security reasons).
Once you are sure, click Add a Tab in any channel, search for the app you want, and voilà! You've just supercharged Teams.
Quick Tip: Before choosing lots of different apps have a look and see what Microsoft 365 offers. They may have something very similar that could work well as an alternative.
9. How do I use Teams on my mobile device effectively?
The mobile version is pretty much like the desktop version but designed for smaller screens:
You can join meetings, chat, and even work on documents just like you would on your computer.
Need to share a quick photo or file? Use your phone's camera to take a picture and share it directly in Teams. Perfect for offsite work.
Pro Tip: To reduce notifications while you are with clients or suppliers, go to Settings > Notifications and set Quiet Hours so you are not pinged unnecessarily.
10. How do I switch my camera or microphone on and off during a Team meeting?
You know when you're in a meeting and suddenly need to mute yourself or switch off the camera? Here's how to do that:
To mute/unmute your microphone:
Look for the little microphone icon in the meeting controls at the bottom of your Teams screen. Click it once to mute and again to unmute.
To turn your camera on/off:
Next to the microphone icon, you'll see a little camera icon. Click it to toggle your video on or off during the meeting.
You can also use shortcuts:
Ctrl + Shift + M to unmute or mute your mic.
Ctrl + Shift + O to turn your camera on or off.
When you click Join on a meeting link, you'll see a preview of your video and mic activity. This will give you the opportunity to make adjustments or switch things on/off if you need to.
Hopefully, this has answered everything. Let us know if you need more help.