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Teams vs. Channels vs. Chats

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Teams

Teams are groups of people that connect for work, projects, or common interests.

Teams are made up of two types of channels: Standard and Private Channels.

Channels: Standard vs. Private

Channels are to post high-level updates intended for the whole team. In Channels, you can also hold meetings, have conversations, and work on files together.

  • Standard (available and visible to everyone).
  • Private (focused, private conversations with a specific audience). Each channel is built around a topic like "Team Events," or a department name.

The tabs at the top of each channel link to your favorite files, apps, and services.

Add a tab

  • Select the plus sign + next to the tabs.

    For example, you can add Planner to create a project board for tracking team tasks.

Pin and unpin a channel

If you have a lot of channels, pin the most important ones to make them easy to find.

  • To pin a channel, choose one to pin and then select More channels > Pin.

  • To unpin a channel, choose one to unpin and then select More channels > Unpin, and to see what else you can do.

Chats

Chats, is where you can have 1:1 or group chats with people. This is where you have tactical detail-oriented convos.

Start a chat

  1. Select New chat Select to start a new chat. .
  2. Type the name of the person or people you want to contact.
  3. Select the down arrow to add a name to your chat group.

To learn more about Teams check out this website:

Microsoft Teams Video Tutorials

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