Teams

Types of Chats:

Chats can be one-on-one, in a group, or even in channels.  Use chats for one-on-one messages and group chats if they don't relate to a specific topic.  A group chat for a specific topic should be in a channel.  Navigate to Teams and Channels to learn more about that capability.

Teams allows you to:

• Share your identity and personalize your chats with emojis, GIFs and, stickers.
• Consider adding a subject line, much like you would with email.  You can add this at the beginning of the chat or when you add a person to a chat.  It will be easier to search for the information on the topic if a subject line is included.
• Edit or delete a message.  If you've made a mistake or posted a chat to the wrong person, it's an easy fix.  Simply edit or delete your message.
• Add participants to an existing chat conversation.  Need to add someone to a chat and want them to see the conversation history?  Teams has an option for this.  Additionally, you can select to add a new participant and not share the previous chat history.

Connecting from Chat:

If sending messages in chat isn’t enough or if you need to troubleshoot, you can quickly turn that chat into a phone call or video call directly through Teams.  At the top of the chat window, click the icon with the camera for a video call or the phone for a phone call (no video).

Formatting:

There are many formatting options for your text and message.  Along with changing the font basics (color, size, bold/italic/underline), you can highlight as well.  For more formatting options, click the three dots (...) which will give you other options such as indentation, lists, quote, tables, and links.

For a cleaner copy, insert your links instead of copying/pasting.  It's more aesthetically pleasing and easier for the recipient to view and access the link.

Importance:

You can also use the notifications to set chats as standard, important, or urgent.  The resulting alert is different depending on which option you choose.  Urgent consistently pings someone every 2 minutes for a period of 20 minutes.  This should ONLY be used for urgent situations.  Otherwise, it's best to simply call that person.

Pinning:

For people you chat with frequently, pin the conversation.

When you click chat and see your recent conversations, you can click the ... for more options and Pin the chat.

Keep in mind, you can only pin 15 chats.

Tabs:

Use the tabs when you need it.  If you are collaborating with another team member on an Excel file, add the Excel tab.