Microsoft Teams is one of the most versatile, flexible, and powerful apps for work and education environments. This program is specially designed to connect people in the same physical environment or even in different cities or countries, allowing them to work together in perfect synchrony.
If you are starting to use Microsoft Teams for the first time or you just want to review the most important tools, this article is for you. Here we explain some of the basic functions and tools of the app, and we even detail some adjustments that are used by advanced users.
First step: Log in to Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is accessible through different platforms. You can use this app on Windows or Mac desktops, iOS, and Android mobile devices, and even using the web browser version of the app. In every case, the first and most important step to using this app is login in. To do this, simply open the app and click on the Sign In option to input your Microsoft Account and log in to the platform.
Microsoft Teams interface: Learning how to use the app
Once you are logged into Microsoft Teams, the first step is learning how the app is designed, so you can find anything that you want to do. The first bar on the left is the Navigation Bar, which includes the different sections in the app, including the Activity, Chats, Teams, Calendar, and Calls.
Activity
The Activity section is where you get most of your notifications. Here you will see any important notifications like received calls, notifications of the calendar, direct mentions from members of your teams, and any other notifications that you should be aware of.
Chat
The Chat section of the navigation menu allows you to see your most recent messages. Here you can check out new messages mentioning you, open one of the messages to write a reply, or just read the conversation to stay up to date with it.
Teams
The Teams is the section where most of the magic happens. This is where you will find your different teams and the type of tools assigned/required for the team to properly work together. Under the Teams title, you will find your different teams, when you click on each of them, you will see on the main screen the Posts, Files, Wikis, and other categories assigned to your Team.
Add and configure a new team
To add a new team, you just have to hit the Join or Create a Team button. Here you will be able to join a team or create a new team either starting from scratch, by using a template, or another team as an example. Here you can customize the different channels and apps assigned to your team.
Calendar
The Calendar is one of the most important sections for work and student teams. Here you will see any upcoming meetings, due assignments, or any other type of important date that you have written up in your calendar beforehand or has been noted in one of your teams.
Calls
The Calls section is quite simple to use, here you can check out your call history. In this section, you can see how many calls you’ve made, who you’ve talked to, the hour, duration of the call, and you can even make a new call to any user on the platform.