Microsoft Teams basics
A beginner's guide to Microsoft Teams — how to chat with colleagues, join meetings, make calls, and share files all in one place.
Microsoft Teams is the hub for teamwork in Microsoft 365. It brings together chat messages, video meetings, file sharing, and calls in one app — so you don't need to switch between multiple tools.
Quick summary
Teams is split into two areas: Teams (for group channels organized by topic or project) and Chat (for private one-on-one or small group conversations). You can also join and host video meetings, make voice calls, and access shared files. It works in a browser, as a desktop app, and on your phone.
Accessing Teams
Go to teams.microsoft.com and sign in with your work email and password.
Download the Microsoft Teams desktop app for Windows or macOS. It gives you better performance and notifications than the browser version.
Download the Microsoft Teams app from the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or Google Play (Android). Sign in with your work account.
The Teams layout
When you open Teams, you'll see a navigation bar on the left side. The main sections are:
- Activity — a feed of all your recent notifications (mentions, reactions, replies)
- Chat — your private conversations with individuals or small groups
- Teams — your team channels (organized by team and topic)
- Calendar — your meetings and calls, synced with Outlook
- Calls — make and receive voice calls (if enabled)
- Files — quick access to recently used files
Chatting with a colleague
Click Chat in the left navigation.
Click the New chat icon (a pencil/compose icon at the top).
Search for a person's name or email address in the To field.
Type your message in the text box at the bottom and press Enter to send.
Chat messages in Teams are not formal emails — they are more like instant messages. Keep them concise.
Posting in a channel
Channels are shared conversations for a team. They are organized by topic — for example, a "Marketing" team might have channels for "General", "Social Media", and "Campaigns".
Click Teams in the left navigation and find your team.
Click a channel name to open it.
Click New conversation or click in the message box at the bottom.
Type your message and press Enter to post.
Use @mentions to get someone's attention
Type @ followed by a name to mention someone — for example, @Sarah. They will get a notification. You can also type @channel to notify everyone in the channel, or @team to notify the whole team. Use sparingly.
Joining or starting a meeting
To join a meeting from your calendar:
Click Calendar in Teams (or open Outlook calendar).
Find the meeting and click Join. This opens the meeting lobby.
Check your camera and microphone settings in the pre-join screen, then click Join now.
To start an instant meeting:
Click the Meet now button in any channel or chat to start a meeting immediately and invite participants.
Sharing files in Teams
Every team channel has a Files tab at the top. Click it to see shared files for that channel. You can upload files here, and they are stored in the team's SharePoint library behind the scenes.
You can also share files directly in a chat by clicking the attachment (paperclip) icon.
Common questions
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