Microsoft Teams Quick Start

Farhan Sherali

October 10, 2020 12:50

With Microsoft Teams on your PC, Mac, or mobile device, you can:

Pull together a team.
Use chat instead of email.
Securely edit files at the same time.
See likes, @mentions, and replies with just a single tap.
Customize it by adding notes, web sites, and apps.

Sign in to Teams

Start Teams.
- In Windows, click Start > Microsoft Teams.
- On Mac, go to the Applications folder and click Microsoft Teams.
- On mobile, tap the Teams icon.
Sign in with your USA.edu email and email password.

Pick a team and channel

A team is a collection of people, conversations, files, and tools — all in one place. A channel is a discussion in a team, dedicated to a department, project, or topic.

The best way to get familiar with teams and channels is to pick a team and channel and start exploring!

Select Teams on the left side of the app and then pick a team.

If you're not on a team and want to create one, see Onboard your teams.
Select a channel and explore the Conversations, Files, and other tabs.

For more info, see Teams and channels.

Start a new conversation...

...with the whole team

Click Teams , then pick a team and a channel.
In the box where you type your message, say what's on your mind and click Send .

...with a person or group

At the top of the app, click New chat .
In the To field, type the name of the person or people you want to chat with.
In the box where you type your message, say what's on your mind and click Send .

Reply to a conversation

Channel conversations are organized by date and then threaded. The replies in threads are organized under the initial post so it's easier to follow multiple conversations.

Find the conversation thread you want to reply to.
Click Reply, add your message, and click Send .

Have fun with emoji, memes, and GIFs

Express yourself and impress your coworkers!

Click Sticker under the box where you type your message, then pick a meme or sticker from one of the categories.

The Sticker Sticker button catalog contains a wide variety of customizable stickers and memes — you can even upload your own! Check out Emoji Emoji button for smiley faces and Giphy GIF button for animated GIFs.

Share a file

Sometimes words aren't enough, and you need to post a file to a channel conversation.

Tip: Teams works particularly well with Microsoft Office documents.

In your channel conversation, click Attach under the box where you type your message.
Select from these options:
- Recent
- Browse Teams and Channels
- OneDrive
- Upload from my computer
Select a file > Share a link.

If you're uploading a file from your computer, select a file, click Open, and then Send .

You can always see all the files you post to a channel by going to the Files tab.

@mention someone

An @mention is like a tap on the shoulder — a way to get someone's attention in a channel conversation or a chat.

In the box where you type your message, type @, then type the first few letters of the person’s name. You can also @mention entire teams and channels.
Select the person. Repeat for as many people as you want to @mention.

Each person you @mention gets a notification in their Activity feed. Check for a red circle next to Activity Activity button right now to see if someone has @mentioned you!

Stay on top of things

Notifications let you know when someone @mentions you, likes something you’ve posted, or replies to a thread you started. The Activity feed helps you stay on top of all your notifications.

Click Activity .
Feed shows you a summary of everything that's happened in the channels you follow.
- Click Filter to show only certain types of notifications such as @mentions or reactions.
- Select Feed > My Activity to see a list of everything you've been up to lately in Teams.

Search for messages, people, or files

Searches cover your entire organization — all the teams and channels that you're part of.

Type a phrase in the command box at the top of the app and press Enter.
Select the Messages, People, or Files tab.
Select an item in the search results. Alternatively, you can select More filters to further refine your search results.