Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is MCC’s hub for communication, collaboration, and file sharing. Whether you're chatting with colleagues, participating in team discussions, hosting meetings, managing shared documents, or collaborating on projects, Teams brings people and information together in one place. Use the resources below to learn how to customize your settings, create and manage teams, work with shared files, and take advantage of the collaboration tools that help MCC employees stay connected and productive.

Teams Settings

To access settings:

Click on the Activity icon.
Next click on the three dots to the right (more options).
Then click on Notification settings.

Change the look of Teams or customize your notifications in Settings.

Teams Sidebar

Activity

See all activities in your Team. Click on the "Feed" dropdown to switch between the "Feed" and "My Activity" views.

Feed - lists every post in your teams in chronological order
My Activity - shows your personal activity and posts in Teams.

Chat

Click on the Chat icon (square with a pen) to start a chat.
Type a name, and the program will suggest contacts.
You can include multiple names or groups.
Chats are available with anyone at MCC. THey do not need to be a member of your Team.
In a channel, double-click a person's circle icon to open a separate chat window.

Teams

Clicking on Teams will either bring you back either to the channels for the team you were last in or to the top level where you can see all your Teams.

Files

Quick access to files in Teams and also in your MCC OneDrive.

Availability

Colored dots overlaying a person's avatar (their picture or initials) indicate availability.
Teams will display availability based on your Outlook calendar.
To change your availability, click on your avatar in the upper right-hand corner and then click on your status.
Choose the status you wish from the drop down.

Navigation Tabs

Use the tabs across the top of the chat or channel to move between posts and files.
The files tab will list all the files that were shared in that chat or channel.
Create a new tab by clicking on the plus at the far right. This can be useful to add a tab to a frequently used web page or an app.

Apps

There are many apps available in Teams. The MCC Employee Technology Support Desk is not versed in all the different apps. If you get a message saying you have to contact an administrator, call Employee Technology Support Desk at 585-292-8324, option 3, M-F 8:45am-4:45pm or submit a Technology ticket.

Creating a Team

To create a Team:

Go to the top level of Teams. This can be done by clicking on the Teams icon in the sidebar twice.
Next click on Join or create team.
Then click on Create team.
Choose the type of team you would like to create.
Give the team a name and choose the privacy level of the team.
Click the Next button.
Add names of people you want on the team.
Click the Next button.
Choose the level of access you want the participants to have. Every team should have more than one owner.
Click the Close button and your new team will open.

Leaving a Team

When a Team is deleted, all Teams activity in standard and private channels, files, and chats are also deleted for that Team.

If you no longer want to be a member of a Team, you should leave that Team.

Right-click on the three dots to the right of the Team name.
Click on Leave Team from the drop-down.

Teams Need Owners

Assign multiple owners to a Team and/or a Channel to ensure file preservation. If a Team owner leaves without designating a new owner, the team will still exist, but members can't add new colleagues or change team settings.

Teams Files

File Owners

If the file is posted in a Teams channel, everyone who is an owner of the channel is also the owner of the documents posted in that channel. The Team owners can see the names of all private channels, but they can't see the files, conversations or member list of a private channel unless they are members of that private channel.

If a Team owner leaves without assigning a new owner, the team still exists, and its content stays intact. However, members cannot add new colleagues or change team settings. To avoid issues, assign more than one owner to a Team or Channel. Keep in mind that deleting a Team will also remove its standard and private channels, files, and chats.

Upload a File to Teams

To upload a file to a channel or chat:

Click on the paper clip below the text field
Cut and paste the file from File Explorer to Teams
Click on the Files tab at the top and select Upload

Once the file is uploaded, the file appears in the Files tab at the top of the page. If the file is a Word, Excel, or Power Point file the file can be edited in Teams. More editing options will appear when the file is open.

Anyone with access to the channel can edit the file.
Multiple people can edit at the same time.
The document will change in real time.

Note: Editing the document in Teams will not affect a copy on the M drive. Avoid copying a file from the M/U-drive to Teams to prevent creating versions of a document that do not match.

Open the Teams file in a Browser or the App

Opening a file in Teams leaves you unable to access the rest of your Teams. It may be easier to open it in a browser or on the desktop app.

Open a Team File in a Browser

You can open a file in a browser with an online version of the Microsoft program you are using (Word, Excel, etc.). To open the file in a browser:

Click on Editing in the upper right corner.
Select Open in Browser.
Close the file in Teams and get back to your channels and chats.

Your changes made online will be made in the document in Teams in real time.

Open a Team File in the Desktop App

Click on Editing in the upper right corner.
Click Open in Desktop App to open it on the program on your computer. For your changes to be saved with the version in Teams,You must be logged into your account through the desktop app.The automatic save symbol should be in the upper left-hand corner.

If you are not logged in, you are essentially working on a copy and your changes may be lost.

Note: If you do a “Save as” and save the document back to your desktop, the M drive or some other area, the document that has been saved is now a copy and changes to it will not update back in Teams.

Linking Teams Folders to OneDrive

To have your Teams files show up in OneDrive folder in File Explorer you must link the Teams folder to My Files in your OneDrive online. In Teams:

Select the folder by clicking the circle to the left of the file name.
Next, click on Add shortcut to My Files at the top of the page.

Once the files are linked to My Files in OneDrive, they can be seen in the OneDrive folder in File Explorer. OneDrive must already be set up on the computer and the files must be synced.

CAUTION: Deleting any files through File Explorer deletes the files from OneDrive or Teams. Use extreme caution if deleting from shared file locations!