Making the Most of Channel Tabs: Posts, Files, Apps
Let's explore some of the basic features of collaboration within Teams and Team Channels.
Posts
Each channel has its own “Posts” tab, which is often called team chat.
All Team members can see the messages/posts in the posts tab of any given channel.
To create a new post, navigate to the channel you would like to start a conversation in, click "New Conversation," and hit "Send."
All posts to the channel are journaled so people can see the history of the conversation. In this way, if you have a conversation that is complex, all new members need to do is review the posts to catch up, which is much better than email.
You can include @Mentions in your post to notify people of your conversation.
Type @ + Individual name to notify an individual.
Type @ + Channel name to notify the entire channel.
Type @Team to notify the entire Team of your post.
Members can reply to posts and keep topical conversations contained within collapsible threads.
Make things fun by reacting to posts and including emojis and gifs in your posts!
Files
Files and Folders created in Teams are automatically saved in SharePoint. Use a Channel's Files tab as you would use any other File Explorer function with the added capacity of real-time collaboration within files and chatting within a file.
Download files to your device from Teams.
Create new folders within a Channel.
Upload files from your device to a Teams Channel.
Create new files and folders within Teams.
Collaborate on files in real-time.
"Edit in Teams" and "Open in Browser" will open the document in your Teams app. These options allow you to work on a document with Team members in real-time if they also have it open.
"Open in Desktop app" opens the file in the corresponding desktop application--this option works better when only one person is editing.
Move files and folders to other folders, Teams, and Channels.
Apps
Add apps to your Team Channel as a new tab, or add apps to your side bar menu.
When browsing apps, be sure to click "More apps" to see everything that's available.
If you have a particular app in mind, search for it to see if it's available.
You may use Microsoft-provided apps as well as third-party Microsoft-certified apps.
