Microsoft Teams is a useful tool for those working from home. However, many people are just adjusting to this new reality. For beginners, we provide tips for using this effectively.

Microsoft Teams is a unified communication and collaboration platform. It combines persistent workplace chat, video meetings, file storage, and application integration. It has desktop apps for Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as mobile apps for iOS and Android.

— To start using it, sign in to teams:

• In Windows: Click Start button > Microsoft Teams.
• On Mac: go to the Applications folder and click Microsoft Teams.
• On mobile: tap the Teams icon.
• Next, sign in with your Office 365 username and password.

— On the left-hand side of Teams, you can access the following:

• Teams – Find channels to belong to or create your own. Inside channels, you can hold on-the-spot meetings, have conversations, and share files.
• Meetings – See everything you’ve got lined up for the day or week. Or, schedule a meeting. This calendar syncs with your Outlook calendar.
• Calls – In some cases, if your organization has it set up, you can call anyone from Teams, even if they’re not using Teams.
• Activity – Catch up on all your unread messages, @mentions, replies, and more.

Use the command box at the top to search for specific items or people, take quick actions, and launch apps.

Also read:
– Are You Working From Home? Here Are Five Google Hangouts Meet Tips For You
– These Coronavirus Times: See How Your Smartphones Can Get You Through Social Distancing
– Cisco Unveils Plan To Help Businesses Continue To Function Despite Lockdown

— To create a team

• Select Teams to join an existing team or create a new one, select Join or create a team.
• When you select Create a new team you then select Build a team from scratch or select Create from… to build an all-new team or create from an existing group respectively.
• Select Private if you’d like people to request permission to join, or select Public if anyone in your org can join.
• Give the team a name and add a short description if you’d like.
• Select Create.
• Add members.
• You can add people, groups, or even entire contact groups.
• If you need to add people from outside your organization, use their email address to invite them as guests. Add a friendly display name for them too.
• When you’re done adding members, select Add and then Close.

— To create a channel

By default, every team gets a General channel, which is a good channel to use for announcements and information the whole team needs. To add more channels:

• Select More options… next to the team name.
• Select Add channel.
• Enter a name and description for your channel.
• You can build a channel around a topic, project, department name, or whatever you like.
• Select Automatically show this channel in everyone’s channel list if you want this channel to be automatically visible in everyone’s channel list.
• Select Add.

— To customize and manage your team

Select More options… next to the team name.

Select Manage team to find Members, Channels, Settings, and Apps for your team all in one place.

Select Settings > Team picture to add a team picture and give your team some personality.

You can get more tips from the Microsoft Training blog post.

For your daily dose of tech, lifestyle and trending content, make sure to follow Plat4om on Twitter @Plat4omLive, on Instagram @Plat4om, on LinkedIn at Plat4om, and on Facebook at Plat4om. You can also email us at info@plat4om.com. Finally, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel HERE.