Microsoft Teams basic user FAQ
What is Microsoft Teams?
Teams is a cloud‑based chat and collaboration workspace in Microsoft Office 365. Team members have access to all the documents and conversations within a team. Conversations and chats within Teams can be formal or informal and dynamic or cooperative. Microsoft Teams is updated regularly as part of the added functionality updates provided by Microsoft.
There are various sizes of teams, but they all involve employees and students working with content and tools that centre on different projects and jobs at Red River College Polytechnic. Teams lets you work in a natural, conversational way—with everything you need in one place—available anytime, on any device.
IT Solutions requires that a team have at least two owners for effective team management. If either Team owner leaves the College, or if one of their role’s change, the remaining owner can assume responsibility to prevent disruption of use for the remaining team members.
You can view each help topic in this document or click a specific topic below:
- How do I access Microsoft Teams?
- How do I navigate Microsoft Teams?
- Can I use Teams without being a member of a team?
- How do I request a team?
- New Microsoft Team – Staff Only
- New Microsoft Team – Staff with Students
- Who can participate in a team?
- What is the role of a team member?
- How do I log out of Microsoft Teams?
- How many members can I have on a team?
- Which browsers does Microsoft Teams support?
- Is Microsoft Office 365 accessible?
- How many channels can I create?
- What are the different conversation types?
- What is the difference between Chat and Teams?
- How do I add someone to a private chat?
- How do I send a private chat?
- How do I make a call?
- How do I adjust my voicemail settings?
- How do I know which conversations include me?
- How do I use @mentions to get someone’s attention?
- How can I set up a meeting?
- What can I customize in Microsoft Teams?
- How can I switch the view of my teams?
- Where can I find policies that apply to Teams?
- Where can I find more information about Teams?
- How can I receive additional technical assistance?
How do I access Microsoft Teams?
Web version
Log on to HUB, and in the Launchpad widget, under Applications, click Office 365. Office 365 contains Teams, OneDrive, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and more.
Desktop version
Visit the Microsoft Teams – Downloads webpage to download Teams directly on to your desktop.
App version
Visit the Microsoft Teams – Downloads webpage to download the Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS app.
How do I navigate Microsoft Teams?
To learn more about navigating Microsoft Teams, creating channels, and having conversations, visit the Microsoft Teams Interactive Demo webpage.
Can I use Teams without being a member of a team?
You do not need to create a team in order to use the Teams workspace. You can have conversations using Chats—either one‑on‑one or with up to 100 people in a group chat.
How do I request a team?
Any employee may submit a request for the creation of a Microsoft Team. Please refer to the New Microsoft Team – Staff Only or the New Microsoft Team – Staff with Students sections below for instructions on requesting a team.
New Microsoft Team – Staff Only
Employees may submit a request for a team. Team requests require approval from a supervisor before ITS staff creates the team on your behalf. To submit a team request, please see the Microsoft Teams Request Maestro process, and in the Request Type drop‑down menu, select New Microsoft Team – Staff Only. Once you complete the necessary fields and click Start, the Maestro process will automatically notify the manager indicated on the request and you will receive an email once ITS has created your team.
To create a unique team name that identifies and differentiates your team from others within a department and throughout the College, your request must include the following information:
- Budget Code: Enter the budget code for your department.
NOTE: The budget code provides a unique identifier of the department requesting the team—ITS will NOT make any charges against this budget code. - Team Type: Choose between Department or Project Team types.
- Team Name: Your team name should accurately describe your team’s purpose.
Your team name format will appear as follows:
- Department: Dept‑My Team‑12345
- Project: Project‑My Team‑12345
New Microsoft Team – Staff with Students
An employee may submit a team request and ITS will create a team on your behalf. Please see the Microsoft Teams Request Maestro process, and in the Request Type drop‑down menu, select New Microsoft Team – Staff with Students, complete the necessary fields, and then click Start. You will receive an email once ITS has created your team.
To create a unique team name that identifies and differentiates your team from others within a department and throughout the College, your request must include the following information:
- Course Information: Your course code provides a unique identifier for your team.
- Team Name: Your team name should accurately describe your team’s purpose.
NOTE: Instructors are responsible for adding students as members. For instructions on adding a large number of students to a team, please see the How do I add a large number of members to a Team—Microsoft Teams Owner FAQ page.
Your team name format will appear as follows: Course – Course code – Full course name
Who can participate in a team?
Microsoft Teams is part of Office 365 and is available to all College employees and students. The team owner invites employees and students to participate in a team.
What is the role of a team member?
A team member is an employee or student who is granted access to a team. A team member’s role includes the following:
- Read, understand, and adhere to the applicable policies and Office 365 usage recommendations. (See the Microsoft Teams Glossary – Applicable policies and Office 365 usage recommendations webpage for more information.)
- Add content, edit information, and communicate with employees on the team in a manner that is consistent with respectful online etiquette according to the applicable policies.
How do I log out of Microsoft Teams?
Windows
Click your user profile at the top right‑hand corner of the screen, and then click Sign out. You also can right‑click the app icon on your taskbar, and then select Sign out.
Mac
Click the Microsoft Teams icon on the menu bar at the top of your screen, and then select Quit Microsoft Teams. You also can use the keyboard shortcut Cmd + Q.
NOTE: For all operating systems, once you log out of Microsoft Teams, you will need to enter your College log on credentials to log on to Teams again.
How many members can I have on a team?
Each team can have up to 5,000 members.
Which browsers does Microsoft Teams support?
Visit the Get Clients for Microsoft Teams webpage for the most up‑to‑date information about the browsers that Teams supports.
Is Microsoft Office 365 accessible?
Microsoft designed Office 365 features with built‑in accessibility to support people with different abilities. Visit the Microsoft – Office 365 Accessibility webpage for more information.
How many channels can I create?
You can create up to 200 channels for each team.
What are the different conversation types?
- Private conversations: Within Chat, they are between two employees or two students, who are not necessarily a member of any team.
- Group conversations: Within Chat, they are between three or more employees or students, who are not necessarily a member of any team.
- Team/Channel conversations: Conversations that happen with team members either in the General channel (if that is the only channel that a team has) or within other channels that the team has created.
What is the difference between Chat and Teams?
| Chat | Teams |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Limited to 100 participants | Up to 5,000 members in a team |
| Each reply will follow the last one sent. | Reply specifically to any message in a conversation. |
| A group chat has only one conversation space. | Team conversations are across multiple channels for specific topics within a team. |
| Reduced number of apps in Chat | More app options within Teams, including Wiki and Microsoft Planner |
| Every participant has the same level of access to remove and add people. | Team owners manage team settings and can add and remove members from the team. |
| Members cannont create folders within the Files tab. | Members can create folders and several layers of subfolders within the Files tab. |
| When adding a new participant to a group chat, you can keep all of the chat history, the history based on a specific number of days, or include no chat history at all. | When adding a new member to the team, all of the team chat history is included by default. |
How do I add someone to a private chat?
To add someone into a private chat, click the Add people (
) icon at the top right‑hand corner of the screen, type the person’s name into the Add field, and then press Enter.
NOTE: Once you add another member to a private chat, it becomes a group chat.
How do I send a private chat?
To send a private chat, click the New chat (
) icon next to the Command box at the top of the screen, type the names of the people you want to start a chat with into the To field, compose your message in the Type a new message field at the bottom of the screen, and then press Enter.
How do I make a call?
You can make individual or group calls from Teams. These calls are private and will not appear in any team conversation. To start a new call, click the New chat () icon next to the Command box at the top of the screen, type the names of the people you want to call into the To field, click in the Type a new message field at the bottom of the screen, and then click the Video call (
) or Audio call (
) button at the top right‑hand corner of the screen. Visit Microsoft’s Start a chat in Teams webpage for more information.
How can I adjust my voicemail settings?
To change your voicemail settings:
- Click the ellipsis more options, then Settings, and then Calls.
- Under the Voicemail heading, click Configure your Voicemail for call answer rules and out of office greeting.
- For more information about your call settings, click on Manage your call settings in Teams.
How do I know which conversations include me?
You will receive a notification when someone @mentions you or replies to a conversation that you are a part of. Click the Activity (
) icon on the left‑hand pane to review notifications when someone:
- @mentions you
- @mentions teams and channels you belong to
- Replies to conversations that you are part of
- Replies to your replies
NOTE: There will be a number next to the name of a channel whenever someone @mentions you.
How do I use @mentions to get someone’s attention?
To get someone’s attention in a chat or channel conversation, type @ before the person’s name, and then select the name from the list that appears.
The person that you @mention will receive a notification that they can click on to be directed to the precise point in the conversation where you @mentioned them.
How can I set up a meeting?
You can use Microsoft Teams (recommended) or Outlook to schedule Teams meetings with staff and students of Red River College Polytechnic and people outside of Red River College Polytechnic.
NOTE: Please review the meeting options in the Invite guests to MS Teams meetings – Changing meeting options webpage when inviting external participants.
Your Teams and Outlook calendars both connect to your Red River College Polytechnic email account. This means that when you schedule a meeting in Teams, it will appear in your Outlook calendar, and vice versa.
For more information about scheduling a meeting and changing meeting options, please see the Invite guests to MS Teams meetings webpage.
What can I customize in Microsoft Teams?
You can customize your settings such as theme, language, time zone, and date. To customize your settings, visit Microsoft’s Change settings in Microsoft Teams webpage.
How can I switch the view of my teams?
Microsoft Teams has two options to view all of your teams: the original List view and the new Grid view. Visit Microsoft’s Introducing the simplified Microsoft Teams for Education experience webpage to learn how to switch between the two views and to see a side‑by‑side comparison.
Where can I find policies that apply to Teams?
Please see the Applicable policies and Office 365 usage recommendations section of this web page, as it will provide the links.
Where can I find more information about Teams?
ITS Help Resources
Microsoft Support
LinkedIn Learning
How can I receive additional technical assistance?
If you have explored the FAQ pages and technical support links and still cannot find the answers you are looking for, please see the ITS Service Desk website to submit a Service Desk ticket.
RRC Polytech campuses are located on the lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dené, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.
We recognize and honour Treaty 3 Territory Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s clean drinking water. In addition, we acknowledge Treaty Territories which provide us with access to electricity we use in both our personal and professional lives.