Below we show you how to use Microsoft Teams, the popular online office tool from Microsoft for virtual meetings, whether through online classes or business settings. And this service included in Microsoft 365 offers numerous solutions for any type of online activity in a group, whether at a professional or business or educational level, with the option of carrying out and attending virtual classes electronically, all of them ideal in times of social distance confinement. Therefore, below we show you how to use Microsoft Teams, its main tools and its best tricks.
How to use Microsoft Teams for your virtual classes and meetings
Index of contents
- Top Microsoft Teams options
- How to search for a user and open a chat
- How to create a chat with multiple users
- How to share screen
- How to set up camera and headphones on a call
- How to create a meeting
- How to add and remove team members
- How to send messages using tags
- How to mark starred messages as unread
- How to switch to rich text
- How to activate do not disturb mode
- Top keyboard shortcuts
Top Microsoft Teams options
Microsoft Teams offers different online communication tools that allow groups of people to carry out activities together electronically. Some of the main features that Microsoft Teams includes are:
- Calls
- Remote control via call
- Video calls
- Share files
- Multi-user chats
Thus, the main menu of Microsoft Teams is located in a column located to the left of the screen and includes the following sections:
- Activity | Thanks to this option you can see the comments and responses made by team members or missed calls between users.
- Chat | Shows conversations between members of the same group, as well as calls made.
- Equipment | Direct access to our conversations with other group members.
- Meetings | Option to create virtual meetings with other group members, even with other users who do not have Microsoft Teams.
- Files | Direct access to recently shared files.
- Further | Access to install external applications from the Microsoft store.
How to search for a user and open a chat
At the top of Microsoft Teams we will find the main search bar; You just have to write the name of the user with whom you want to start a chat so that it appears in the section Contacts.
In all chats we can perform four basic actions, which are:
- Video call
- Audio call
- Share screen
- Add participants
How to create a chat with multiple users
If you want to open a chat with several users, you just have to click on the option to create new chat at the top left of the screen, to choose the option create chat with multiple users, add a name for the new group chat and finally add the participants from the Microsoft Teams contact list.
How to share screen
One of the most useful tools in Microsoft Teams is the ability to share screen, either without a call or through a video call. To do this, you just need to press the option Share screen in a chat and choose the screen you want to share:
- Desk
- Window
The other user will receive a notification to view the screen; you just have to click on Accept screen sharing.
It is also possible to share screen in a call and give control of the session to the other user, a very useful tool to solve problems electronically; However, we only recommend using this tool with trusted users. To do this, we just have to share a desktop with the other user through the option Give up control. At any time we can remove control from the other user or stop the presentation.
How to set up camera and headphones on a call
Once a call or video call has been made, we can configure both the camera and headphones or speakers; To do this we just have to click on the gear wheel icon in the call menu to open a window with the following options:
- Audio devices | Choose the device you use for audio.
- Speaker | Choose the speakers or headphones through which you want to listen to the audio.
- Microphone | Choose the microphone to be the one from the headphones.
- Camera | Choose the camera you will use in the video call.
How to create a meeting
If you want to create a meeting in Microsoft Teams, you just have to click on the icon Meetings from the column on the left of the screen and click on the option Schedule a meeting; Now you can configure the following sections:
- Qualification | Add the title or topic of the meeting.
- Start | Choose the day and time for the start and end of the meeting.
- Time zone | Add the time zone in which the meeting will take place.
- Details | Add comments (optional).
- Select a channel to meet | Add a Team to organize the meeting.
- Invite people | Add the email to add participants.
- Organizer | User who creates and organizes the meeting.
- Assistants | Users who have agreed to attend the meeting.
Invited users will receive an email with the meeting details; To access it you just need to click on Join Microsoft Teams Meeting.
How to add and remove team members
On many occasions it is necessary to restructure the members of a Microsoft Teams group or team, either because some leave the project or because others join. In any case, you just need to click on the ellipsis icon to open the menu and select Manage teams. This will open a window with all the users; To remove members just click on the x on the right side of each name and to add just use the option Add member to add new users.
How to send messages using tags
In groups of many users it can be chaos to communicate with someone and, in turn, the rest of the participants are aware of the messages. For better organization there are messages with labels or tags; The administrator of a group can assign labels to different members to send direct messages and ensure that they read them while the rest of the users also have them within their reach.
How to mark starred messages as unread
Among hundreds of messages, it is possible that we cannot attend to a message at a certain time, but we are afraid of losing it among so many messages. Luckily we can bookmark them to read later; To do this, scroll over the top of the message to access the options and select Ellipses – Mark as unread.
How to switch to rich text
It is also possible to highlight a message that you consider important through rich text; To do this, in the message window, click on the letter A icon with a brush just below to activate rich text mode. Thanks to this format, it is possible to change the color and size of the font, bold or italicize, numbered lists and much more, as if it were a basic word processor.
How to activate do not disturb mode
In writing I dnd in the Teams search bar, all alerts, pop-ups, and notifications will stop, the perfect time to take a break and avoid being bothered by anyone for a while. To be available again you only need to write I available.
Top keyboard shortcuts
When typing the command I keys In the Teams search bar you will see all the available keyboard shortcuts:
General
- Go to Search | Ctrl+E
- See commands | Ctrl+Slash (/)
- Go to | Ctrl+G
- Start a new chat| Ctrl+N
- Open Settings | Ctrl+comma (,)
- Open Help | F1
- Close | Esc
- Zoom in| Ctrl+equals sign (=)
- Zoom out | Ctrl+minus sign (-)
Navigation
- Open Activity | Ctrl+1
- Open Chat | Ctrl+2
- Open Teams | Ctrl+3
- Open Calendar | Ctrl+4
- Open Calls | Ctrl+5
- Open Files | Ctrl+6
- Go to the previous item in a list | Left Alt+Up Arrow
- Go to the next item in a list | Left Alt+Down Arrow
- Move selected equipment up | Ctrl+Shift+up arrow
- Move selected equipment down | Ctrl+Shift+Down Arrow
- Go to previous section | Ctrl+Shift+F6
- Go to next section | Ctrl+F6
Meetings and calls
- Accept video call | Ctrl+Shift+A
- Accept audio call | Ctrl+Shift+S
- Reject call | Ctrl+Shift+D
- Start audio call | Ctrl+Shift+C
- Start video call | Ctrl+Shift+U
- Turn audio on or off | Ctrl+Shift+M
- Turn video on or off | Ctrl+Shift+O
- Filter current list | Ctrl+Shift+F
- Go to sharing toolbar | Ctrl+Shift+space bar
