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MS Teams Cheat-Sheet

Responsible Use of IT Platforms

Please review and adhere to the IT Acceptable Usage Policy which applies to all IT networks and platforms including Teams, whether working in the office or remotely.

Getting Started with Teams

Information Sessions: Remote collaboration with Microsoft Teams

Click here to watch a recording of our recent online webinar.

Printable Guide

How can I access MS Teams?

Note: Do not run Teams through virtual platforms such as Citrix as it affects functionality, e.g. microphones do not work.

Instead, access it in one of these ways:

Through the web Desktop App Mobile App

Access Microsoft Teams here https://teams.microsoft.com 

Login with your UCC credentials 

*Web app does not currently work in Safari

PC: Click Start>Microsoft Teams

Mac: go to Applications folder and click Microsoft Teams

If Teams is not installed, download the app from  https://teams.microsoft.com/downloads 

The Microsoft Teams App is available to download:

How do I Chat with Colleagues?

Chat with a person or group Chat with the whole team
  • Click the Chat icon in the left-hand menu and select New Chat 
  • Type the name of the person or group in the To field
  • Write your message, and click Send
  • Click the Chat icon in the left-hand menu and select New Chat 
  • Type the name of the person or group in the To field
  • Write your message, and click Send

 

Note: Keep in mind the Acceptable Usage Policy for all IT networks and systems.

How to make video and audio calls

Video & Audio Calling with 1 -25 people Calls with 25 -250 participants Over 250 participants or a Live Event/Webinar
  • Click the Calls Icon on the left-hand menu
  • Under the Make a call section enter the names of the user(s) you wish to call
  • Click the Calendar Icon in the left-hand menu and select New Meeting
  • Enter the title of the meeting, the start and end time, and the meeting details
  • Add the people you wish to invite in the Invite People field
  • Click Schedule to share the meeting with your invitees
  • Go to this page for Webinar instructions
  • Go to this page for Live Event instructions

Requirements for Audio or Video Calls

  • A speaker and microphone on your computer (optimally, a headset for best audio quality)
  • A webcam, or the built-in camera on your laptop/phone (We recommend Logitech C920 or equivalent if you need to purchase one)

Share Files with your Team

  1. Click Attach (paperclip icon) under the box where you type messages
  2. Browse to the file location and select the file you wish to share
    • Depending on the file location, you’ll get options for Upload a copy or Share a link

Working with External Users

Collaboration Communication
  • You can add external users to a Team as Guests.
  • Click Manage Team > Add members 
  • Enter their email address and click Add
  • Set up a Scheduled meeting
  • Enter their email address in the attendee field
    • The user will receive an email invite with a link
    • The user can join by simply clicking the link.

Guide to Joining a Call as an External User (With or Without an Office365 Account)

If your external users are unfamiliar with Teams, and/or don't have an Office365 account, they can still join a call in just a few easy steps.

Our handy guide will show you how to Join A Teams Call as an External User, with screenshots.

The guide would also be useful if you are a UCC staff member who has been invited to join a call, but is not very familiar with using Teams.

Breakout Room Basics

Breakout rooms allow meeting organizers to split main meetings into smaller sessions for focused discussions. An overview of how to use this feature can be found below.

Manual

Google Calendar Teams Add-On

Schedule and join Microsoft Teams meetings directly from your Google calendar.

Please see here for further instructions:  Teams Add-On

Raise Hand

Raise your Hand

Participants can use the virtual Raise Hand during a meeting to indicate that they wish to speak. This is useful for large meetings.

Simultaneous videos in Teams meetings

Simultaneous videos in Teams meetings

Teams meetings allow for up to 9 participants to be visible on the Teams meeting stage. For meetings with a minimum of 10 participants, a 7x7 video support is available with the desktop app (see 49 people at once).

End the meeting for all participants

End the meeting for all participants

The meeting organiser can End meeting for all participants. All participants will exit the meeting when the organiser selects this button. This could be useful in a lecture or tutorial where an instructor wishes to ensure the meeting ends when teaching has completed.

Attendance Report

Attendance Report

If you organised a meeting, you can save a record of who has attended with Attendance reports for meetings. This report can be downloaded during and after the meeting.

Change your background

Change your background

If you want to change what appears behind you in a video conference, you can either blur your background or replace it entirely.  You can find instructions here

If you don't see Show background effects as an option in the menu, the feature might not be available on your device yet.

  • Before you join a call or meeting, you will see an option to toggle Background effects, along with  audio and video,

  • You will now see a panel open up on the right side showing different backgrounds including the option to blur backgrounds

  • If you want to use custom images, click on Add new on the top of the panel and navigate to the image

  • Once you have selected and added the image, scroll down to the bottom of the panel and you will see the image you just uploaded

  • Click on the image and it will be set as the background

  • You can find some UCC backgrounds to download and use here

  • To do this during a meeting, in the meeting controls bar click the More actions button and then select Show background effects.

  • If you do not see the option for Background effects, it is due to the fact that you device does not support this feature.

New Teams Features 2021

These new features are now available in Microsoft Teams:
 
Finding Meeting Recording

You can now find meeting recordings in Microsoft Search based on the meeting transcript. This feature is available to all users by default and makes it easier to find videos in Microsoft 365. You can access this feature through the search bar in Teams you use to find other file types.

Lock a meeting from additional joins 

Organizers can now choose to lock their meetings to prevent subsequent join attempts. Anyone attempting to join a locked meeting from any device is informed with a message that they are not able to join as the meeting is locked. This helps avoid distractions from late joiners during the meeting. You can find this feature under More actions in the Participant pane and is currently available in the Desktop app only. 

Teams Meetings Auto Recording 

Meeting organizers are now able to set a single meeting occurrence or series to auto-record by enabling the “Record automatically” setting from Meeting Options. The meeting automatically starts recording once the first participant from the same organization joins the meeting. The recording is saved to the initiator’s OneDrive (privately scheduled meetings) or SharePoint (channel meetings).To avoid the recording being initiated by a student we recommend the use of a lobby.

Music Mode for Teams

Provides the ability to transmit high fidelity music. To benefit from this, professional microphones and headphones or high-quality external loudspeakers are the best choice (no Bluetooth headsets). Built-in microphones and speakers on laptops will also deliver a good sound experience. This feature is expected to become fully available by late September.

Teams Analytics

Team analytics are now available to Team owners. This allows for the tracking of user engagement and message activity over the past 7, 30, or 90 days within a Team. You can also track channel meetings with this feature.

New Meeting Recording Retention Policy

 Teams Meeting recordings will now be automatically deleted after 395 days*

What is changing?

Will it affect existing recordings?

  • New meeting recordings will automatically expire 395 days after they are recorded if no action is taken
  • This will only affect new recordings made since April 2022
  • Users can modify the expiration date for any recordings on which they have edit/delete permissions, using the files details pane in OneDrive or SharePoint.
  • It will not apply to existing recordings

 

Where are my meeting recordings saved? 

  • When you record a scheduled Teams meeting, the recording is saved in your Recordings folder in OneDrive. You will have edit/delete access to the recording and can assign permissions to other users. 
  • If you record a Teams channel meeting, the recording will be saved in the SharePoint site associated with the Team. The Team Owners will have edit/delete access to the recording. 

Can I amend the expiration date? 

There are two ways to edit the date:

  1. From the meeting chat, click on the recording to open it in your browser. Once the browser page has opened, select in the upper right to open the details pane.

  2. Or, go to the Recordings folder in your OneDrive or SharePoint site and view as a list. Mouse over the recording in question, select Show actions (the three vertical dots to the right of the file name), and then choose Details.

  3. In the details tab, click the Calendar Icon to edit the Expiration date

 How to edit a recording expiry date

 

What happens when a recording is deleted?

  • When a recording is deleted due to the expiration setting, the meeting recording owner will be informed via email
  • ​​​​Any user with edit/delete permissions on the recording will be able to retrieve the file from the recycle bin for up to 90 days.

UCC light sponsored account holders

  • Sponsored Accounts are available to departments for Non-Core staff that have a valid requirement to access UCC online services. Such staff may be full time, occasional, part-time or non-UCC.
  • Sponsored UCC account holders who have been assigned a UCC light license will still have a 30-day retention policy

Need further assistance?

IT Services Department

Seirbhísí TF

Room 3.34, 3rd floor, T12 YN60

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