Messaging

<span id="topic-1" style="padding-top:40px;">Chat</span>

Chats are great for communicating with individuals or smaller groups. By default, your chats are arranged along the left side of the chat panel, with the most recent messages at the top. 

Tip: You can right-click on any chat and select "Pin," which will keep it at the top of your list for quick access.

You start one-on-one and group chats the same way: 

1. 1. Selecting the New chat icon at the top of your chat list. 
2. 2. Select the To field and add the name of the recipient(s).
3. 3. Select the text area and compose your message. 
4. 4. If you’d like, you can format your message by selecting the Format icon. 
5. 5. You can also send messages that include files, links, emojis, stickers, and GIFs.
6. 6. Once your chat is composed, select the Send icon.

<span id="topic-2" style="padding-top:40px;">Teams and Channels</span>

A team is a group of people gathered to get something big done in your organization. Sometimes it’s your whole organization.

Teams are made up of channels, which are the conversations you have with your teammates. Each channel is dedicated to a specific topic, department, or project.

Create a team from scratch

When your team is created, you'll get a corresponding Microsoft 365 group, which includes a group inbox and calendar in Outlook, a SharePoint site, and OneNote.

1. 1. Select the Teams tab from the left menu.
2. 2. Select Create team.
3. 3. Choose From scratch.
4. 4. Choose whether you want a Private or Public team.
5.        ○ To limit content and conversation to a specific set of people, choose Private.
6.        ○ For a community or topic that anyone in the org can join, choose Public.
7. 5. Enter a name for your team and add an optional description.
8. 6. When finished, select Create.

<span id="topic-3" style="padding-top:40px;">Compose a message</span>

Whether you're in a meeting, channel, or a one-on-one chat, your messaging box looks the same. Use these tools to compose your messages:

• • Format your messages, add bullet points, charts or hyperlinks.
• • Mark as important to call attention to specific messages.
• • Attach files to share with your teammates.
• • Include gifs, emojis, stickers to bring lightness to your conversations. 

Tip: Going into format mode prevents your message from sending when you hit Enter, so it's a great way to draft and preview messages before sending them. 

<span id="topic-4" style="padding-top:40px;">Respond to a message</span>

• • Tag a teammate in a message by typing the @ symbol followed by their name. They receive a special notification calling for their attention.
• • React to individual messages or quote them in a response.

Tip: Want to revisit an important message later? Hover on the message, select the three dots icon, then choose Save this message. Saved messages are found under your profile picture drop-down menu.