Microsoft Teams is a chat and video chat platform designed to simplify group work, to put in contact those who work in different offices in large and small companies, which allows you to create a remote work organization with tools such as chat and sharing of documents . Being from Microsoft Teams it integrates perfectly with other products of the Office suite, with Outlook, as well as with cloud tools such as Onedrive, SharePoint, Skype and OneNote.
Free access to Microsoft Teams can be done with a Microsoft account (not with an Office 365 account) and allows you to use the platform in an unlimited way with up to 300 contacts in a chat, for audio and video calls, to have a space online shared with other members of the organization of 10 GB, plus a space of 2 GB for each added account. Microsoft Teams also integrates with all Office Online apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote and also with other non-Microsoft business apps.
Keep in mind that the free version of Microsoft Teams is available only to those who don't have a paid Office 365 commercial subscription. Office 365 subscribers who try to join Team are redirected to an Office account.
It is also possible to start with Microsoft Teams starting from this page where you can also compare the free plan with the paid plan and where you can access an already existing organization.
Once logged in you can download the app for Windows or immediately start the online version of Microsoft Teams, which opens directly on the web browser. Microsoft Teams also has apps for Android and iPhone .
The Teams web app is fine for most basic functionality, but to take full advantage of the service, you should install the desktop app. Both the Windows 7+ (which includes Windows 10) and Mac versions allow you to use features such as virtual meetings, screen sharing and the whiteboard.
Whether you use the web app, or with the installed program (where you will need to log in again with your Microsoft account), you can proceed with the registration of a new organization giving it a name.
Groups of people (teams) can be added to the organization, inviting them to participate by entering their email addresses. These email addresses do not have to be Microsoft email addresses, but guests will still be asked to create a Microsoft account. The people invited will receive the invitation by e-mail and can join the team created by clicking on the attached link. In Microsoft Teams, invited people will be able to choose a display name and add a photo. At this point, you can start using all the features included in the free version of Teams.
The chat
The first function that will be used in a new organization created with Microsoft Teams is definitely the organization's chat, in the Team section. You can interact with all the members of your organization and you can send a message to individual members using the @ symbol followed by the name. You can write formatted texts and also add images, emojis and anything else. Anyone on the team can then reply to your message and start the conversation.
Private chat
Instead of talking to the whole team, you can start a private chat with one person or with a group. To do this, you can press on the Chat section on the left toolbar. When starting a new chat, write the name of the person or people you want to talk to in the To field at the top of the screen. Chats are saved on the left side of the screen for quick access.
Sharing files
You can share files with all team members by clicking on the paperclip icon and selecting the file from the Microsoft Teams website, OneDrive or from your computer. If you share a Microsoft Office file (Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation or OneNote notebook), everyone on the team can view it in the Teams interface and even edit it.
Live virtual meeting
Teams has an integrated tool for group audio and video conferences . To use this feature, you must use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or run the Windows Teams app. On the Teams page, press the Immediate Meeting button located below the writing field below. The first time you are asked to allow Microsoft Teams to use the microphone and video camera. Before you start the meeting, you can edit some details such as the subject of the meeting. The meeting can be either video-conference or audio-only.
In the meeting window, you can press on the names of the people to invite. On the virtual meeting screen, options are available to control video and audio streaming, broadcast to another screen, change other settings, and end the call.
Other applications to be integrated
By pressing on the App button, at the bottom left, you can add other apps and services to expand the functionality of Team. Already integrated there are Bing News, Youtube, Weather, Wikipedia, Actions and Maps. You can then add applications such as Zoom, Trello, Cisco Webex Meetings, Mindomo, Evernote, SurveyMonkey, Github, RSS Feed from any site and many others. To access the apps you can go to the Team section and press the button with three dots at the bottom, under the writing bar.
Finally, while inside the application there are videos to use Teams, there is also a complete guide in Italian to know everything about how to use Microsoft Teams.
READ ALSO: Apps and tools for group work, chat, communication and project sharing
Free access to Microsoft Teams can be done with a Microsoft account (not with an Office 365 account) and allows you to use the platform in an unlimited way with up to 300 contacts in a chat, for audio and video calls, to have a space online shared with other members of the organization of 10 GB, plus a space of 2 GB for each added account. Microsoft Teams also integrates with all Office Online apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote and also with other non-Microsoft business apps.
Keep in mind that the free version of Microsoft Teams is available only to those who don't have a paid Office 365 commercial subscription. Office 365 subscribers who try to join Team are redirected to an Office account.
How to create an organization in Microsoft Teams
To start a new organization on Microsoft Teams, you just have to open the teams.microsoft.com site and log in with the normal Microsoft account which is also used for Onedrive, Skype, Windows 10 or Outlook.com. If you don't have a Microsoft account, you can easily create it by following the wizard.It is also possible to start with Microsoft Teams starting from this page where you can also compare the free plan with the paid plan and where you can access an already existing organization.
Once logged in you can download the app for Windows or immediately start the online version of Microsoft Teams, which opens directly on the web browser. Microsoft Teams also has apps for Android and iPhone .
The Teams web app is fine for most basic functionality, but to take full advantage of the service, you should install the desktop app. Both the Windows 7+ (which includes Windows 10) and Mac versions allow you to use features such as virtual meetings, screen sharing and the whiteboard.
Whether you use the web app, or with the installed program (where you will need to log in again with your Microsoft account), you can proceed with the registration of a new organization giving it a name.
Groups of people (teams) can be added to the organization, inviting them to participate by entering their email addresses. These email addresses do not have to be Microsoft email addresses, but guests will still be asked to create a Microsoft account. The people invited will receive the invitation by e-mail and can join the team created by clicking on the attached link. In Microsoft Teams, invited people will be able to choose a display name and add a photo. At this point, you can start using all the features included in the free version of Teams.
Functions of Microsoft Teams
The chat
The first function that will be used in a new organization created with Microsoft Teams is definitely the organization's chat, in the Team section. You can interact with all the members of your organization and you can send a message to individual members using the @ symbol followed by the name. You can write formatted texts and also add images, emojis and anything else. Anyone on the team can then reply to your message and start the conversation.
Private chat
Instead of talking to the whole team, you can start a private chat with one person or with a group. To do this, you can press on the Chat section on the left toolbar. When starting a new chat, write the name of the person or people you want to talk to in the To field at the top of the screen. Chats are saved on the left side of the screen for quick access.
Sharing files
You can share files with all team members by clicking on the paperclip icon and selecting the file from the Microsoft Teams website, OneDrive or from your computer. If you share a Microsoft Office file (Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation or OneNote notebook), everyone on the team can view it in the Teams interface and even edit it.
Live virtual meeting
Teams has an integrated tool for group audio and video conferences . To use this feature, you must use Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or run the Windows Teams app. On the Teams page, press the Immediate Meeting button located below the writing field below. The first time you are asked to allow Microsoft Teams to use the microphone and video camera. Before you start the meeting, you can edit some details such as the subject of the meeting. The meeting can be either video-conference or audio-only.
In the meeting window, you can press on the names of the people to invite. On the virtual meeting screen, options are available to control video and audio streaming, broadcast to another screen, change other settings, and end the call.
Other applications to be integrated
By pressing on the App button, at the bottom left, you can add other apps and services to expand the functionality of Team. Already integrated there are Bing News, Youtube, Weather, Wikipedia, Actions and Maps. You can then add applications such as Zoom, Trello, Cisco Webex Meetings, Mindomo, Evernote, SurveyMonkey, Github, RSS Feed from any site and many others. To access the apps you can go to the Team section and press the button with three dots at the bottom, under the writing bar.
Finally, while inside the application there are videos to use Teams, there is also a complete guide in Italian to know everything about how to use Microsoft Teams.
READ ALSO: Apps and tools for group work, chat, communication and project sharing
