Collaborate on Files in TEAMS

Training Article Provided By Microsoft Training

Collaborate on files with your Team

As your team works together you'll undoubtedly have files that you'll want to share and collaborate on. Microsoft Teams makes it easy to share files within channels. If the files are Word, Excel or PowerPoint files your colleagues can even view, edit, and collaborate on the files right in their browser and they can see each others changes in almost real time. Let's take a look at how you can use Microsoft Teams to work better together.

Your files library

Within each Microsoft Team there are one, or more, channels where more focused discussions take place. Each channel has its own file library where you can share files with that channel. To access that file library click go to the channel and click Files on the tabs above the conversation window.

NOTE: Make sure to use the Files tab at the top of the channel conversation window instead of the Files button on the left-hand navigation pane. The Files button on the navigation pane gives you access to ALL of your cloud files, rather than just the files for that specific channel.

In the library you can upload existing files or create new ones.

Upload existing files

There are two primary ways to upload existing files into your library. Both methods start by going to the files library for your team and both methods, by default, upload copies of your files to the channel file library.

• Drag and drop - Using your mouse, drag the file from where it's currently located and drop it on the Teams window among the files. You can also easily upload multiple files using this technique.

• Upload - If you click the Upload button, a File Explorer dialog box will open, allowing you to select the file (or files) you'd like to upload. Select those files and click Open.

Any files you upload will be accessible by any member of your Team.

Create new files

To quickly create a new Word, PowerPoint or Excel document in your files library click the New button and then select the kind of file you'd like to create. Give your new file a name and click create. The new file will open in Office Online so you can begin editing it, and if you'd prefer to work in the desktop version of the app you'll find an Edit in... button on the ribbon that will open the file there for you.

As soon as it's created your new file will be available for your team members to edit as well.

Collaborate on the files

Files stored in your team's document library are accessible to every member of the Team. In Office Online, Office for Android or iOS, or the latest versions of Office 2016, you and your Team members can collaboratively co-edit the files. No need to check files out or worry about if one of your colleagues has the document open. Just open the file you need to edit and if other Team members are editing it too your changes will be seamlessly merged as you work.

Share with people outside your team

There may be an occasion when you'll want to share your file with somebody outside your team. If the file is a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file the easiest way to do that is to open the file with the appropriate Office app and click Share towards the top right corner of the window. That will open the Share dialog box where you can enter the aliases or email addresses of people you want to share with.

Note: If you want to share with people outside your organization you may have to click the permissions drop-down (right above where you add the people you want to share with) and select that Specific Peoplecan access the file.

Once you've shared the file, those users can edit the file in real time (unless you unchecked Allow editingin the Link Settings dialog) just like the other members of your Team can.