Explore the Updates in Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a hub for teamwork in Microsoft 365, integrating people, content, and tools for a more engaged and effective collaborative environment. Staying updated with the latest features in Microsoft Teams can significantly enhance your productivity and collaboration experience. In this blog, we’ll explore the newest updates and features in Microsoft Teams, showcasing how they can benefit your workflow.
June 5, 2024

Presenter toolbar improvements 

– When you’re presenting in Teams, you can now select and drag the new drag bar on the presenter toolbar to move it anywhere on your screen.

– Provide a better video sharing experience in a meeting by selecting Optimize in the presenter toolbar, a new setting that will help your content run more smoothly.

Keep your status the same while presenting 

Keep your status from automatically switching to Do not disturb while presenting. In Teams, select Settings and more  > Privacy  and unselect the Set my status to do not disturb when I’m sharing my screen box.

Mute from the Windows taskbar 

If you use Teams on a Windows device, you can now mute and unmute your Teams audio by selecting the mic icon on your taskbar.

 

May 29, 2024

Meet instantly in a group chat 

Meet spontaneously with members of a group chat, without scheduling a meeting or ringing and disrupting others. Open a group chat and select Meet now at the top of the window. Members of the group chat will see that you’ve started an instant meeting and can join in from the chat. To learn more, see Start an instant meeting in Microsoft Teams.

 

May 15, 2024

Intelligent meeting recap for scheduled channel meetings 

Intelligent meeting recap is now available after scheduled channel meetings. Browse meeting recordings by speakers and topics, access AI-generated meeting notes, and much more.  Intelligent recap features are available with Teams Premium or a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license. To learn more, see Meeting recap in Microsoft Teams.

Do more from the compose box 

Type a command into the compose box to change your Teams status, open settings, and more. First, type / into the compose box. Then, select or type a command from the Commands menu and press Enter or Tab on your keyboard. To learn more, see Use commands in Microsoft Teams.

 

May 8, 2024

Optimize videos when you’re screensharing 

Deliver higher quality video experiences while screensharing with video optimization. To optimize screensharing for video, bring your cursor to the top of the screen you’re sharing and select Optimize from the presenter menu. To learn more, see Share content in Microsoft Teams meetings.

Stay aware of your meeting while you present

The improved presenter window helps you keep track of participant activity while you’re sharing your screen or content during a meeting. In the presenter window, you can now see up to four participant videos, meeting notifications, and the content you’re sharing.

 

April 25, 2024

All your Teams accounts, all in one place 

Sign into multiple work, school, or personal Teams accounts and swiftly navigate between them within the same Teams app. To learn more, see Manage accounts and organizations in Microsoft Teams.

– Add a new account in your Account manager in Teams by selecting your profile picture and selecting Add another account. Then, from your Account manager, choose a different account to switch between accounts.

– Join a meeting from a different account by selecting Change at the top of the meeting pre-join screen and choosing the account you want to join from.

Meeting recap has entered the chat

Now you can find meeting recap details in the meeting chat after a meeting ends. Conveniently review the meeting’s transcript, assigned tasks, shared files, and more. Select View recap to access the rest of the recap. To learn more, see Meeting recap in Microsoft Teams.

View message translations in Teams chat

When someone sends you a message in a different language, Teams will suggest a translation to help you understand better. Change your translation language and other translation settings in Teams by going to Settings and more > Settings > Appearance and accessibility > Translation. To learn more, see Translate a message in Microsoft Teams.

More meeting context before you join 

The newly designed meeting pre-join screen shows more details about internal meetings, including the meeting title, scheduled start and end times, and how many participants are already in the meeting. To learn more, see Join a meeting in Microsoft Teams.

 

April 19, 2024

Shared call history for delegates and delegators 

Microsoft Teams is continuing to improve shared line appearance capabilities, providing a more tailored experience for delegates and delegators. Shared line users will now be able to see shared call history records for the calls made or received on the delegation line. To learn more, see Share a phone line with a delegate in Microsoft Teams.

 

April 1, 2024

Keep up with Calendar updates from your activity feed 

Calendar notifications are now available in your Teams activity feed. Get notified of new invites, updates and cancellations, or if someone forwards a meeting you’ve organized. To customize these notifications in Teams, go to Settings  > Notifications and activity > Calendar.

 

March 15, 2024

Make your best plans yet with Microsoft Planner

Stay on track and find all your tasks, lists, and projects in one place with Microsoft Planner.

Navigate the My Day, My Tasks, and My Plans sections to organize your daily to-do’s, find specific tasks, and view your plans and projects. You can also pin plans you want quick access to, explore enhanced planning features with Teams Premium and Copilot, and more.

To use Planner, go to View more apps  on the left side of Teams and select Planner.

 

February 5, 2024

Explore the latest in your Discover feed 

Catch up on relevant topics, people you work with, and channels you’ve joined in the new Discover feed in Microsoft Teams. Get updated on your organization as a whole, or just what’s happening on your team. To check out the Discover feed, open Teams and select Teams  > Discover  .

 

January 17, 2024

Meet with a new and improved gallery view in Teams

The new gallery view shows everyone in your meeting window equally, whether participants have their cameras on or off. You can change how many participants you see at a time, and move or hide your video from your view. You can also prioritize videos to focus more on participants with their cameras on. To learn more, see Using video in Microsoft Teams.

 

January 12, 2024

An easier way to make channels

80% of teams have only one active channel, which can decrease engagement. To improve this, Microsoft Teams is simplifying channel creation within teams, making it quicker and easier to manage. In Teams, select Teams  > Join or create a team  > Create channel  . To learn more, see Create a team from an existing group in Microsoft Teams.

New, simplified team creation

Now, you can quickly create a public or private team from scratch or a template. It’s also easier to apply sensitivity labels to your teams, so you can better protect your data. In Teams, select Teams  > Join or create a team  > Create team  . To learn more, see Create a team from an existing group in Microsoft Teams.

See more people at once with large gallery view

No need to toggle between different layouts. Now, you can see more people during meetings on Teams for web, which can display up to nine videos at once in large gallery mode.

 

December 18, 2023

Decorate your background with AI

Turn your camera on in a Teams meeting and decorate your real-life background with AI elements in Teams Premium. Choose from several different themes, like Celebration or Clean up, to apply them to your background. To learn more, see Decorate your background in Teams meetings.

 

December 8, 2023

Express yourself in Teams chat

Easily find the perfect emoji, GIF, or sticker to send in a Teams message with the newly designed compose box. In the compose box, select Emoji, GIFs, and Stickers  to choose from your most recently used expressions, or search for something different in the search bar. To learn more, see Send an emoji, GIF, or sticker in Microsoft Teams.

Find your files in OneDrive for Teams

In the new Teams, OneDrive is replacing Files, the app where all your Teams files are stored. View shared, personal, and channel files easily by selecting OneDrive on the left side of the new Teams. To learn more, see Explore the Files list in Microsoft Teams.

 

November 27, 2023

Forward chat messages

Share chat messages in the new Teams by simply hovering over the message, selecting More options … > Forward,and entering the recipients. Add an optional message to give more context. To learn more, see Forward a message in a Teams chat.

 

November 16, 2023

Keep your channel in the Loop

Use Loop components when you post in any private, public, or shared channels to make collaboration even easier. When you post with a Loop component, all channel members can see and contribute to it. To learn more, see Send a loop component in a channel.

 

November 10, 2023

New Teams now available for web

Switch to the new Teams on web for a faster, simpler, and better experience. To try it out, go to Teams for web using Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.

Cut through the noise with channel announcements

Call attention to your channel post by turning it into an announcement. When you create a new channel post, select Announcement. Then add a headline and color scheme to make your message stand out. To learn more, see Send an announcement to a channel in Microsoft Teams.

 

October 18, 2023

Search directly in chats and channels

Find what you’re looking for in a specific chat or channel with the new in-chat and in-channel search experience. Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + F (Windows) or Cmd + F (Mac) to open the dedicated search pane. To learn more, see Search for messages and more in Microsoft Teams.

 

October 10, 2023

A whole new virtual world

Dive into Teams immersive spaces and explore new virtual environments where you can meet and connect like never before. Join immersive spaces as an avatar by joining a meeting in Teams and selecting View > Immersive space from the meeting menu. There, you’ll be able to customize your avatar, adjust your audio settings, and join. To learn more, see Get started with immersive spaces in Microsoft Teams.

New Teams support for VDI, GCC, and GCCH users

Experience design improvements, enhanced performance, and more in the new Teams, now available for VDI, GCC, and GCCH users. To start using the new Teams, turn on the Try the new Teams toggle on the top of your Teams window.

 

September 29, 2023

See it all on Edge

Now when you open web links from your Teams chat, they’ll automatically open in your Edge browser. A chat pane will appear in the Edge sidebar, so you can see the link and context side-by-side. To learn more, see Web links from Outlook emails and Teams chats open in Microsoft Edge.

 

September 6, 2023

Try the new Teams in Mac OS 

Experience new features and performance improvements in the new Teams, now available on Mac OS devices.

Translate live transcripts for more inclusive meetings

Break down language barriers and view your meeting’s transcript in a different language in Teams Premium. First, start transcribing your meeting. Then, in the transcript window, select Transcript settings  > Transcript language and choose the language you want the transcript translated to. To learn more, see View live transcription in Microsoft Teams meetings.

 

August 30, 2023

Scoped search in Viva Connections

Find search results within Viva Connections by searching in the search box while using Viva Connections. Select the first search suggestion to find results within Viva Connections or choose the second suggestion to search the rest of Teams. To learn more, see Access and use the Viva Connections app in Microsoft Teams.

 

July 31, 2023

More delegate capabilities in Teams calls 

If you’ve chosen a delegate to answer your Teams calls, you can now allow them to switch phone lines, join active calls, and view other delegates’ call history. To change delegate settings, go to Settings and more … at the top of Teams, select Settings> General, and then select Manage delegates in the Delegates section. To learn more, see Share a phone line with delegates in Microsoft Teams.

 

June 30, 2023

Animated backgrounds in Teams meetings

Settle into immersive virtual scenes and landscapes during your Teams meeting with animated backgrounds. To apply an animated background before your meeting, select Effects and Avatars > Video effects from your pre-join screen and choose from the thumbnails under Backgrounds. To apply one during your meeting, select More actions … > Effects and Avatars.

June 15, 2023

Organize together with collaborative meeting notes

Plan agendas, take notes, and assign action items together in Teams meetings with collaborative meeting notes. When you join a Teams meeting, select Notes from the meeting menu and edit or add notes in the Meeting notes pane. To learn more, see Take meeting notes in Teams.

Meet easily with Teams certified devices 

Join calls quickly and bring meetings to the forefront with new enhancements to Teams certified devices. When you get a Meeting start notification, press the Teams button on your device once to bring up the pre-join screen and again to join. If your device has a dedicated Teams button, press it during a meeting to bring the meeting window to the front of your screen. To learn more, see Use certified Teams devices to manage calls and meetings.

Live reactions in Teams meetings on VDI 

Express how you feel during a Teams meeting with live reactions, now supported on VDI. Select React in the meeting menu to choose a reaction. The reaction will appear for a few seconds at the bottom of the screen for others to see. To learn more, see Express yourself in Teams meetings with live reactions.

 

May 31, 2023

Review smarter, not harder, with Intelligent Meeting Recap 

Get AI-powered insights from past meetings with intelligent meeting recap, available with Teams Premium. Look through AI-generated notes, meeting speakers, and more. Just open a meeting from your Teams calendar and select the Recap tab, or select the recording or transcript thumbnail in the meeting chat. To learn more, see Meeting recap in Microsoft Teams.

Stay connected with a new channels experience

Keep up with the latest in your channel with the new channels experience. Create and view new posts at the top of your page and switch to conversation view for more focused discussions. Pin important posts and see important channel details, like members and notifications, right in the new streamlined info pane. To learn more, see Get to know the new channels experience in Teams.

Switch it up with participant shuffle in breakout rooms 

Randomly assign participants to breakout rooms before and during a meeting. Shuffle everyone or just people who aren’t assigned to a room yet. After you create breakout rooms, select Assign participants. Then, select Shuffle and choose who to randomly assign. To learn more, see Use breakout rooms in Teams meetings.

Change how you see captions in Teams meetings

Customize font size, color, positioning, and how many lines are displayed in captions during Teams meetings. To edit caption settings during your meeting, go to More actions … > Language and speech > Turn on live captions. Then, select Settings > Captions settings. To learn more, see Use live captions in a Teams meeting.

Zoom in and out without the pinch 

Zoom in, zoom out, and restore the original size of content that you’re viewing in a Teams meeting. Just look for the button controls at the lower left of the meeting window when content is being shared.

 

May 15, 2023

A more immersive Together mode 

Usability improvements in Together mode let you see each person’s name, reactions, or raised hand by their videos. Status icons show if someone’s muted, speaking, pinned, or spotlighted. To experience your meetings in Together mode, select View > Together mode.

Comprehensive meeting recaps 

You can now find your meeting recording, transcripts, meeting content, and notes all in one place, in the new Recap tab. Access the Recap from your Teams Calendar after the meeting has ended, or directly from the meeting chat through the recording or transcription thumbnail. No Teams Premium license required.

 

April 30, 2023

Better performance, less effort 

The new Teams has been reimagined from the ground up for a faster, simpler, and more flexible experience. The new Teams is twice as fast and uses less of your computer’s CPU (Central Processing Unit)—aka the brains of your machine—so you can work more efficiently. Plus you’ll get to where you need to be in fewer clicks. To learn more, see Try the new Microsoft Teams.

Focus on who’s talking

Focus on who’s speaking during bigger meetings with speaker view, a setting that spotlights the video of whoever is talking. Turn on speaker view by selecting View > Speaker view from the in-meeting toolbar.

Natural and immersive sound in meetings 

Experience a next-generation immersive soundscape in your Teams meetings with spatial audio. Conversations in meetings are now easier to follow when multiple people are speaking, increasing the sense of audio presence. To turn it on anytime, go to Settings > Devices and turn on the Spatial audio toggle.

Sharpen your meeting background 

Look sharper and more defined against your virtual background in meetings with green screen. Move around, use props, and more without distorting your background. To enable green screen in Teams, go to Settings > Devices and turn on the Green screen toggle.

Filter out the *** from live captions 

Live captions, which automatically create real-time subtitles from your meeting participants’ dialogue, can now be edited to remove profanity. To turn it on, go to Captions and transcripts in your Teams settings and turn the Filter profane words in meeting captions toggle on. To learn more, see Use live captions in a Teams meeting.

Breakout rooms on Teams VDI 

Breakout rooms are now supported on Teams VDI. Use breakout rooms to split larger meetings into small groups for more focused discussions. To learn more, see Use breakout rooms in Teams meetings.

Change and update call greetings 

Easily manage your business hours greeting, add on-hold music, and more by managing your call queue and auto attendant greetings in Teams settings. In order to make changes to your org’s call queue and/or auto attendant, your IT admin must designate you as an authorized user and your org must have calling functionality set up. Go to Settings > Calls > Call queue or auto attendant in Teams to make changes.

 

Source: What’s new in Microsoft Teams Public Preview & Targeted Release – Microsoft Support