Inviting multiple users to a team in Teams

Here are two tips on how to invite members to join a team themselves. Note that these options only work for users with an account at Umeå University.

Invite with a code

All teams have a code that can be used to join the team. The person using the code will join the team immediately. Please note that only people with Umu accounts can connect with a code and that everyone that has access to the code can connect with the team without your permission.

Get the team code

  1. Go to your team. Select the three dots to the right of the team name.
  2. Click Manage Teams.
    Invite Multiple Users Teams
  3. Go to Settings.
  4. Select Team Code.Invite Multiple Users Teams 2
  5. Click Generate to generate the code that you can copy and share to the people you want to invite to your team.

Join teams with a code

  1. Go to Microsoft Teams and select the Team tab.
  2. Click Join or create a team.
    Invite Multiple Users Teams 3
  3. In the next  screen you will get the option to create a team or join with a code. Paste the code to join the team.
    Invite Multiple Users Teams 4

Invite with link

You can also invite members to your team by sending them a link to the team. With this alternative, the owner of the team needs to accept or deny access to the team.

  1. Go to your team. Select the three dots to the right of the team name.
  2. Click on Get link to team.
    Invite multiple users Teams 5
  3. You will then receive a link to copy and send to the members.
    Copy link to invite team members Teams
  4. When they click on the link they can ask to join the team. The owner receives notifications in Teams and by email and can decide to accept or deny access to the team.
  5. You can also find pending request by going to your team, clicking Manage teams and looking in the Pending requests tab.

Frequently asked questions about Teams

Meetings in Teams

How many people can you see at the same time during a meeting in Teams?

It is possible to see 49 people at a time during a meeting.

Does the meeting automatically end when the meeting goes over time?

No, the meeting only ends when someone chooses to end the meeting or all participants have left it.

How many can participate in a Team Meeting?

250 people can attend a meeting.

Can I book a Teams meeting via Outlook?

Yes, you can schedule a Teams meeting directly in Outlook. To do this, you need to have Teams installed on your computer.

Can I raise my hand during a Teams meeting?

Yes, it is possible to raise your hand during a meeting.

Raising your hand during a Teams meeting

Can I use Whiteboard during a Teams meeting?

Yes, you can use Whiteboard during a Teams meeting. To start a whiteboard, click the share screen button. Once you click there, you can select Whiteboard.

If you want more features, it is recommended to download Microsoft Whiteboard to your computer.

Frequently asked questions about Whiteboard

Can I moderate a meeting in Teams?

Yes, you can choose to mute participants’ microphones, invite more participants or remove participants during an ongoing meeting. You can also choose whether participants should have the opportunity to activate their microphone during the meeting and whether the chat should be available.

Can I set up a lobby for Teams meetings?

Yes. You can choose to exclude all, external or none at all. You as the creator of the meeting will always be able to join the meeting.

Change participant settings for a Teams meeting

Is it possible to divide the meeting into breakout rooms?

Yes, it is possible to divide the meeting into smaller groups (breakout rooms). Only the booker of the meeting can create breakout rooms.

Can I invite an entire team to a meeting?

Yes, if you book the meeting via Teams, you can add the meeting to a channel in a team.

Schedule a meeting in Teams

Can I record a meeting?

Yes, if you click on the three dots in a meeting, you can choose to record it. It is important that you always inform the participants beforehand so that they can decide whether it is okay to be recorded or not. All participants in the meeting will get a popup telling them that the meeting is being recorded.

Record a meeting in Teams

Team

What is the difference between a private and a public team?

There are some differences between having a private and a public team.

Private team: A private team is only available to the people you invite or approve. In most cases, you should choose a private team.

Public team: A public team is available to everyone at Umeå University. This means that when someone searches for teams, they can find your team in a list and can then join without your approval. All files and content in a team is searchable for members of a team.

Both students and staff can see and join public teams.

How many channels can I create?

You can create 200 standard channels and 30 private channels in a team.

What is a private channel?

A private channel is only available to the people you specify should have access to the channel. The people must be participants in the team. It does not work to only invite one person to a private channel but not to the team in general.

Create a private channel

Can everyone in a team create channels?

It depends on the attribute set by the team owner. Under Manage teams the team owner can choose whether a member can create and delete channels. There are also more settings that can be customized.

Manage team settings and permissions in Teams

When I create a team, what type should I use?

Of the four options provided (Class, PLC, Personal, Other), the last type “Other” is to be used. This is without formatting and gives you the opportunity to build your team completely according to your needs.

What is the difference between being an owner and a member of a team?

An owner of a team is the one who administrates the team. The owner can add and remove members and decide what the members should have permissions to do in a team. It is possible to have several owners of a team.

Adding members and changing ownership in Teams

What happens if someone accidentally deletes a file?

If someone accidentally deletes files in a team, the files can be downloaded from the team’s trash in SharePoint, where they are stored for 30 days. After 30 days, the files are placed in a secondary trash can for 60 days before disappearing. Your files are stored in the Trash for 90 days.

Delete and restore files in Teams

What is the difference between Chat and Posts in a Team?

The chat function allows you to communicate with individual colleagues or groups in text and conversation.

To create areas for collaboration, you are recommended to create a team. The conversations under Posts in the team are visible to everyone in the team and unlike in the chat, the conversations are tied together in threads to keep the current topic together.

In the chat, you communicate in a constant flow while conversations under Posts in teams are divided into threads for easier follow-up in the collaboration. You can use the chat for everyday talk and short conversations, while Posts in teams can be seen as a more formal forum.

Can I move files to another channel or team?

Yes, you can move files. Click on the three dots and then choose Move. You can also open the files in Sharepoint for easier handling of the files.

Can I create “subchannels”?

No, you can only create channels in a team.

Can I change the name of a team?

Yes, it is possible to change the name of a team. Keep in mind that all teams get their own SharePoint site, these cannot be renamed. This means that when you change the name of your team in Teams, this is just a display name. The SharePoint site will still retain the original name.

Can I rename a channel?

Yes, it is possible to rename a channel. To do this, click on the three dots and then Edit this channel. Here, too, the original name will remain in the associated document library in SharePoint.

Why are the team files in SharePoint?

When you create a team, a Sharepoint is also created in the background. The files are technically stored in SharePoint, but you can manage them directly in Teams. Sharepoint makes it possible to share files in Microsoft 365.

Can I invite an external participant to Teams?

You can add external people as a guest in Teams. Anyone who has an email account, such as Outlook, Gmail or similar, can join your team as a guest.

Add guests to your team

What can an external participant (guest) do in a team?

A guest can do everything that other participants in a team can do, except add tabs. The owner of the team can also set whether the guest should be allowed to create channels or not in a team.

Manage team settings and permissions in Teams

Can you add AD groups to a team?

No, this is not possible at present. We hope to be able to offer this in the future.

Why do I not have the AutoSave feature in Word?

It depends on which version of the office suite you have. If you download Office from the portal (m365.umu.se), you will have the opportunity to use Save automatically in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Can I create folders for files?

Yes, you can build your folder structure just like on your computer. Create folders in the file area for each channel exactly as you want.

Is there any difference to edit from the desktop app or directly in teams?

In the desktop app, you have the opportunity to do more advanced functions. Otherwise, it’s the same thing to edit directly in the Teams or desktop app. If you choose to open in the desktop app and save, it will be saved automatically in the team, so you do not need to download a copy, and all members will have access to your changes.

If you work in the desktop app at the same time as your colleagues, we recommend that you download the Office package from the portal so that you get the function “Save automatically”. You will then, just like in the web, see where your colleagues edit (otherwise you need to save regularly for your colleagues to see your changes).

How do I get notified that something is happening in Teams?

You can set notifications in general for the entire program.

You can also set notifications for specific channels in a team. You can choose how you want to be notified for each channel.

Can students use Microsoft Teams?

Yes, students have access to Microsoft 365.

Can I view previous versions of a document?

Yes, you can see previous versions and even revert to previous versions if you want.

View previous versions of a document

Can I move posts between different teams or channels?

No, unfortunately it is not possible to move posts between different teams or channels.

Chat

Can I have a chat with several people?

Yes, it is possible to create a chat with several people. Enter the names one after another when starting a new chat. You can also invite more people to an existing chat by clicking on the plus icon in the top right corner.

Start a chat in Teams

Can I delete a chat?

Yes, you can delete a chat, it will be permanently deleted for you, but not for the person you are chatting with. You can however delete your own instant messages, but only one at a time. To delete a message, click on the three dots on your message and then click on Delete.

Can I leave a chat?

Yes, you can choose to exit a chat by clicking on the three dots that appear if you move the mouse pointer to the chat name and then click Leave.

Inviting members to a team or channel in Teams

In this manual we describe how to invite members to your team using different methods. Please note that it is possible to invite both internal and external members at the same time. We also describe how an external can join a team.

Inviting an internal member

  1. Find the team that members will be invited to.
  2. Choose the 3 dots to the right of the Team name.
  3. Click Add member.
  4. Search for and choose the persons name from the list and then click on Add.  If you wish to add more than one member at the same time, just keep typing in the names.
  5. When you have chosen your members you must give them rights and permissions. Click on them individually and choose: Owner or Member.

Remember that all students are also in our system. To be sure that you invite the right person, use the Umu-id or email address.

Inviting external members

There are two ways in which to invite external members.  Alternative 1 is preferable.

Alternative 1:

  1. Choose the 3 dots to the right of the Team name and then choose  Add member.
  2. Choose Add member.  Write in the persons email address in the window and then choose  Add.  The person will automatically be added as a Guest.

Alternative 2:

  1. Choose the 3 dots to the right of the Team name.
  2. Choose ”Get link to team” > Send to the external person.

Read more on the different types of permissions in Teams

Connect as an external

If you, as an external person are invited to a team in an UMU environment, it is easiest to open an incognnito window and open the invitation link from there. This is to avoid conflicts if you already work with Teams in your own organization.

When you’re asked to sign in, you can do so using your UMU-email address or you UMU-id (umu-id@ad.umu.se).

You wont see the team among your other teams in your organization’s environment. You will find the team in your profile i Teams, and will then need to log into UMU’s environment.
Image showing how to se your external teams

Creating a channel in Teams

In this manual we will show you how to create a channel in Teams.

  1. Go in to the team you wish to create a channel in.
  2. Choose the 3 dots to the right of the name.
  3. Choose Add channel
    Note that your Teams can look different, especially in colour and layout
    Image showing how to add a channel in a team
  4. Choose a name and description for your channel.
  5. Choose a channel type.
    Standard: Every member in the team has access to this channel.
    Shared: You can invite people that is not a member in this team to access this channel. (You can only invite people whwo works in Umea University)
    Private: Only specific people who you invite have access to this channel. (You can only invite people who already is a member in the team)
    Image showing how to create a channel
  6. Click on Create. You have now successfully added a channel to your team.

Tips for a successful team in Teams

Create a good base structure

  • What is the main reason for the team? 
  • What does the group need? 
  • Which channels will you have?  ….to start with and why?

Choosing the correct rights and permissions

  • Decide which rights and permissions each member will have with regards to channels, messages and tabs.
  • Always have at least two (2) “owners” of a team.

Understanding channels

  • Discuss the proposed channels with members of your team.
  • Create a clear and meaningful name.
  • Describe the channel and what it shall be used for. 

Communicate clearly within the team

  • Use titles that have a clear meaning to make it easier to understand what they are about 
  • You can use the @ to notify a specific person. 
  • To answer a post click on “Reply” so you don’t need to start a new conversation.  This way all the communication is in one place.Click on the A at the bottom of the screen if you wish to change the formatting of your post.

Moving Shared Files

  • Create a folder for respective files 
  • Upload shared files to the team and remove them from your existing folders so you don’t have multiple documents in multiple places
  • Decide together that from a certain date ALL files will be put into Teams and nowhere else (to prevent multiple copies of documents)
  • If you work a lot with specific files, synchronize your teams files in explorer. That way you can directly access them from your computer.

Notifications in Teams

  • Set up your personal notifications for the entire application, how you want to be notified when someone sends a message to you, etc.
  • Set up channel notifications for the teams/channels you are active in and want to know when someone has updated.

Digital meetings

  • Just as for physical meetings, it is a good idea to prepare an agenda for the meeting.
  • If there are many participants in the meeting, a recommendation is to mute the microphone when you are not speaking. That way, you will avoid any disturbing background noise. When you need to speak, unmute your microphone. If there are only a few participants in the meeting, it will usually be a more active meeting if everyone has their microphones turned on the whole meeting.
  • The meeting will also be more active if all participants have their cameras on. However, if someone has a slow internet connection it may be a good idea to only use the microphone.
  • All participants can use the chat to share documents and links with each other during the meeting. When the meeting is over, the chat is saved, and you can go back to see what was written there.
  • You can share an entire screen, a window, a PowerPoint, or a Whiteboard with the meeting participants.

Create a team in Teams

In this manual we describe how to create a team in Microsoft Teams.

  1.  Open Teams.  You will find Teams as an app in your computer, or via att log in to Microsoft 365 in your web browser.   Log in with your UMU-id. 
    Log in to Microsoft 365
  2. From the menu on the left hand side choose Teams
  3. In the menu in the top to the left you clikc on the plus-symbol, and choose Create team
    Image showing how to create a team
     
  4. There are five different types of templates. Choose the template that i called “UMU”.
    More information on the types of Teams
    Image showing which template to choose when creating a team

  5. Once you have chosen your team type it is time to give your team a Name and a Description (you can change either or both afterwards).  You can also choose if your new Team will be a Private team or a Public team. We always recommend that ypu create a Private team. This team will be the center for your collaboration.  In every team you can later create different channels for more detailed work.

    Creating a channel in Teams (swedish)

     

  6. The last step in creating your team is to invite members.  In the box you can write in the name of the person or people from within your organisation (one at a time).  Once you have your list click on “Add”.   You can then decide the rights and permissions for each member.  Owner or Member. The recommendation is always to have at least two owners for a team, to decreas the risk that a team is without an owner.

    More on rights and permissions   If you choose to invite external members to your team you must type in their email address.  They will then receive an invitation with which they can join as a guest.

  7. Your team is now ready for you to work in.