Is it possible to mark some tasks as private so they are not visible to all team members in Planner?

This is not possible within the Planner application within Teams, but tasks created in your own individual Planner would be private. 

Please visite the Jira portal to request your own Planner.

Does Teams have breakout rooms for groups to collaborate separately during a scheduled meeting/workshop and allow them come back to main group to share what they've accomplished during the breakout?

Teams does not have this functionality. We recommend Webex as the platform for teaching and learning. 

For more information about learning resources, see: https://uwaterloo.ca/keep-learning/

How do you share your calendar? 

Calendar sharing can be configured in Outlook: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/share-an-outlook-calendar-with-other-people-353ed2c1-3ec5-449d-8c73-6931a0adab88.

For Teams meeting location options in the calendar, will classrooms be in the list or will they be restricted ?

Room permissions will be the same as they are today in Outlook (e.g. if someone can book a room in Outlook, they could book it in Teams).

How do you screen share and start a call?

How to screen share in Teams: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/share-your-screen-in-a-chat-in-teams-2de1c624-7fbe-4b0a-99f2-33385e7d3f18 

How to start a call in Teams: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/start-a-call-from-a-chat-in-teams-f5138c9d-df4c-43d8-9cf6-53400c1a7798

Does everyone on a team need to have access to Planner to use the functionality?

Users will have access to Planner in Teams by default.

Will there be a similar training session for WebEx?

A WebEx training session took place this week.

View the session here: http://juno.uwaterloo.ca/itms-docs/webextrainingbasic.html

Is the cloud more secure than the University servers for T&P files?

The University has cleared OneDrive/Teams to store any data not classified as highly restricted. Student numbers, user IDs, etc. can be saved in Teams. Data not suitable for Teams includes things like SIN numbers, credit card information, etc.

More information can be found here: https://uwaterloo.ca/secretariat/policies-procedures-guidelines/policies/policy-46-information-management

I scheduled a meeting using Teams and invited attendees. I assume they can just click on the video button saying "meet now" to join the meeting at the scheduled time?

Yes - when someone starts a meeting, they will see a pop-up that says the meeting has started with a button to join. They can also click the meeting from their Teams calendar to join.

The sound is really clear for this recording - are you using a laptop microphone or a headset or something else?

Apple AirPods were used to record this session.

When you say everyone can edit a document at the same time - is that one person makes a change, then another person adds to it after the first person made their change and so on, or everyone can modify a document at the exact same time?

Everyone can modify a document at the same time. All users will be able to see the changes that others are making in real-time.

Can I create a meeting with someone in my team and have it be private without creating a new channel or team?

Yes, you can create a teams meeting with someone and it will only be shared between you and the other person. You do not need to create a new channel/team.

Can the identity of my events in my outlook calendar be hidden to the team while still indicating my availability?

The events in your calendar will remain hidden to your team unless you change your settings. It should only be viewable as busy/available times.

Where is the 'Files' tab?

Files can be accessed in the left-hand sidebar, or under a specific Chat or Teams conversation.

How many owners can a Team have?

A Team can have up to 100 owners.

Is there a way to determine who wrote what in a document that is shared with, and is edited by, many users?

Yes, there is version history saved with more details. This can be accessed by going to the team SharePoint, click on the ellipses next to the file, and select version history.

What's the difference between OneDrive and Sharepoint? They both seem to serve the purpose of storing files.

OneDrive is recommended for storing 'personal' files, while SharePoint is recommended for storing shared files that a group of people may need access to.

Is there a video function in Microsoft Teams?

Yes, call /meetings can be done as video chats, or as audio only chats.

What are the benefits of using Teams compared to Slack?

While they do have similar features, the University has already licensed Teams for everybody, and there are a lot of great collaboration features with Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Planner and other apps that we use. Teams integrates really well with other tools we are already using.

How does the Sharepoint integrate to an existing Sharepoint site we already have? Do we have to move everything?

For the initial set up files and folders will have to be moved by the user.

Is there any way to change the 'general' channel to a private channel? I had originally only been using the general channel but now have been adding more channels, and would like to make the general channel specific to a project.

The general channel is a default channel so it cannot be made into a private channel. It is recommend to create a new channel for a specific project.

How can we have a generic account on a shared machine in our room? Currently, we have to log in with our personal accounts as meeting hosts every time.

Unfortunately, our Microsoft license does not allow us to give generic accounts an Microsoft 365 account so they cannot be added to a team.

Can you move/hide the posts and files tab within a Channel?

The Posts and Files tab are there by default and cannot be moved or hidden.

Can we import contact list (e.g. from Skype for Business?) Can we sort contacts by sub-team (e.g. Project a, management, etc?)

You can't import contacts from Skype for Business, but you can create groups of contacts in Teams. You can also create chat groups, or speed dial groups to keep users organized.

Can we have external guests also engage in reviewing and editing documents uploaded to Teams?

Yes! Any guests added to your team will be able to see and interact with files you share there - though they won't have their own OneDrive to save files on.

Can you call a meeting with just some members of a team, or only the whole team?

If you have a sub-group of people within your team it may be a good idea to create a private channel. This way you can set up a meeting there with only those members. If this is a one-off time it may be easier to set up a meeting as usual in the Outlook app and to select the option 'Teams Meeting' which will send everyone you invited a link to the meeting.

Is there a way to automate adding team members? Or can this only be manually done? For example, importing a class list?

If you are adding UW members to a team you can do so easily by sending a link which you will then need to approve requests. Alternatively you can share a team code and users will enter that code into teams to automatically join.

If you are adding non-UW members or undergraduates they must be added manually: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-members-to-a-team-in-teams-aff2249d-b456-4bc3-81e7-52327b6b38e9. Please note: Undergraduate students need to be added manually using their full email: username@uwaterloo.ca.

Can you link an existing SharePoint site with a newly created Team? Does it help if the SharePoint site and the Team have the same name?

Yes, you can link an existing SharePoint site to a Team! You do not have to use the same name.

More info here: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-a-sharepoint-page-or-list-to-a-channel-in-teams-131edef1-455f-4c67-a8ce-efa2ebf25f0b

Are undergraduate students also a member of MS Teams in UW? Or just employees?

Undergraduates can join existing teams as guests. In the future, they will be able to join teams as normal users.

Learn more about adding guests to teams: https://wiki.uwaterloo.ca/display/ISTKB/Add+guests+to+a+team

What is OneDrive and OneDrive for business? Is One Drive something your whole team can see if it is in teams under your files?

We are referring to OneDrive for business when we say OneDrive. You have your personal UWaterloo OneDrive and then a separate OneDrive for each team. Files in your personal OneDrive are not viewable by your team unless you share it with them.

Should we be using this instead of the shared drive to share documents?

It's good to stay consistent with what your department is doing, more and more groups on campus are using OneDrive / Teams to store documents as it makes sharing and collaboration easy.

If we create documents in Teams (e.g. meeting minutes), will they automatically save/sync to OneDrive or SharePoint, or do we need to save them to where we keep our permanent record?

The documents will automatically save and sync to your personal OneDrive.

Can you create folders in Teams?

Yes - you can create folders within your personal OneDrive storage, or within the Teams file storage.

I need a tool to allow a group of people to have a discussion looking at files or Powerpoint. Will this work?

Yes - You can share and work on files, powerpoint, etc. while verbally discussing with other users.

Is it possible to review a website or page in teams during a meeting? Can the team view a website/page at the same time during a meeting?

Yes this is possible. You can share your screen with everyone in the meeting. If you share a word, excel, ppt, or other native Microsoft apps you can also collaborate in real time during your meeting.

Do teams need to be created centrally, or should we have the ability to create our own teams?

Teams are created via an automated process - if you visit the Jira portal, and submit a request, your new Team will be created really quickly.

I find the relationship between OneDrive, OneNote, SharePoint, and Teams super confusing.

Teams helps bring together all your Microsoft 365 applications (Word, PPT, Excel, OneDrive, OneNote, etc.).

Teams is built with SharePoint in the background. Think of Teams as a nicer user interface to interact with SharePoint.

Each team has a separate 25TB of OneDrive storage and within Teams you can access your personal OneDrive.

I can add MS Planner to open channels but the option does not show up for private channels. Is that expected?

Yes - some features don't work the same way in private channels unfortunately.

For more information about private channels, see: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/MicrosoftTeams/private-channels#what-you-need-to-know-about-private-channels

Do we have to open it in SharePoint in order to change the permission levels?

You do not need to open a file in SharePoint to change permission levels. Teams will automatically change the permission levels based on what you do in Teams itself e.g. sharing a file with a team or in a private chat.

Is there a way to organize the files in the file tab (e.g., folders)? It seems like there could be a long list of files.

The Files tab (Recents, Microsoft Teams, and Downloads) only shows the files you have access to. You can organize the files in the specific channel with folders. You can also organize your personal OneDrive in the Files tab (left navigation panel).

If I have an Excel database in Teams and I'm working remotely, can I only access it via login with the remote client or can I also access it in a different way?

You do not need to remote desktop in order to access any files in Teams - you can simply login using the Web or Desktop application!

How do we customize activity feed? Teams feed seems to be muted by default.

To customize your notifications to your liking click on your profile > Settings > Notifications.

Is there a place to read the full automated transcript while the presentation is still live?

If you click the ellipses in the meeting control panel, you can enable live captions.

How do you expand an email message in Teams?

If the email is too long Teams will hide some of the email. To view the whole email select 'See more' at the bottom right of the post.

Do you need Microsoft 365 to use Teams? Can we use Office 2016?

You will need to activate your Microsoft 365 account in order to use Teams. More info here: https://uwaterloo.ca/microsoft-365/

I don't use Outlook for my mail service. Will I have issues setting up meetings?

Even if you don't use Outlook, the Teams meeting functionality exists within Teams - you do miss out on some features which makes it seamless to switch back and forth, but it's not a dealbreaker for most people.

How large is the storage space for Teams? Would we be able to use it as a repository to save documents?

Each team has a 5TB OneDrive in the background. When you save or upload a file to your team you are also uploading it to your team OneDrive.

Can we add people to a channel if they aren't on our team?

The user must be a member of the team in order to have access to a channel within the team. This also counts for private channels.

Within Microsoft Teams, can we have multiple 'teams' - one for my staff group, another team for a university committee etc?

Yes you can!

Do users get an email notice that a broadcast message was sent, or is it 'within' the Microsoft teams app? What if the app is not open?

This depends on each individual's notification settings. There is the option to receive a email notification if the app is not open.

Can we add/link to Google docs?

You can add/link to a Google doc, but Teams works better with the native Microsoft apps.

What is your opinion on using a Teams Group chat instead of using a Teams Channel? Any main pros or cons?

A channel would be ideal for frequent communication/sharing of files; group chats can be used for less frequent communication. A channel would be visible by everyone within the team (unless it is a private channel), vs a group chat is only visible to members of the group chat. 

Is there versioning of files shared in Teams?

You can view the version of history of files shared in Teams if you click on the ellipses next to a file in the File Directory.

Can one set up a Teams meeting with an external client who doesn't have their own Teams account? For example a Macbook user who doesn't have Microsoft products?

Yes, you can add external clients to a team even if they don't have a Teams account. It also does not have to be a Microsoft account (e.g. outlook, hotmail).

If users do not have a microphone on their home setup/machine, is there a way to call into a meeting?

Yes, they can still join the meeting and dial-in to hear others.

What are the advantages of sending meeting invites through Teams versus calendar invites in Outlook? 

Teams meetings have a chat tab that you can use to share files where everyone can collaborate in real-time. There's no need to email back and forth changes made to a document.

Can we receive email notifications in Outlook when activity is taking place in Teams? Or do we have to log in to Teams to see what's going on?

You can enable email notifications by clicking on your profile picture (top-right corner), going to Settings > Notifications > enable Email for the notifications you want to receive.

Are all your files on One Drive open to sharing with your team or are you able to assign a specific folder to be used?

Your files on your One Drive will remain private unless you choose to share a specific file or folder in a private chat. If you are sharing a file to your team then it is uploading a copy of the file or folder.

How do we set up a live meeting as you are doing that has also has the question and answer side bar. Can you point us to some resource online to do this?

Live Events is still not quite ready for prime-time across campus, as there can only be a very small number of sessions at a time. We hope this can be made available more widely in the future.

Can Teams connect/plug into/communicate with Trello?

Yes, there is a Trello app for Teams.