Using the Chat app

Start a new chat

From Teams, click New Chat and type the name of the first person you want to invite to the chat session.

When you see their name in the suggested list of attendees, select them.

If you want to chat with more than one person, type the next person’s name and again, select them from the list.

Keep doing this until you have listed all participants.

Now click into the Type a new message text box and type your message. When you are ready to send it, press Enter.

Invite new participants to join the chat

To add people to an on-going chat session, click Add people, start to type their name and select them from the list when suggested. Once selected, click Add.

Call the people in the chat

If you want to escalate the chat into either a video call or audio call, simply press either Video call or Audio call and the call will be started.

Share files in a chat

To share a file, click the Attach paper clip and select the location of the file, either OneDrive or from your computer. Navigate your folder structure and locate the file you want to share. Select it and click Share.

You can add a message as part of the share, or hit Enter to proceed without adding a message.

All files that have been shared as part of the chat can be revealed by clicking Files at the top of the chat window.

You can then download, open or get a link for any of the files in the session.

Resume a recent chat

You can resume a previous chat session, by simply selecting it from the list of recent chat sessions. Then all you need do is type a new message and it will be sent to the chat session and anyone listed as participants in that chat.

Respond to a chat request

You will be notified when someone wants to chat with you. A small notification message will appear in the lower right corner of your screen. Simply click the notification to enter the chat session in Teams.

If you miss a notification, go to the Chat app in the left hand menu of Teams, where there will be a number telling you how many chats have unread messages.

Pop out chat

A chat session can be opened into its own window by clicking the Pop out chat button in the top right corner of the chat window. There’s also a Pop out chat button which is revealed as you hover over a chat session listing to the left edge of the Chat window.

The Pop out chat window can be resized and moved like any other application window. This means that you can continue chatting while also working within other applications.

To close a Pop out chat window, click its Close cross. The window will close, but the chat session will persist back in the chat app in teams.