 Microsoft Teams

A reference guide to the key recommendations, restrictions, and limits for storing and collaborating on files in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive at Bowdoin. Covers Teams and channel structure, file and folder management, storage and sync limits, external sharing, retention, and Team lifecycle.

An overview of what Microsoft Teams does at Bowdoin, who can use it, and its key collaboration features. Includes a curated set of Microsoft training articles and videos that walk through getting started, chatting, sharing files, meetings, channels, and more. Applies to all Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff.

A step-by-step guide for departments moving shared files from the Microwave department drive (J:) to Microsoft Teams, in partnership with the Service Desk. Covers requesting help, designing a Team structure, reviewing and grouping files by destination, and completing the transition.

Step-by-step instructions for creating a new team in Microsoft Teams for department or project collaboration and file storage. Covers opening Teams, choosing a template and privacy setting, naming the team, adding members and assigning roles, setting up channels, and customizing the team. Applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff.

An explanation of how Microsoft Teams organizes work into channels, how permissions work across teams and channels, and where files are stored in the linked SharePoint site. Covers standard, private, and shared channels, owner and member roles, the folder structure behind Teams, managing channel settings, and best practices. Applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff.

Instructions for team and channel owners on adding, removing, and changing the roles of members in Microsoft Teams. Covers managing members of a team, a private channel, and a shared channel, explains owner, member, and guest roles, and lists reasons membership may not be editable. Applies to Bowdoin team and channel owners.

Beginner tips for storing, finding, editing, and organizing files in Microsoft Teams and SharePoint. Covers chatting and collaborating, uploading files in chats and channels, searching for files, co-authoring, recommended file settings, metadata, activity alerts, and best practices for naming, permissions, and version history. Applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff.

Instructions for syncing Microsoft Teams channel files to a computer through OneDrive so they can be managed in File Explorer on Windows or Finder on macOS, and for moving files from a local or network folder into a Teams channel. Also covers stopping a sync, fixing sync problems, and sync limits and best practices. Applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff.

Instructions for archiving a Microsoft Team so its conversations and files become read-only, restoring an archived Team, and making specific SharePoint folders read-only when a whole Team cannot be archived. Also explains what happens to files in an archived Team and the Microsoft 365 Team expiration policy. Applies to Bowdoin Team owners and members.

Instructions for adding an approved app, such as OneNote or Planner, to a Microsoft Teams channel, and for requesting approval when an app is restricted. Explains what happens after a request is submitted and how to get help. Applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff.

Instructions for recording a class session in Microsoft Teams from an instructor computer that has a PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) camera connected. Covers connecting the camera, starting and stopping the recording, and finding the saved recording. Applies to Bowdoin faculty and instructors using classroom computers.

Instructions for controlling Microsoft Teams notifications, including general preferences such as sounds and previews, chat and channel notification settings, muting a specific chat, managing notifications for a channel, and reducing noise from less active channels. Applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff using Teams on Windows, macOS, or the web.

Explains the different ways to start or schedule a Microsoft Teams meeting, including an ad-hoc video, voice, or screen-sharing session from a chat, and scheduled meetings created in the Outlook desktop app, Outlook on the web, or the Microsoft Teams calendar. Applies to Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students using Microsoft Teams.

Explains how the owner of a video recorded in Microsoft Teams can download that video from Microsoft Stream to share it on another platform or keep a personal archive. Covers signing in to Microsoft 365, opening the Stream app, and downloading a video. Applies to Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students who own recorded Teams content.

Explains how content owners can review external guest access to OneDrive files and Microsoft Teams, which expires after 180 days at Bowdoin. Covers extending or removing access from the My Access portal, removing a guest directly in Teams, and changing or ending sharing for OneDrive files and folders. Applies to Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students who own shared content or a Microsoft Team.

Explains how to find a direct link to a folder or subfolder inside a Microsoft Teams channel by opening it in SharePoint and copying the browser address. These links are useful for automation, integrations, sharing, or troubleshooting. Applies to Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students using Microsoft Teams on the desktop or web.

Explains how to download and install the Microsoft Teams desktop app on a personal or home computer running macOS or Windows 11. Applies to Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students installing Teams on a computer that is not Bowdoin-issued.

Explains how a Team owner can make a folder in a Team read-only so members can view files but cannot edit, upload, or delete them. Because a Team's files are stored in a connected SharePoint site, the permission change is made in SharePoint. Applies to Bowdoin faculty and staff who own a Team.

Explains how a Team owner can limit file sharing in a Team so that only owners can create sharing links or invite others to files and folders. Because Teams files are stored in a connected SharePoint site, the change is made in the site's sharing settings. Applies to Bowdoin faculty and staff who own a Team, especially for confidential or restricted groups.

Explains why a Teams meeting organizer might want to limit participant privileges and how to use Meeting options to choose who can present. Applies to Bowdoin faculty, staff, and students who organize Microsoft Teams meetings.

Troubleshooting steps for when the Microsoft Teams desktop app on a Mac cannot use the camera, microphone, or screen sharing. Covers checking and granting camera, microphone, and screen recording permissions in System Settings, triggering the permission pop-up, fully quitting and reopening Teams, adding Teams to the permission lists manually, and resetting the permissions. Applies to anyone using the Teams desktop app on a Mac.

Explains how to install the Microsoft Teams desktop app on a Bowdoin-issued computer, using Self Service on macOS or verifying the automatic installation on Windows. Teams is delivered to Bowdoin-issued computers automatically or through managed software tools. Installing Teams on a personal computer is covered in a separate article.

Explains how OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint work together for storing and sharing files in Microsoft 365, where files shared in Teams actually live, and how to choose the right place to save a file. Includes a quick reference for common scenarios.

Explains how to clear the Microsoft Teams cache on Windows and macOS to resolve common problems such as freezing, sign-in errors, or content that fails to load. Covers quitting Teams, deleting the contents of the Teams cache folders, and restarting. Applies to anyone using the Teams desktop app on a Bowdoin computer.