Using Microsoft Teams

This user guide will help you to use Microsoft Teams at the University of Vienna.

Students and employees are separated from each other within the Microsoft 365 environment of the University of Vienna – it is not possible to find and interact between the two groups. This also applies to the visibility of attendance status.

Logging into Teams

Log in to the Teams app with your Microsoft 365 account of the University of Vienna:

  • User name: u:account-UserID@univie.ac.at (for example, doejami1@univie.ac.at)
  • Password: u:account password

If necessary, use the user guide How to log in to Microsoft Teams on the Microsoft support pages.

Logging off from Teams or removing account

Use the user guide Sign out or remove an account from Microsoft Teams on the Microsoft support pages.

Uninstalling Teams

Use the user guide Uninstall Microsoft Teams on the Microsoft support pages.

Teams and channels

Create teams and channels to bring people together in chats and meetings, and collaborate with files and apps.

 Note

It is not possible for students to create teams. An error message appears when trying to create a team. However, there is the option of group chats and sharing content via the personal OneDrive.

Creating a team 

  1. Click on Teams in the left navigation and click the Join a Team or Create a Team button in the right top corner.
  2. Click on Create Team.

    • A user can be a member of a maximum of 1,000 teams.
    • A team can have a maximum of 5,000 members.
    • A team can have a maximum of 100 owners.

If necessary, use the Microsoft user guide under Create a team.

 

Selecting a team type for collaboration

When you create a new team, you need to choose a team type.

Use the Microsoft user guide Choose a team type to collaborate in Microsoft Teams.

 

Distinguish between public and private teams

  • Public teams are visible to everyone in the Teams catalogue. People can join, read and chat without the permission of the team owner.
  • Private teams can not be found in the Teams catalogue. Members are added or invited by the team owner. All conversations, files, etc. are reserved for team members.

 

Changing settings for a team

  1. If you want to change the settings for your team from Public to Private (or vice versa), click in the left navigation on Teams and then on the corresponding team.
  2. Click on the 3 dots. Select the Edit Team entry.
  3. Under Privacy, select Private – only team owners can add members or Public – everyone in your organisation can join from the list.

 

Adding a team owner

  1. Click on Teams in the left navigation. 
  2. Select the team you have created and click on the 3 dots. A menu will appear. Click on Manage Team.
  3. Navigate to the Members tab. Select the people you want to use as team owners. Under Role, select Owner instead of Member.

 

Creating channels in a team

Channels are special sections within a team. Each channel can be dedicated to a specific topic, department or project. A maximum of 200 channels (including deleted channels) can be created per team.

You can create channels in a team that you own as follows:

  1. Click on Teams in the left navigation and find the desired team.
  2. Click on the 3 dots and then on Add channel in the menu. Alternatively, click on Manage Team and on the Channels tab, click on Add Channel.
  3. Enter a channel name. Please note:

    • The following characters must not be used in channel names: ~ # % & * { } + / \ : < > ? | ' " ..
    • Channel names must not begin with an underscore or a dot or end with a dot.

 

Adding members to a team

If you are a team owner, you can add people to a team. These can be people from your organisation or guests. 

If necessary, use the user guide Collaborating with external persons.

The following user guides are available on the Microsoft website: Add members to a team or Add guests to a team

 Note

All members you want to add to a team must have a Microsoft 365 account (business, school or university account). If there is no Microsoft account yet, you will be redirected to create a free Microsoft account, when you accept the invitation. 

After you add a member to a team, it may take a few hours before access is possible.

Contacts

Adding contacts

  • Click on Calls in the left navigation and select Contact.
  • Click on the Add Contact button. You can also add people who are outside your organisation.
  • Via Chat – Contacts you can Create a new contact group or Add a contact to this group.

Calls and meetings

A maximum of 250 people can attend a meeting.

The Meeting feature is available in the desktop app and in the web app in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

 

Starting a meeting

  • In a channel, click the Meeting button in the top right-hand corner.
  • Click Discuss Now in the video preview. The team members receive a note in the Contributions section to participate.

 

Adding external persons or guests to Teams meetings

In Teams, you can schedule Teams meetings with external people and guests through the calendar. They do not need a Microsoft account to join Teams meetings.

If needed, use the Microsoft user guides at Join a meeting in Teams.

 

Changing background at a meeting

The possibility to adjust the background in Teams meetings depends on the device used. Where the technical requirements are met, this can be done:

  • before joining a video meeting by using the slider Background settings.
  • during the video meeting by clicking on the icon with the 3 dots and there in the menu via the item Background Effects

 

Either the background can be blurred or an image can be selected from the list.

 

Inserting your own background image

Users can upload their own background image and then select it for the video meeting from the list of background images. Background images in the corporate design of the University of Vienna can be downloaded here:

 

Under Windows

  1. During the video meeting, click on the 3 dots in the menu bar and select Show background effects.
  2. On the right you will see the available backgrounds. Upload your own background under Add New. 
  3. Select the background you want and click Preview.
  4. To display the background, click Apply. The background is now activated and visible to others.
  5. To remove the background, open the Background settings menu again and select the top entry No background image.

 


Under macOS

  1. Open the Finder.
  2. In the Finder, hold down the Option key and click on the Go to menu in the menu bar.
  3. As long as you hold down the button, you will find the Library entry there. If you select this, the Finder changes to the corresponding folder.
  4. Open the Application Support folder and follow the path Microsoft/Teams/Backgrounds.
  5. Move your own background images to the Uploads folder.
  6. During a video meeting, click on the 3 dots in the menu bar and select Show background effects.
  7. On the right you will see the available backgrounds. Select a desired background and click Preview.
  8. To display the background, click Apply. The background is then activated and visible to others.
  9. To remove the background again, open the Background settings menu again and select the top entry No background image.

 

Please note that for technical reasons the use of background images can lead to image noise (e.g. head movements around the hairstyle or gestures around the arms). A still body posture is therefore recommended.

     

Recording and transcripting Teams meetings

In accordance with data protection regulations, the consent of the participants is required for the recording or transcription of video conferences in teams.

Use the user guides on the Microsoft websites:

Shared data

Files may have a maximum size of 2 GB.

Shared files within a channel are stored in Share Point. If necessary, use the user guide Managing OneDrive storage space.

Troubleshooting

If problems occur with Microsoft Teams, clearing the cache can be helpful. This will not delete any data.

Use the user guide Clear the Teams client cache on the Microsoft website.

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