Teams updates and new features

Welcome to our termly Teams catch-up article. Alongside rolling out New Teams, Microsoft continues delivering and updating features – we've set out some that we think you’ll find useful. 

About new Teams

The new Teams desktop client is reimagined from the ground up with performance and flexibility in mind. New Teams installs and loads faster, letting you launch the app and join meetings more quickly, giving you more time to focus on what you really need to.   

Microsoft has announced that everyone will move to the new Teams client between January and the end of March 2024, this should happen automatically. You may have a different experience to others as not all devices are the same; please be patient and keep an eye on the Nexus User Group for updates. 

If you can’t wait and want new Teams right away, you can read the new Teams guide and download new Teams yourself. If you have a managed staff computer (CONNECT), new Teams will soon be available on the Oxford Applications Installer. To find it, open the Windows Start Menu (bottom left of your screen), type Oxford Applications Installer and you should see new Teams.  

Useful Teams features available now

Did you know you can control how users see you in Teams meetings using the new options under the ‘View’ menu? We’ve discovered other things in Microsoft’s Teams roadmap which we think you’ll find useful as well:

• Reduce background noise in Teams meetings - voice isolation is making speech clearer for most audio setups by filtering out background noise, including other people's voices.
• Share and watch Stream videos and Teams meeting recordings within Teams chat and channels, enabling users to preview and play them directly in Teams without the need to open a browser window
• Teams meeting organisers can send a channel meeting invitation to everyone in the Team.  
• Generate unique join codes for external presenters in Teams meetings allowing them to bypass the lobby.
• 

  Block meeting chat access in meeting options for non-trusted external meeting participants. 

• Set your work location for the day so your team can learn about your availability for in-office and remote collaboration.
• Users can share contact information (profile card) of colleagues who are not in a chat, making it easier for others to confidently get to know other collaborators.
• Loop components now available in Teams channels as well as chats (including shared and private channels) allowing users to co-create and collaborate.

Features rolling out soon

Keep an eye out for these additional features which we hope to see soon:

• Forward chat messages from one chat to another  
• ‘Specific People’ link generation in collaborative notes in Teams 
• New gallery view mode in Teams meetings 
• New and improved search experience changes in Teams chats and channels 

The Teams roadmap is still the best place to keep up to date with developments and find out what’s coming next, take a look.  

Teams training, help and advice

Any member of Oxford University can join the Nexus365 User Group (NUG) to find informal advice and stay up to date with Teams news, tips, tricks, quick-start guides and more.  

Information about how to get Teams help, advice and training is available on the IT Help website, IT Learning Centre and the Centre for Teaching and Learning websites. 

Did you know?

You can set up a super-quick survey, bullet list or other collaborative items using Microsoft Loop components in your Teams chats and Channels. Find out more about using Microsoft Loop in Teams.