Chats | Beginner
Start a chat
Sometimes you’ll want to talk one-on-one with someone. Other times, you’ll want to have a small group chat. In Chat, you can do either.
You start one-on-one and group chats the same way: by selecting New chat 
at the top of Teams. Once in a chat, you’ll be able to send messages that include files, links, emojis, stickers, and GIFs.
Start a one-on-one chat
Once you've selected New chat 
and entered the person’s name, compose your message in the box and select Send 
or press Enter. This starts the chat.
Add people to the conversation
To loop more people into the conversation, just click Add people 
in the top right corner of Teams. Then, type the names of the people you'd like to add, select how much of the chat history to include, and click Add.
Note: Currently, you can include chat history only when adding someone to a group chat (not a one-on-one chat).
Start a group chat
Start one the same way you start a one-on-one chat: select New chat 
at the top of Teams. Select the down arrow to the far right of the To field and type a name for the chat in the Group name field. Next, type the names of the people you’d like to add in the To field.
You can include up to 100 people in a group chat.
Note: If you want to start a conversation with the entire team, try a channel conversation.
Remove people from a group chat
Note: Your admin will need to turn on this setting to allow members to remove each other from a group chat.
Open any group chat of three or more people and go to the top of the chat where it tells you the number of participants. Hover on the person's name you want to remove, then select the X and confirm you want to remove the participant from chat.
An update in the chat will inform everyone that you've removed the person.
People removed from a chat will be able to view previous chat history, but won't be able to send new messages, react to messages, and won't be able to view new conversations or files shared by the group.
See who's in a group chat
To see who’s in a group chat, hover over the number of participants in the chat header to show a list of everyone’s names.
Name a group chat
To name a new group chat, click New chat 
at the top of the app. Click the down arrow next to the To field and enter the chat name in the Group name field. This creates a whole new group chat, even if you already have a chat going with the same participants.
To name an existing group chat, click Name group chat 
next to the list of names of everyone in the chat (at the top of the screen).
You can change your group name anytime by clicking Name group chat 
again.
Leave a group chat
To leave a group chat, go to your chat list and find the chat you want to leave. Click More options 
> Leave.
Remove someone else from a group chat
From the list of participants, hover on a person's name and select X to remove them from the chat. They'll be able to view the history of the chat from when they were a member, but won't be able to react to messages, send messages, or receive new messages from the group.
Send a message to a channel
When you go to any channel in Teams the very first tab is Conversations. Think of this as one big group chat. Everyone who has access to the channel can see the messages on the Conversations tab.
Reply to a channel message
The other important thing to know about messages in a channel is that replies to a channel message stay attached to the original message. This way, the whole thread of the conversation can be easily followed by anyone reading it. This is the beauty of threaded conversations!
To reply to a channel message, select the little Reply link underneath the message.
Send a message to a channel
To send a message to everyone in a particular channel (the whole team), select the channel. Click Reply to respond to an existing thread or go to the compose box at the bottom of the Conversations tab to start a new one. Type your message in the box and select Send 
. Voila! Your message is now live in the channel.
If you only want to talk to one person or a small group, see Start a chat in Teams.
Send a file, picture, or link
When you're in a chat, you can send messages that include files, links, and pictures.
Send a link
To send a link, select Expand 
beneath the compose box, then select Insert link 
. Add display text and the address, and then click Insert. Once you send it, the message containing your link includes a thumbnail image and preview, which you can close if you'd rather not see it.
Attach a file or picture
To attach a file or picture to a message, click Choose file 
beneath the compose box. Then you can upload an file or picture from your computer or OneDrive, or search for one from the Files tab for that channel.
In a chat conversation, click Choose file 
and pick the file or picture you want from your computer or OneDrive.
Pin or unpin a chat
Select Chat 
to open the chat list. Find the name of the conversation you want to pin and click More options 
> Pin. This ensures that the chat stays at the top of your list.
To unpin a chat, just click More options 
> Unpin.
Mute a chat
To stop getting notifications for one of your chats, find the name of the chat and click More options 
> Mute.
Only the notifications are turned off, so you still receive messages and an icon appears next to the names of the participants to remind you that the chat has been muted.
If you change your mind, just click More options 
again and unmute it.
Mark a message as unread
> Mark as unread. Format a message
Feel like doing some formatting? Click Expand 
beneath your compose box to expand it and open more formatting options:
Bold, italicize, underline, and highlight text.
Change your font color and size (small, medium, or large).
Create bulleted or numbered lists.
Mark a message as important.
In the expanded compose box, you can create a new paragraph without accidentally sending your message. You can even add a subject line.
Mark a message as important
If you want to make sure people pay attention to your post in a channel or chat, mark it as important. To do that, click Expand 
to expand the compose box and then click Mark as important 
. That adds a red exclamation point next to your message and prefixes it with the word "IMPORTANT!"
Related Articles
Chats | Advanced
Use Markdown formatting With Markdown, you get a live preview of your formatted text inside your compose box as you type, and you can always undo your formatting by pressing Ctrl+Z. Also, most of these actions are still available if you expand your ...Calling| Beginner
Start a call from a chat You can make one-on-one or group calls with anyone in your organization directly from a chat without having to host a team meeting. These calls are private and won't appear in any team conversation. Entries for the calls will ...Files | Beginner
Explore the Files list Click Files to see all your important files, which are sorted into the following categories: The Recent view shows you every Office 365 document you’ve viewed or edited in recent history. Note: Another way to view your recent ...Meetings | Beginner
Joining Meetings Meetings in Teams include audio, video, and sharing. And because they're online, you'll always have a meeting space and never need a room or projector. Teams meetings are a great way to come together with your colleagues and clients ...Files | Advanced
Share a file with someone outside your team Only team members can see team files. You can share a file with people outside your team (if they are also using Teams) by sending it to them in a chat. If you want to share a file with someone outside your ...