First things to know about chats in Microsoft Teams

1. Chats can be one-on-one or in a group

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 message Chat icon in Teams. at the top of your chat list. Once in a chat, you can send messages that include files, links, emoji, stickers, and GIFs—whatever you need to get your point across.

The following are more details about each kind of chat:

One-on-one chat

At the top of your list of chats and channels, select New message .
Type the person’s name and compose your message in the text box.
Select Send or press Enter. This starts the chat.

Chat with yourself

For times when you want to draft messages, send files from one device to another, or get to know features a little better, you can start a chat with yourself. Everything you do in a regular chat you can also do in a chat with yourself.

To start a chat with yourself, select New message and enter your name. The new chat appears at the top of your chats and channels list.
Drag it to the top of the Favorites list, if you want.

Group chat

Use a group chat when you need to talk to a small group of people. Start one the same way you start a one-on-one chat.

Select New message at the top of your list of chats and channels.
Type a name for the chat group in the Group name box.
Type the names of the people you’d like to add in the To box.

Once the chat has begun, choose it from the chat list to resume the conversation and send more messages.

Note: The New message feature in Teams is part of the public preview program. It might undergo further changes before being released publicly. To get access to this and other upcoming features, switch to Teams public preview.

2. Press Shift+Enter to start a new line

Pressing Enter sends the message. If you want to start a new line, try the following:

To start a new paragraph, press Shift+Enter to insert the line break.
If you’ve opened formatting options, press Enter to start a new line of text, and then select Send .

3. Select Format to see all your formatting options

There are many formatting options for messages.

To open your formatting options, select Format on the right side of the box where you type your message.
In this expanded view, select the text that you want to format. Then choose an option like B, I, or U to bold, italicize, or underline the text. There are also options for highlighting, font size, font color, lists, and more.

4. Add emoji or GIFs or add attachments

You can also add emojis, GIFs, and stickers. Attach files and add actions, such as scheduling a meeting, choosing delivery options, and more. Select Actions and apps Cross icon at top of the screen to all the actions you can perform and apps you can use.

5. Chat happens in channels, too

When you go to any channel, the very first tab is Posts. Think of posts as one big group chat. Everyone who has access to the channel can see messages in Posts.

Based on your organization and culture, you'll need to decide which messages are suitable for the Poststab in a particular channel.

Another important thing to know 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 what's great about threaded conversations.

To reply to a channel message, use the Reply link underneath the message.

6. There are several ways to search for and find messages

Search for messages based on the sender or characteristics of the message. Below are some ways to search for a message. To learn about all your searching options, see Search for messages and more in Microsoft Teams.

Find a chat based on a person’s name

Enter the person’s name in the search box at the top of Teams. You’ll see their name and any group chats you're both a part of. Select their name to go to your one-on-one chat with them or select a group chat to resume that chat.

Find a message that has a keyword that you remember

Start typing a keyword into the search box and press Enter. You’ll see a list of results that include the keyword.

To leave search and go back to chats and channels, select the back arrow at the top of Teams.

Filter to show certain types of messages

Select More list options > Filters.
Select Show filter text box at the top of chats and channels, and then enter the person’s or group's name.
Choose the button to sort through chats, channels, unread messages, and chats and channels that are not muted. You can select multiple buttons at the same time to filter in detail.

Note: The Show filter text box in Teams is available as part of the public preview program and might undergo further changes before being released publicly. To get access to this and other upcoming features, switch to Teams public preview.

7. Leave, hide, or mute chats to keep them out of your way

You can leave a chat conversation, hide the chat from the chat list, or mute it so you stop getting notifications. For details, see Leave a chat thread in Teams and Hide, mute, or add a chat to Favorites in Teams.

You can also delete individual messages you've sent.