Search for messages and more in Microsoft Teams
There are many ways to find messages, people, files, and other information shared in Teams. Simply type a word or name to view related results. Search a specific area or start your search in the search box at the top. Then, filter your results for greater detail.
Search for chats and channel with the GoTo command
Search for messages
Search for chats and channels with the GoTo command
If you participate in many chats and channels, the GoTo command is a fast way to go directly to the chat or channel you want.
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In the Search box, type /, and select /goto.
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Select a chat or channel from the list or type a chat or channel name and press Enter.
Note: The /goto command in Teams is available in the public preview program. It might be changed again before it is made public. To get access to this and other upcoming features, switch to Teams public preview.
Search your current location with Ctrl+F
Press Ctrl+F (cmd+F on macOS) to search messages within a particular chat or channel in Teams.
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Go to the area you want to search. Examples are a recent chat or a channel within a team.
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Press Ctrl+F, type your search term, then select Go
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Choose from the available results to jump to the item you want.
Search on desktop
Search for messages
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Type a keyword or a person’s name in the Search box. Teams returns results immediately.
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To filter results further, select Messages. Choose from the results to view the message.
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If your search doesn’t return what you’re looking for, select View all messages to see more results. The top results appear.
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Press Enter to see all results for that keyword or name.
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To search in more detail, choose the following:
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Type: Choose to search in Chats or Channels.
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Teams and channels: Start to type a name and suggested teams and channels are displayed for you to choose.
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From: Type the name of the person who sent the message.
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Date: Choose when the message was sent or add a date range to search.
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More: Select More to filter @Mentions for your name, messages with attachments, or to hide messages about apps and bots.
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Tip: For more detailed results, press Enter to filter messages by who sent them, when and where they were sent or if they have links or attachments.
Search for files
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Locate a file by typing its name or a keyword.
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To filter results further, select Files.
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If your search doesn’t produce what you’re looking for, select View all messages to see more results. The top results appear.
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To search in more detail, select the following:
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Team: Type in a team name.
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File Type: Choose the file type from the list.
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Modified by: Type the name of the person who edited or changed the file.
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Date: Choose when the message was sent or add a date range to search.
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Search for group chats
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Locate a group chat by typing its name or a keyword.
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To filter results further, select Group Chats.
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If your search doesn’t produce what you’re looking for, select View all messages to see more results. The top results appear.
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To search in more detail, select the following:
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Team: Type in a team name.
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File Type: Choose the file type from the list.
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Modified by: Type the name of the person who edited or changed the file.
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Date: Choose when the message was sent or add a date range to sear ch.
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Search for teams and channels
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Type the name of the team or channel in the Search box.
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Select Teams and Channels, and then choose the result to go directly to that team or channel.
Scoped search within Viva Connections
If your organization has Viva Connections set up, you can scope your search to results within your Connections experience.
Select the search box within Viva Connections. As you type, you'll be provided with the option to "Search in Viva Connections" (or the name your organization chose for Connections), in addition to being able to search in Teams.
Select a search result to go to the corresponding Connections (or Teams) experience.
Note: Viva Connections is available to all Microsoft 365 or Office 365 enterprise plan users.
Optimize your search
Use search modifiers
For richer search results in messages, use KQL (Keyword Query Language). The following are the modifiers that Teams supports:
Note: Remember that there's no space between the colon and the search terms.
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From:Person's name
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In:Channel or group chat name
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Subject:Keyword from a channel message with a subject line
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Sent:Date
Search tips from the pros
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Use an asterisk * to get results for any words with a matching prefix. Type the first few letters of a word followed immediately by an asterisk. For example, type "serv*" into the search box, and you'll get results for all words that start with those four letters (for example, server and service).
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Use quotation marks to search for an exact match on a word or phrase. Example: “annual budget”.
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The search box also supports certain spell corrections and nickname matches when searching for people.
Note: For more info about using KQL, see the developer documentation at Keyword Query Language (KQL) syntax reference.
Search on a mobile device
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Tap Search
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