If
you’re new to the Microsoft Team, stay tuned for the best hidden features that
will upgrade your productivity level.

In
this article, we’re going to reveal top Microsoft team features that you can
find on Microsoft Teams and Outlook. These features are great if you wish to
stay organized and focused on the task at hand. Microsoft Outlook, as you know,
has a number of features that improve the email workflow and make the office
experience more efficient and secure.

In
November, Microsoft Teams announced that it reached a 115 million daily
activity – the number skyrocketed due to the lockdown and work from home
protocols. Of course, the pandemic resulted in engagement that went straight
off the roof.

But
wait for it – Microsoft 365 also announced that it generates 30 billion
collaboration minutes in a day. Now that’s something!

It
wouldn’t be wrong to claim that Teams has completely sidelined Skype in terms of
business and academic handlings. Employees prefer to use this platform for
one-on-one conversations, video meetings, and even audio calls.

Like
our page on Facebook for more information on the impact of Microsoft Teams
during lockdown.

Anyway,
let’s get on with this article and uncover the top 8 hidden features of the two
productivity platforms!

Tabs

You
can’t deny that the best apps on Teams are the ones that are already built-in.
There’s a feature on Microsoft Teams titled ‘Tabs’, which allows businesses to
showcase interactive content to their respective teams. You may find two
different types of tabs on Teams: Static and Configurable tabs.

Static
tab provides support to individual users. For example, employees or students
can optimize that tab by creating personal notes every day.

Configurable
tab is included as the channel of Teams. You can gain information and guidance
regarding Teams from this tab.

Microsoft
Immersive Reader

Now
this option is often overlooked, but if it’s used correctly, it can improve your
experience significantly. However, this option is only accessible to the users
who are signed up as educational institutions.

The
role of immersive read is simple – it speaks the text that is printed on the
channel loudly in a coherent speech. This is incredible for those with ADHD or
reading difficulties, as it increases the focus on the text and helps the user
grasp as much information as possible.

You
basically have to click the 3 dots that are present on all the messages that
appear and select the reader that will present itself in the form of a
drop-down menu.

Bookmark Specific
Content

If
you prefer highlighting important content, you can use this option! Microsoft
Teams has this brilliant feature that allows you to bookmark specific chunks of
information – it can be messages or an attachment. Next, you have the option to
classify it as significant; this saves time, as you don’t have to search for the
key information for several minutes only to get distracted again.

Get Work Done
Fast With Slash Commands

Speed
is essential – it makes or breaks your chances of attaining top grades. Hence,
if you wish to complete your work fast, make sure you know how to navigate this
app effectively. You know what you need? You need slash command to use Teams in
a fresh and efficient manner. Like, you can utilize slash commands to show
whether you’re away or online.

/Files
can help you reach the most recent files in seconds,/GoTo can take you straight
to a channel and,If you select /H, you can immediately avail help from the
Teams Bot.

Access a
Personalized View of Apps and Contacts

Do
you know why employees have assigned specific apps to get their work done?

Basically,
there are certain applications that are designed to increase productivity. And
if you search for productivity tools on the internet, Microsoft Teams will
definitely come out on top! And this app grants you a familiar experience.
Like, you can access the “Personal App Space” to view items like the tasks
assigned to you from different apps. You can personalize the view and make it
like a planner. 

Hide and Show Teams
to Stay Organized

The
most challenging thing to accomplish is to finish work on time without having
an organized section to to-do-lists. It’s difficult to manage tasks that are
unstructured, as all the mess is visible and distracting.

Microsoft
Teams ensures that you tackle this problem efficiently. It has features that
were previously known as ‘Favorite’ and ‘Remove from Favorites’;their names are
now upgraded to ‘Show’ and ‘Hide’. What they do is help you see the required
information while hiding the unnecessary stuff that might distract or overwhelm
you.

With
the help of this feature, you can decide which channels are important and which
ones are unnecessary. If you get mentioned by someone from the hidden channel,
you will get a notification, and that’s more appropriate.

Meeting Whiteboards

If
you’re in an online meeting, what is that one feature that you wish you had?
Like, normally, in meetings we have presentations, speakers, data and backup
files, stationary, notebooks, and a whiteboard in case anyone has to draw or
write something.

In
online meetings, initially when the pandemic began, this was a problem.
Microsoft Teams didn’t have a whiteboard that participants could use to scribble or
doodle on.

Of
course, the app took notice of this, and introduced this feature recently. Now,
participants have access to this tool which they can use to improve meetings
and collaborate visually.

Choose Which
Folder Displays on Outlook Launch

Enough
with the Microsoft Team, we’re going to talk about one last hidden feature from
Outlook.

If
you have multiple email accounts on Outlook for some reason, you can now keep
them organized and separate. You have the option of choosing which email
addresses inbox you’d like to see as the default.

All
you have to do is go to the File, click on Options, and choose Advanced (that
is present at the left pane on the Outlook dialog box).

Next,
in the start and exit section, you’ll find an option named “Browse”; now simply
find the email account you want and choose its Inbox as default.

However,
we’ve been informed that this technique doesn’t always stick. So do let us know
if it worked for you!

Also,
which ones of the top 8 features of Microsoft Teams did you already know about?
Furthermore, were you able to elevate your productivity by utilizing the best out
of Microsoft Teams?