Teams Tips and Features: Channels Updates – Tech Tip for September 3, 2024

In this week’s Tech Tip, we explore recent updates to Microsoft Teams related to customizing channel views and hide settings. Microsoft has been making incremental changes to the way that channels function in Teams, which includes a new channels navigation page, and new Settings defaults. Let’s look at the channels navigation, Teams Settings and more, below.

See All Channels Navigation

As part of recent Teams updates, Microsoft has added a Channels landing page that includes the ability to sort different channels by ‘All,’ ‘Shown,’ ‘Hidden,’ and ‘Sort A-Z.’ Let’s explore the new Channels landing page, below:

• Select ‘Teams’ button from main Teams menu at left:
  • Expand Team to see channels listed. Not seeing your usual default channels?
  • Click to select a Team to view channels. 
  • Select ‘See all channels’ link under selected Team channels.
• From the new ‘channels’ landing page, select to sort from the following options:
  • All: This default view shows all channels at-a-glance (including hidden channels). Select ‘Show’ to show the Channel under your ‘Team.’
  • Shown: This page details all the Teams currently showing under your Team. Select ‘Show’ next to each channel you need to show.
  • Hidden: This page lists all Hidden Teams channels. Selecting ‘Show’ will show the channel under ‘Your Team.’
  • Sort A-Z: Sort all channels from ‘A-Z’ or vice-versa, or sort by ‘Recommended first,’ or ‘Activity.’
  • Search channels: When you have too many channels to review at-a-glance, use the ‘Search channels’ feature instead, to get to the channel you need, quickly.

Hide Inactive Channels

There is a new channel setting that has been added to Teams Settings. Hide inactive channels in Teams is toggled on by default and hides any channels with posts not active past a 45-day window. The ‘Hide inactive channels’ default is a recent addition. The ‘inactive 45-day window’ does not include ‘Files tab’-only activity.

• Turn off ‘Hide inactive channels’ in Teams Settings.
  • Select ‘Settings and more’ () to left of Teams profile icon.
  • Select ‘Settings’ (gear icon) from drop-down.
• In ‘General’ settings, scroll to bottom, to ‘Hide inactive channels.’
  • Toggle default setting to ‘off’ to unhide channels.
  • Selecting ‘Hide now’ button will launch a pop-up window:
    • All channels visible will be selected at left, by default.
    • Deselect any channels you do not wish to hide. 
    • Select ‘Hide selected’ button to complete action.
    • Click ‘Cancel’ button to close pop-up window.

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