Microsoft Teams is undoubtedly one of the best business communication platforms, while the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its popularity to a whole new level. Since it is being used by millions of users today, Microsoft is on a continuous journey to make Teams advanced and feature-rich. Therefore, every back and forth, we see new features added to it. This blog presents the top 5 new features in Microsoft Teams that you will find very helpful.
1.Meet Now – Get Link to Share
When you are in the Microsoft Teams desktop app, you get the “Meet Now” option to start a new meeting instantly. But previously you didn’t get the option to share the meeting link and invite others before starting a meeting. This is now solved, as now when you click “Meet Now”, you will see the option “Get a link to share”. Once you like it, the link gets copied to your clipboard and you can also share it via email.
2.Custom Virtual Backgrounds on Phone
Previously, you could only set custom virtual backgrounds while using the desktop version of Teams. But now this feature is also available for iPhone and Android phones. Before joining a meeting, click on “Background effects” and you will see many different backgrounds that you can set. You can also add the custom one from your phone by clicking the “+” icon. Afterward, click “Done” and join the meeting. If you see that the background is not showing in full size or it is inverted, then stay relaxed because the other meeting participants are seeing the full background and the right picture.
3.Live Captions
Now you can turn on live captions and it will instantly start showing captions of what you or other meeting participants are speaking. To access this feature, click the three-dots vertical icon from the top while in a meeting and then click “Turn on live captions”. This way, it will start showing you the live captions.
4.New Sharing Tray
Microsoft Teams has a new sharing tray now which is more enhanced, clear, and makes sharing content more convenient. To access it, click the “Share Content” icon next to the “Leave” button while on a meeting. There you can see the improvements Microsoft has done to it, such as you can now easily access Whiteboard, you can open up presentations quickly, and similar others.
In addition, you can also see some enhancements in the presentation mode in a meeting. For example, if you press the “G” key or click on the “Grid view” icon below the slide, you will see a grid view of all of your presentation slides and can easily navigate between them. In addition, next to the “Grid view” icon, click on the three-dots horizontal icon and there you will find two new enhancement options, i.e., hide presenter view and view slides in high contrast.
5.Breakout Room Enhancements
The breakout rooms in Microsoft Teams have also seen enhancements. Now you can assign people to rooms and use those assigned settings continuously in the future without setting up again and again. You can even set up a time limit per session in your breakout room. To access these settings, click on the “Breakout room” icon from the top. Next, you can manually assign people or use the automatic feature. Once done, click “Create rooms”. To add the time limit, click the three-dot horizontal icon and then click “Rooms settings”. Turn on the “Set a time limit” option and set up the time limit. Once everything is set, click “Start rooms”. The session will start and it will automatically end at the set time limit.
Wrapping Up
Microsoft Teams is getting great attention due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and that’s why we are witnessing continuous improvements and upgrades. Therefore, if you are a regular user of Microsoft Teams, then you must keep a close eye on new feature updates to keep enhancing your experience.
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