Microsoft Teams keyboard shortcuts you need to know on Windows

Microsoft Teams has seen a steady increase in daily users since the COVID-19 pandemic. The app will have 270 million users in 2022, up from 145 million in 2021. Users love it, not only because of its integration with other Microsoft Office products, but also because of how it made working remotely a breeze for many people.

Like any other software, Microsoft Teams has handy shortcuts that can increase your productivity and save you a lot of time. No need to look at the menu and click buttons to start a video call, create a new meeting invitation or format your message. All it takes is a few keystrokes.

The keyboard shortcuts listed here work for both the Windows desktop and Web apps. If you are using macOS, simply press the Command or Apple key instead of the Ctrl key when using these keyboard shortcuts.

For messages

Since Teams is primarily a messaging app, it can be very helpful to know the message-related keyboard shortcuts used in the app. Here are a few:

Ctrl + Shift + N

This is an easy way to open a new chat. The essay box opens in a separate window where the receive field is not filled in.

Ctrl + R

Pressing this shifts the focus/mouse from the chat box to the essay box.

Shift + Enter

This begins a new line in the drafting box.

Ctrl + Shift + I

If you want your recipient to pay more attention to your message, you can mark it as important.

Ctrl + Shift + X

Use this to expand the essay box so you can access more writing tools such as character size, paragraph style and indentation.

Ctrl + Enter

When the essay box is expanded, your message is not sent immediately with a simple press of enter. You should press Ctrl + Enter instead.

Ctrl + M

In the chat box, press Ctrl + M to bring the focus to the messages in the thread. Press the Up and Down arrow keys to switch between messages.

Enter

When the messages are targeted (after pressing Ctrl + M), press Enter and the Left or Right arrow keys to select a response.

For meetings and talks

Apart from message-related shortcuts, there are also some shortcuts that can come in handy for meetings and calls in Teams.

Ctrl + Shift + U

Use this to start a video call with the person you are chatting with. This works while you are in the chat box.

Alt + Shift + N

From the Meet or Calendar app, you can schedule a meeting by pressing Alt + Shift + N. This opens the New Meeting form, where you can add the title, time, date, participants, and so on of the meeting.

Ctrl + Shift + E

When you are in a meeting and need to share your screen, press Ctrl + Shift + E to do this easily.

Ctrl + Shift + O

If you just like to keep your video on while presenting or talking, you can use Ctrl + Shift + O to easily turn your camera on and off.

Ctrl + Shift + M

Like Ctrl + Shift + O, this shortcut makes switching between your microphone quick and easy.

Ctrl + Shift + P

When you’ve opened your camera but hate displaying your messy background, press Ctrl + Shift + P to open your Background Settings pane instead of fumbling around in the menu.

Ctrl + Shift + K

So you need to raise your hand quickly, but can’t find the button to do so? Ctrl + Shift + K does the trick. You can also use this to lower your hand.

Voor navigatie

The user interface of the Teams app is quite simple and does not have complicated menus and features to navigate around. However, it can still be useful to know some keyboard shortcuts for navigation to increase productivity.

Ctrl + 1 (up to 4)

This opens the first (through fourth) app in the app bar on the left side of the Teams app.

Ctrl + L

Simply press Ctrl + L in a chat box to quickly access the chat list and open another chat box.

Ctrl + Enter

In the chat list, you can open the selected chat in another window by pressing Ctrl + Enter.

Ctrl + E

If you want to find a particular message, person or file, you can easily do so using the search bar. It is located at the top of the app and is easily accessed by pressing Ctrl + E. However, this shortcut does not apply to the web app.

Ctrl + Shift + F

You can use this to open the filter field and filter the chat list by a specific name.

Ctrl + comma (,)

If you need to change a configuration in your Teams app, simply open Settings by pressing Ctrl + comma.

Ctrl + equal sign (=), Ctrl + hyphen (-), Ctrl + 0

Zoom in (or out) with Ctrl + = (or Ctrl + -). Ctrl + 0 resets Teams to the original zoom level.

Ctrl + dot (.)

You can view the list of basic keystrokes by pressing Ctrl + dot.

Source: slashgear