If you want a little more formatting, text can be set as Bold and Italics as well as making use of bullets & numbering using the formatting tools, which can be summoned by pressing the left most "A" button below the message box (as seen in the previous section).
Please note, if you open the formatting tools you'll need to use the send button above to send your message as pressing enter will create new lines in your message instead.
Much like phone and social media messaging, animated and static emoji are also available in the app to add to your message. Press on the circular smiley face button below the message box to access the menu. On mobile you may need to press on the triple dots and select Emoji from the menu that appears. Text smileys typed into the message box such as :( , :) and <3 should change to emoji automatically.
Images
If images are more your speed, you can drag & drop any image from your computer into the message box to upload to the channel, optionally add some text and press enter or the "paper airplane" to send.
You can also send "stickers" by clicking on the "rectangular smiley face" button below the message box and choosing a sticker from the menu that appears. Once chosen you can customise the message on it to make it personal and press Done to send it. Currently stickers can't be sent on the mobile app.
Figure 9 - Desktop Version
GIFs
Animated GIFs are also supported, however depending on your Trust IT settings, GIPHY may be blocked within your Trust. If so, the animated GIF menu ("GIF" button below the message box) will not currently work on Trust PCs and can only be inserted on the mobile apps.
On the app, select the GIF button below the message box and type in a search term to find the animation you wish to post. You can swipe left and right to scroll through the results. Once chosen, tap on the image, optionally add a message to provide context and press the Send or paper airplane button to post it.
Figure 10 - Tablet/Mobile Version
Images & Documents on Desktop
Images and documents are also shareable too by using the paperclip icon below the message box.
For items stored on your respective computer or network storage, you can select Upload from my Computer and choose your files through the standard dialog box. If OneDrive access becomes available to you, this can be achieved in a similar manner by choosing the OneDrive option. Alternatively, from your file manager you can simply drag and drop the file onto the message box. This will start to upload automatically and allow you to write an optional message to give the file context. If you want to share something that has already been uploaded to the group, choose Browse Teams and Channels to find files that exist.
Once chosen from one of these pathways, optionally add a message to give your file or image some context and press the enter key or paper airplane button to share it.
Figure 11 - Desktop Version
Figure 12 - Desktop Version
Images & Documents on Tablet & Mobile
Due to the app's design, the sharing methods are a little different. Images can be directly uploaded to channels or chats using the picture button below the message box and selected either through the included carousel of your images and videos or by selecting the Open photo library/Take a photo buttons to open your respective camera/gallery apps.
You will need to provide the app permission to access your camera and files at installation or through your Settings app for this functionality to work. You can learn how to do that here for Android and here for iOS/iPadOS.
The Teams app also supports the standard sharing features built into each operating system meaning any documents, files or photos you want to upload to the group can be sent to Teams by pressing your respective share button (may also be named "Send"), selecting Teams , then either choose the individual chat to share with or select the Channels and type in the name of the group or specific channel you want to upload to. The share icon may look different depending on your operating system or app - a selection of them can be found below:
Figure 13 - Share icons across iOS, Android and Windows Phone, courtesy of icon-library.net
Figure 14 - Sharing on the Mobile/Tablet Version
Other Content
What makes channels special compared to chatrooms of the 90s is the large array of what you can share through the message box.
If you've got text from a document or webpage, this can easily be pasted into the message box and sent, with most of it keeping its formatting as is.
Web links can also be shared by copying and pasting them into the message box. If it's a video, picture or blog/news article a small preview should pop up when you send the message, allowing people to have a preview of what you have sent:
Figure 15 - All versions