Whilst Teams is great for keeping in contact both on and off site, there are times/days when it may not be appropriate to have notifications popping up such as in calls or in person meetings. To help manage this, settings are available to help customize when and where notifications will appear whilst Teams is running.

Setting a Status

A status is a notification modifier and a visual indicator to users when you are online and if available to communicate. You will find these as coloured dots, both in your Teams icon on your relevant taskbar/dock, in any system tray icons and on the Desktop version next to your avatar on the top right of the program/website window. You'll also see these next to other people's avatars in 1:1 group chats, channels and when you mention people with the @ symbol. For Office 365 "E3" users, these indicators will show up in Outlook 365 too next to any avatars as part of any email conversations with Trust users. 

 

Figure 17 - Windows Desktop Version


Figure 18 - Desktop Version

 

To set your visual status on the Desktop version, click on your avatar in the top right corner. The first option below your name will reveal a menu allowing you to choose your current status.

The account and status menus on the Desktop/web version.

Figure 19 - Desktop Version


On mobile, this can be achieved by selecting the hamburger menu in the top left corner of the app and choosing the first option just below your name to expand the menu.

A screenshot of a cell phone Description automatically generated

Figure 20 - Mobile Version


The status system is also semi automated, responding to your Outlook calendar and activity levels. For example, when you don't use your computer for a while, the program will automatically put you in Away mode and automatically restore your status when you log back in. Similarly if you take an audio or video call in Teams, you status will switch automatically to a version of Busy named In a Call and revert back once you hang up. Do Not Disturb is also a special status and will silence notifications until you manually set yourself as Available, Busy, Be Right Back or Appear Away again. The exception to this rule is anyone you name as a priority contact, whom will still be able to get in touch with you despite this status (you can see more about setting these up here).

It should be noted that any messages sent that are marked as urgent will override any status given.


Setting a Custom Message

You can also write a custom status that can appear when you avatar is hovered over or set to send as an automatic reply when a message is sent to you. To set this click on your avatar in the top right corner. If you haven't already set a status, you should see the Set status message option. On the Desktop version, if you already have a status you may either click on the "pencil" icon to edit or the "bin" icon to delete it and start again. On mobile, simply select your status to edit it.

 

 

Status preview on the Desktop/Web version. In the right corner there is a pencil icon to edit the current and a bin icon to delete it.

Figure 21 - Desktop Version



Status setting button on the Desktop/Web version. The caption of the button previews the current status text.

Figure 22 - Mobile Version

 

Fill in your message (using the @ symbol to mention any further contacts)  and choose a time for the status to expire (if any). To have this message appear whenever you are mentioned with the @ symbol or having a message sent to you in a 1:1 chat, select the show when people message me checkbox. Once complete, press the Done button to set this. On mobile, this is the "tick" icon in the top right corner of the app.


The status textbox on the Desktop/Web version. Below it are options to show the status to users whenever you type a message to them as well as a dropdown menu to set when the status will expire. Finally, there is a done button at the bottom of the popup.

Figure 23 - Desktop Version

The status textbox on the Mobile version. Below it is a switch to show the status to users whenever you type a message to them as well as a setting to set when the status will expire. Finally, there is a tick and cross button at the top of the screen to set/cancel respectively.

Figure 24 - Mobile Version