How to use Sections in Microsoft Teams

If you’re anything like me, your Microsoft Teams list can start looking like a messy wardrobe with teams everywhere, channels scattered, and you can never find what you need when you need it. That’s where sections come in. They’re like drawers in a wardrobe, that help you group things neatly so you can grab what you need without rummaging around.

Combined Teams and Chat view

Sections are incredibly useful if you are using the new Combined Teams and Chat view. Microsoft released an update quite awhile ago that automatically consolidated the Teams and Chat sections into one space. This meant that users had to click on the Chat button to access their Teams as well, it confused a lot of users and also means that the space can get very busy espcially if you have a lot of Chat’s and a lot of Teams.

Sections can really help when using the Combined view to allow you to organise your most important channels and chats.

If you prefer the OG separate view you can easily switch back to it:

1. Click the ellipsis (…) button in the top right corner of the Teams window.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Select the Chats and channels option from the list in the sidebar.
4. Under Viewing chats, teams and channels, choose Separate.
5. The separate Teams button will now appear in the sidebar.

What Are Sections?

Sections are a way to organise your Teams list into categories. Instead of having one long list, you can create sections like:

• Projects: for all the work you’re currently delivering.
• Departments: for teams you need to check in with occasionally.
• Learning: for training or professional development groups.

Think of sections as labels on boxes. Everything is still there, but now it’s grouped and easier to find.

How to add a channel to Favourites

Teams come with one default section called Favourites. If you are using a channel and/or chat on a frequent basis, you will find it more convenient to add it to the Favourites section. It will then appear in a separate Favourites list. This is particularly useful if you are a member of multiple Teams and you are finding it time consuming to jump between Teams and channels which you are very active in. This will provide quick and easy access to the channel ongoing.

To add a channel to the Favourites section:

1. Locate the channel or chat you want to add to Favourites and click the ellipsis button (…).

2. Choose Show in > Favourites.
3. The channel will now be displayed at the top of the list:

Even inside a team, some channels matter more than others. For example, if you’re working on a big project, the General channel might not be where the action is, it’s probably in Project Updates or Client Feedback.

Once you’ve added the most important channels or chats to the Favourites, you can collapse the Teams and channels list and it helps to declutter the interface and work more efficiently. You can also expand the list at any time to check for any updates in less active channels.

Create a section

So we know that Teams has a default section called Favourites, but what if you want to create your own sections to organise your channels and/or chats even further?

To create a section in Teams:

1. Find a channel that you’d like to add to a new section.
2. Click the ellipsis button (…) for the channel.
3. Choose Show in and then select New section.
4. The Create a new section window will appear:

5. Enter a name for the new section.
6. If you’d like to include an emoji in the section name, click the emoji button to browse through the options.
7. Otherwise click Create.
8. The new section will appear along with the channel added to it:

Why Bother Creating Sections?

Here’s why I swear by them:

• Less clutter: Instead of scrolling through a never-ending list, I can jump straight to the section I need.
• Focus: When I’m wearing my “Director” hat, I stay in my Leadership section. When I switch to training mode, I head to Learning.
• Quick access: High-priority teams live in their own section, so I’m not hunting for them.

It’s like organising the apps on your phone, sure you could scroll forever, but folders make life easier.

Use sections to keep your pinned channels organised and to make sure the conversations that matter most are always at your fingertips.

Want to learn some more useful tips? Check out my post on how to save messages in Microsoft Teams and be sure to check out some useful shortcut key options to use in Teams.