Once you’ve been using Teams for a while, you might find that you need to go back and reference a previous conversation in Teams. Have you tried scrolling through a conversation in Teams Chat? It’s not ideal. This is where your Search function comes into play.
You can search for text within a group chat or a one-on-one chat in Teams. You can specify the chat you want to search or you can do a general search that will look through all of your conversations.
General Search
To do a general search, go to the search bar at the top of the page in Teams. Type in the search phrase. For example, I want to search for the term “Outlook” look at the results below:
You can see that the search results are listed to the left. You can click on each result and it will take you directly to the conversation that contains your search result. This is extremely handy when you remember having a conversation in Teams that you need to go back and refer to.
Search in a Specific Chat
Go to the specific chat that you want to search, then press Ctrl +F buttons. This will bring up the /Find function in Teams and add the specific location. Then enter the term that you want to search.
Filter by Date Range
If you want to search a specific date range, select More Filters under the Messages tab. Then select the date range that you want to search.
Use a Wildcard
As with many search functions in other applications, you can use a wildcard to search. A wildcard is a character, usually an asterisk (*) that means an unspecified character or group of characters.
In the above example, I searched for Out* using the wildcard. This will search for anything that begins with “out”. My search results includes text with the word “out” and with the word “Outlook”.
Search for an Exact Phrase
You can search for an exact phrase as well by putting quotation marks around your phrase. When I search for “Outlook issue” including the quotation marks, I come up with the following results:
Scrolling through text in Teams can be very daunting and a time-waster. Don’t waste your time looking for previous conversations that way. Use some of these tools in this article and add them to your personal toolbox!
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About Harbor Computer Services
Harbor Computer Services is an IT firm servicing Southeastern Michigan. We work exclusively under contract with our clients to provide technology direction and either become the IT department or provide assistance to the internal IT they already have. We have won many awards for our work over the years, including the worldwide Microsoft Partner of the Year in 2010. Most recently we were recognized as one of the top MSP’s in the nation by ChannelFutures coming in at #40 nationwide. And in 2016 as the top Michigan IT firm for Manufacturing. There are a few simple things that make Harbor Computer Services the best choice for your business. •We are Professionals •We are Responsible •We care about your business
