Whether you’re an experienced Mac user or just starting, learning how to use a new app can be intimidating. Well, have no fear – setting up and joining Teams meetings on Mac is pretty straightforward.
This blog post will give you all the tips and tricks you need so that getting connected with your colleagues or friends is a breeze once you dive in. From downloading Microsoft Teams, setting up audio and video connections, creating chat channels, and more – we’ve got everything covered in this comprehensive guide.
Download Microsoft Teams
Downloading Microsoft Teams on a Mac computer is fairly simple. First, you will need to ensure that your computer meets all Microsoft Teams requirements. This includes having an operating system of OS X Yosemite or later, a 1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better, and at least 4 GB RAM and 3 GB of available hard drive space. You can find some alternatives to Microsoft Publisher macOS can run.
Once you have verified that your Mac computer meets the minimum criteria, you can download the software from the Microsoft website.
You can either go directly to the Microsoft Teams page or search “Microsoft Teams” in Google or another search engine to find it. Scroll down the page until you see the “Download Now” button, and click on it to begin downloading the installer package onto your computer.
Launch it when the download has been completed. Then follow the on-screen instructions step-by-step to install Teams on your Mac. During this process, you may be asked if you would like to join or create a team; select whichever option best suits your needs at this time and continue with installing it.
Set Up Microsoft Team
After installation is complete, open Microsoft Teams from its shortcut in either Finder > Applications or Launchpad > Other > Microsoft Teams, depending on which version of OS X you currently have installed on your machine.
Now sign into your account with either an existing Office 365 account (subscription required) or a free account through Microsoft (no subscription required).
Once logged in, they can access Teams’ features, such as video/audio calling, file sharing, messages between team members, task organization/scheduling, and more.
Create New Chats
Creating new chats in Microsoft Teams on Mac is a relatively simple process. Once you have opened the app, you will be prompted with a few options – select ‘Chats.’ From there, you can start creating your new chat.
To do this, click the plus sign (+) at the top of the ‘Chats’ page. This will open up a drop-down menu with several options, including ‘New Chat.’ This option will create a chat window where you can enter the email addresses or names of people you want to add to it. You can also search for contacts by their name or email address.
Once you have added everyone to the chat window, hit ‘Create’ at the bottom of the page to start your new chat. After clicking ‘Create,’ all members added to the chat will receive an invitation from Microsoft Teams which they must accept before joining the conversation. Your new chat is ready for use.
Start and Schedule Video Meetings
Launch Microsoft teams, navigate to the ‘Meetings’ tab at the top of the screen, and click on ‘Schedule a Meeting.’ You can enter all relevant details from here, such as attendees, meeting title, start time, etc.
Note that this is also where you’ll indicate whether or not you want this meeting to be an audio-only or video call – check off ‘Enable Video’ before continuing.
Once all of your participants have been added and your desired meeting details have been specified, click on ‘Schedule’ at the bottom of the interface – this will then generate a unique URL and invite link that can be shared with your invited guests (the invite link will open their browser directly into your scheduled meeting).
It’s important to note that all of these generated links are only valid until the start time of your meeting, after which they will become inactive.
Once all invited participants have joined via their invite links at the designated start time, everyone will be able to see each other via video through their Microsoft Teams app. You can also use various functions like screen sharing during virtual face-to-face interactions.
When concluding your meeting, make sure everyone clicks on their respective ‘Leave Meeting’ buttons which will close the session for all participants. This is especially important if one or more attendees join via web browser, as failure to leave properly may cause problems attempting future meetings with those same users.
Final Thoughts
While it may initially seem daunting, setting up a Microsoft Teams Meeting on Mac is straightforward. With a few quick and easy steps, you’ll be hosting virtual meetings in no time.
