Become a Pro with these Microsoft Teams Shortcuts
If you’re using Microsoft Teams on a daily basis (and if you aren’t now, you will be soon!), then keyboard shortcuts are going to be a huge time-saver for you. Understanding how to use Microsoft Teams is a good start, but mastering shortcuts will help increase productivity as you navigate to your most used Teams features.
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Workstream collaboration apps will be accessible to nearly 55% of knowledge workers, and by the end of 2022, 70% of teams will rely on WSC as the primary means of communicating, coordinating and sharing information between teams, displacing email. Your use of WSC apps seems to be inevitable, and it’s never too early to master how to use Microsoft Teams and become a power user of keyboard shortcuts.
To Start: What is Microsoft Teams?
Teams is a new breed of unified communications tool that is part of the emerging workstream collaboration category. It allows you to communicate with your fellow employees, partners, clients, and more, regardless of location. It provides a common workspace to share information and has baked-in features like document sharing, personal messaging, team and group chats, conferencing, and even, in the case of Microsoft Teams, telephony.
What’s more, Microsoft Teams also comes fully integrated with other Office 365 productivity tools such as Skype for Business, SharePoint, Exchange, and Yammer, making it the productivity hub software for all your communication and collaboration needs.
Gain a simultaneous, panoramic view of all collaboration and communications platforms, expediting responses to service interruptions and threats.
Microsoft Teams Shortcut Categories
Teams shortcuts are broken up into several categories including general, navigation, messaging, and meetings and calls. They allow you to move throughout Teams without reaching over for the mouse and progressing through a series of clicks to reach your final destination or outcome. These shortcuts are also critical for users with mobility or vision disabilities, as shortcuts can be easier than using the touchscreen. Below is an itemized list of how to use Microsoft Teams shortcuts for each category:
General
Microsoft Teams shortcuts for Windows
| To do this | In the Desktop app, press | In the Web app, press |
| Show keyboard shortcuts | Ctrl+Period (.) | Ctrl+Period (.) |
| Go to Search | Ctrl+E | Ctrl+E |
| Show commands | Ctrl+Slash (/) | Ctrl+Slash (/) |
| Goto | Ctrl+G | Ctrl+Shift+G |
| Start a new chat | Ctrl+N | Alt+N |
| Open Settings | Ctrl+Comma (,) | Ctrl+Comma (,) |
| Open Help | F1 | Ctrl+F1 |
| Close | Esc | Esc |
| Zoom in | Ctrl+Equals sign (=) | No shortcut |
| Zoom out | Ctrl+Minus sign (-) | No shortcut |
Microsoft Teams shortcuts for Mac
| To do this | Mac | Web |
| Show keyboard shortcuts | Command+Period (.) | Command+Period (.) |
| Go to Search | Command+E | Command+E |
| Show commands | Command+Slash (/) | Command+Slash (/) |
| Goto | Command+G | Command+Shift+G |
| Start new chat | Command+N | Option+N |
| Open Settings | Command+Comma (,) | Command+Shift+Comma (,) |
| Open Help | F1 | Command+F1 |
| Close | Esc | Esc |
| Zoom in | Command+Equals sign (=) | No shortcut |
| Zoom out | Command+Minus sign (-) | No shortcut |
| Return to default zoom | Command+0 | No shortcut |
Navigation
Microsoft Teams shortcuts for Windows
| To do this | In the Desktop app, press | In the Web app, press |
| Open Activity | Ctrl+1 | Ctrl+Shift+1 |
| Open Chat | Ctrl+2 | Ctrl+Shift+2 |
| Open Teams | Ctrl+3 | Ctrl+Shift+3 |
| Open Meetings | Ctrl+4 | Ctrl+Shift+4 |
| Open Calls | Ctrl+5 | Ctrl+Shift+5 |
| Open Files | Ctrl+6 | Ctrl+Shift+6 |
| Go to previous list item | Alt+Shift+Up arrow key | Alt+Up arrow key |
| Go to next list item | Alt+Shift+Down arrow key | Alt+Down arrow key |
| Move selected team up | Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow key | No shortcut |
| Move selected team down | Ctrl+Shift+Down arrow key | No shortcut |
| Go to previous section | Ctrl+Shift+F6 | Ctrl+Shift+F6 |
| Go to next section | Ctrl+F6 | Ctrl+F6 |
Microsoft Teams shortcuts for Mac
| To do this | Mac | Web |
| Open Activity | Command+1 | Command+Shift+1 |
| Open Chat | Command+2 | Command+Shift+2 |
| Open Teams | Command+3 | Command+Shift+3 |
| Open Meetings | Command+4 | Command+Shift+4 |
| Open Calls | Command+5 | Command+Shift+5 |
| Open Files | Command+6 | Command+Shift+6 |
| Go to previous list item | Option+Up arrow key | Option+Up arrow key |
| Go to next list item | Option+Down arrow key | Option+Down arrow key |
| Move selected team up | Command+Shift+Up arrow key | No shortcut |
| Move selected team down | Command+Shift+Down arrow key | No shortcut |
| Go to the previous section | Command+Shift+F6 | Command+Shift+F6 |
| Go to the next section | Command+F6 | Command+F6 |
Messaging
Microsoft Teams shortcuts for Windows
| To do this | In the Desktop app, press | In the Web app, press |
| Go to compose box | C | C |
| Expand compose box | Ctrl+Shift+X | Ctrl+Shift+X |
| Send (expanded compose box) | Ctrl+Enter | Ctrl+Enter |
| Attach file | Ctrl+O | Ctrl+Shift+O |
| Start new line | Shift+Enter | Shift+Enter |
| Reply to thread | R | R |
| Mark as important | Ctrl+Shift+I | Ctrl+Shift+I |
Microsoft Teams shortcuts for Mac
| To do this | Mac | Web |
| Go to compose box | C | C |
| Expand compose box | Command+Shift+X | Command+Shift+X |
| Send (expanded compose box) | Command+Enter | Command+Enter |
| Attach a file | Command+O | Command+Shift+O |
| Start a new line | Shift+Enter | Shift+Enter |
| Reply to thread | R | R |
Meetings and Calls
Microsoft Teams shortcuts for Windows
| To do this | In the Desktop app, press | In the Web app, press |
| Accept video call | Ctrl+Shift+A | Ctrl+Shift+A |
| Accept audio call | Ctrl+Shift+S | Ctrl+Shift+S |
| Decline call | Ctrl+Shift+D | Ctrl+Shift+D |
| Start audio call | Ctrl+Shift+C | Ctrl+Shift+C |
| Start video call | Ctrl+Shift+U | Ctrl+Shift+U |
| Toggle mute | Ctrl+Shift+M | Ctrl+Shift+M |
| Toggle video | Ctrl+Shift+O | No shortcut |
| Toggle fullscreen | Ctrl+Shift+F | Ctrl+Shift+F |
| Go to sharing toolbar | Ctrl+Shift+Space | Ctrl+Shift+Space |
Microsoft Teams shortcuts for Mac
| To do this | Mac | Web |
| Accept video call | Command+Shift+A | Command+Shift+A |
| Accept audio call | Command+Shift+S | Command+Shift+S |
| Decline call | Command+Shift+D | Command+Shift+D |
| Start audio call | Command+Shift+C | Command+Shift+C |
| Start video call | Command+Shift+U | Command+Shift+U |
| Toggle mute | Command+Shift+M | Command+Shift+M |
| Toggle video | Command+Shift+O | No shortcut |
| Toggle fullscreen | Command+Shift+F | Command+Shift+F |
| Go to sharing toolbar | Command+Shift+Space | Command+Shift+Space |
While all of these shortcuts are great for both the desktop or web app, there are, at least at present, no shortcut functions on mobile.
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