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Microsoft Teams Blog
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Four more reasons to love apps in Microsoft Teams

Pete_Daderko's avatar
Pete_Daderko
Icon for Microsoft rankMicrosoft
Jan 21, 2020
Microsoft Teams can help you streamline your productivity tasks and critical business processes when you integrate your apps and workflows – whether that’s tracking student grades, re-stocking supplies, or giving employees the tools and resources they need to manage their careers.  We are constantly working to improve the apps experience – from finding the right app to making it readily accessible when you need it –  and are excited to share four more reasons to love apps in Teams!
 
1. Easily find the apps you need
Thanks to the integrated search in the app store flyout, it has never been easier to find the exact app that you’re looking for.  When you click the “…” on the Teams app bar, you’ll see a grid of apps and can simply type the app name that you’re looking for into the search bar.  You can also search apps that support messaging extensions by clicking the “…” in the message bar , and searching for your app - only those apps that support message extensions will appear here. 

 
2. Feel confident about adding the right apps
Choosing the right app to use shouldn’t be a stressful process – there are a few important details that you want to know before deciding to add that app.  The updated app install flow provides app data connection details, privacy and permissions, rich visual screenshots of the app, how it can be used in Teams, and much more – all from the "add” screen for that app, which is made available anywhere you can add an app in Teams (for example in the app store, or by clicking the “+” at the top of a channel).

 
 
3. Effortlessly add apps
Now that you’ve added that app that you can’t live without, you may want to use it in multiple places in Teams without having to go through the process of finding it again and again.  Fortunately, when you add an app in Teams, that app can be easily added anywhere you work.  Just add it once (from the app store, for example) and you’ll then find that app available to pin to the top of channels or chats, as well as on the “…” on your Teams app bar.
 
Of course, you still have full control over which apps are added, and where.
 
4. Readily access your personal apps
Pinning apps to relevant channels or chats is a great way to rally a team around a particular app.  But personal apps don’t neatly align to a particular channel or chat, so you will soon be able to pin these personal apps right (well, actually left :smile:) where you can readily access them – on the Teams app bar.  Simply find the app, right-click the icon, and select “pin”.  Even after you navigate away, the app icon will remain so you can easily return to it. 
 
This feature is in addition to the Teams Admin’s ability to establish tenant-wide policies for the apps that appear on everyone’s Teams app bar. 
 
 
Start streamlining your work by bringing your apps into Teams
Check out the Teams apps catalog!  There’s a good chance the apps that you already use and love are available.  Or build your own custom apps with the help of the low-code app development tool Microsoft Power Apps and bring them into Teams
 
Updated Jan 26, 2021
Version 3.0

13 Comments

  • Sai Gutta's avatar
    Sai Gutta
    Iron Contributor

    ngath - I think you check it in App Catalog -https://appsource.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/apps?src=wnblogmar2018&product=teams

  • ngath's avatar
    ngath
    Iron Contributor
    There is a big problem with adding apps in Teams, in my organization apps permissions are done with a whitelist meaning apps are blocked by default and are then manually approved. The problem is to approve an app I need to request that it should be approved but since it is already blocked I can't see it at all and don't even know that it exists. So I think we need some way of seeing unapproved apps even if we are not allowed to install them.
  • Sai Gutta's avatar
    Sai Gutta
    Iron Contributor

    Pete_Daderko - Is pinning apps to side bar available globally? I do not seem to know how to make it work in my tenant, even though Allow user pinning is enabled.