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djcrowley's avatar
djcrowley
Copper Contributor
Jan 20, 2021
Solved

Can I create a desktop shortcut to a Teams file?

I have a spreadsheet that I update frequently. I'd like to move it from my local folder to a Teams/Files folder.  If the file is in Teams, can I create a desktop shortcut to the file so I can open it...
microsoft teams
  • RLSmith-MSDOT's avatar
    RLSmith-MSDOT
    Jun 02, 2022

    ChrisWebbTech 

    Another option is inside of Teams:

    1. go to the Files tab of the Team for the file you wish to create a shortcut to.
    2. click the Show actions dots [...] for the file
    3. click Open >
    4. click Open in browser
    5. If your file opens in Edge
      1. click the Edge browser options dots [...]
      2. click Apps
      3. click Install this site as an app
      4. either use the default name, or edit to create your preferred file name
      5. click [Install]
      6. wait for the file to open
      7. select your choices for "Allow this app to"
      8. click [Allow]
    6. If your file opens in Chrome
      1. click the Chrome browser options dots 

         

      2. click More tools >
      3. click Create shortcut...
      4. either use the default name, or edit to create your preferred file name
      5. Chrome has an option to "Open as window"
        1. Select/check the box will cause the file to open in an "Excel" window
        2. Leaving the box unchecked will cause the file to open in a Chrome browser window

    You should now have a shortcut directly to the file.

     

RLSmith-MSDOT's avatar
RLSmith-MSDOT
Copper Contributor
Jun 02, 2022

ChrisWebbTech 

Another option is inside of Teams:

  1. go to the Files tab of the Team for the file you wish to create a shortcut to.
  2. click the Show actions dots [...] for the file
  3. click Open >
  4. click Open in browser
  5. If your file opens in Edge
    1. click the Edge browser options dots [...]
    2. click Apps
    3. click Install this site as an app
    4. either use the default name, or edit to create your preferred file name
    5. click [Install]
    6. wait for the file to open
    7. select your choices for "Allow this app to"
    8. click [Allow]
  6. If your file opens in Chrome
    1. click the Chrome browser options dots 

       

    2. click More tools >
    3. click Create shortcut...
    4. either use the default name, or edit to create your preferred file name
    5. Chrome has an option to "Open as window"
      1. Select/check the box will cause the file to open in an "Excel" window
      2. Leaving the box unchecked will cause the file to open in a Chrome browser window

You should now have a shortcut directly to the file.

 

Labmind's avatar
Labmind
Copper Contributor
Nov 04, 2022
Thank you But to open the file from it's shortcut in the actual program: Excel, powerpoint...
Microsoft forget people are humans an no coders at most. Make things easy. This solution is a pure mess and don't even answer to the need.
Also please stop thinking people likes to work on Edge where software don't have stability and functionality needed to work, the application is what professional users want's.
  • RLSmith-MSDOT's avatar
    RLSmith-MSDOT
    Copper Contributor
    Nov 07, 2022

    Labmind 

    I appreciate your insight and I do agree with you that Microsoft does not make this process easy. It seems to me that the Microsoft developers did not put a lot of effort into making Teams function well with desktop shortcuts.

     

    The environment for the users I support is a mix of people who have a license to use "the actual program: Excel, powerpoint..." or a license for the online apps (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/progressive-web-apps-chromium/) only.

     

    As far as a preferred browser, I personally prefer to use the Microsoft product (Edge) to ensure compatibility with other Microsoft products (i.e. Teams & Microsoft 365). So far, I have not experienced any issues with "stability and functionality needed to work" while using Edge.

     

    I use both the locally installed https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/what-is-microsoft-365 apps as well as the web (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/progressive-web-apps-chromium/) apps and find that both work equally well on all my devices (ie. desktop, laptop, mobile phone).

     

    The majority of the users in my organization prefer to use the Google Chrome browser. It has been my experience that they run into more "stability and functionality needed to work" issues than the Edge users when working with MS365 or TEAMS. Most of our users are struggling to transition from the legacy MS Office desktop functionality to the MS365 cloud optimized functioning. It really is quite a different mindset.

     

    I have found this podcast to be particularly insightful regarding the use of MS 365, including TEAMS:

    https://practical365.com/podcasts/

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