Forum Discussion
Don't understand different file options in MS Teams
when I try to open a file in MS Teams I get all these different options - Download, Open in Sharepoint, Open in (Excel), open in (Excel Online), Edit in Teams. I don't understand all these different options and what the pros and cons of them are. I know I don't want to edit my excel spreadsheet in Teams (limited functionality) so should I download it, open it in Sharepoint, open it in Excel (desktop browser) or open it in Excel online? Please could somebody explain these options to me, and when I should use them.
cargyle Hello, I would say it comes down to your preferences and way of working, e.g. "what do you need to do and where". But it's all about giving you options really. As you already pointed out it's limited functionality within Teams/web apps. So for smaller adjustments or just viewing content that could suit your needs. As for open in desktop app you get the full feature functionality edit mode, and when opening in SharePoint you're being directed to the underlying group (all Teams has a underlying group) with a different interface. Does that answer your question?
*edit* didn't notice there already was a reply to this.
yes thanks ChristianBergstrom , it helps me understand the rationale for the different options and why I might use them.
- Download = download a copy of the file to your machine
This is good if you want to make changes on a copy of the file, without affecting the original. Bear in mind you would then need to upload your changed copy when your'e done - otherwise the copy only exists on your machine, and nobody else can access it.
Edit in Teams = Opens the file in Excel Online in your Teams app
This option is good for editing the file whilst staying in the Teams app, so you can see any conversations going on regarding that file, keep an eye on other things going on inside of Teams - all in a single window.
Open in Excel = Opens the file in your Excel desktop app
This is good if it's a really large or complex file, maybe one with lots of complex formulae, macros, etc. some of which may not be supported in the Teams or browser versions.
Open in Excel Online = Opens the file in Excel Online in your web browser
This is good for a quick look, or to make simple changes to the file, and you want to have it in a different window (compared to the Edit in Teams option)
Open in SharePoint = Opens the current folder directly in SharePoint in your web browser, so you see the same list of files as you did in the Teams Files tab.
