Microsoft Teams
Sharing Files in a Teams Channel
This guide explains how to share and access files in a Microsoft Teams channel, and shows you where those files are actually stored.
Time needed
10 minutes
Platform
Microsoft 365
Guide steps
3 clear sections
Before you begin
You are signed in to Teams and have access to at least one team and channel.
Follow along
Step-by-step guide
Upload a file to a channel
- Instruction 1: Open Teams and navigate to the team and channel where you want to share the file.
- Instruction 2: Click the Files tab at the top of the channel.
- Instruction 3: Click Upload and select Files from your computer. Browse to the file and click Open.
- Instruction 4: Alternatively, drag the file directly from File Explorer into the Files tab.
- Instruction 5: The file is now visible to all members of the channel.
Action map
Upload a file to a channel
- 01
Open Teams and navigate to the team and channel where you want to share the file.
- 02
Click the Files tab at the top of the channel.
- 03
Click Upload and select Files from your computer. Browse to the file and click Open.
Visual guide
Use this visual action map alongside the written instructions above.
Open Microsoft Teams help & learning for Sharing Files in a Teams ChannelShare a file in a channel conversation
- Instruction 1: Click New conversation at the bottom of a channel.
- Instruction 2: Click the paperclip (Attach) icon in the message toolbar.
- Instruction 3: Choose Upload from my computer, Browse Teams and Channels (to share an existing file), or OneDrive (to share from your personal storage).
- Instruction 4: The file will appear in the conversation as an attachment and is also saved to the channel's Files tab.
Understand where channel files are stored
- Instruction 1: Files uploaded to a Teams channel are stored in a SharePoint document library behind the scenes.
- Instruction 2: You can access them directly in SharePoint by clicking the three-dot menu (…) next to the file in the Files tab and clicking Open in SharePoint.
- Instruction 3: This means the file is automatically available to every member of the team, version history is maintained, and the file can be synced to your computer.
- Instruction 4: If you delete a file from the Teams Files tab, it is deleted from the SharePoint library too. It can be recovered from the SharePoint Recycle Bin.
Quick fixes
Troubleshooting
I uploaded the wrong file and want to delete it
In the Files tab, click the three-dot menu (…) next to the file and click Delete. Alternatively, right-click the file. You can recover it from the SharePoint Recycle Bin if deleted by mistake.
A team member cannot see a file I uploaded
All channel members should be able to see files in the Files tab. If they cannot, they may have been removed from the team, or there may be a permission issue. Check membership in the team settings (click the three-dot next to the team name and choose Manage team).
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