How to send long text in Teams

Chat is at the center of whatever you do in Teams. From individual chats with just one other person to group chats and conversations in channels—chat has you covered.

Table of Contents Show

1. Chats can be one-on-one or in a group.
One-on-one chat
2. Press Shift+Enter to start a new line.
3. Select Format to see all your formatting options.
4. Chat happens in channels, too.
5. There are a few ways to search for and find messages.
Find a chat based on a person’s name
Find a message that has a keyword that you remember
Filter to show certain types of messages
Find your saved messages
6. Hide or mute chats to keep them out of your way.
How do you send long text in Microsoft Teams?
How long can a message be in Teams?
How do you break a paragraph in Teams chat?
How do you maximize text on a team?

Here are the top six things to know about chat:

1. Chats can be one-on-one or in a group.

Sometimes you’ll want to talk one-on-one with someone. Other times, you’ll want to have a small group chat. In Chat, you can do either.

You start one-on-one and group chats the same way: by selecting New chat

at the top of Teams. Once in a chat, you’ll be able to send messages that include files, links, emojis, stickers, and GIFs—whatever you need to get your point across!

Here are some more details about each kind of chat.

One-on-one chat

Once you’ve selected New chat

and entered the person’s name, compose your message in the box and select Send

. This starts the chat.

Group chat

Use a group chat when you need to talk to a small group of people. Start one the same way you start a one-on-one chat: select New chat

at the top of the app. Select the down arrow to the far right of the To field and type a name for the chat in the Group name field. Next, type the names of the people you’d like to add in the To field.

Once the chat has begun (whether group or one-on-one), just click it in the chat list to dip back into it and send more messages.

2. Press Shift+Enter to start a new line.

If you keep hitting Enter to start a new line, which goes ahead and sends the message before you’re ready, try this tip:

When you want to start a new paragraph, press Shift+Enter to insert the line break, and you’re done. FYI—If you’ve opened-up all your formatting options (see step 3 for details), you can press Enter to start a new line of text.

3. Select Format to see all your formatting options.

There are lots of formatting options for messages.

To open your formatting options, select Format

beneath the box where you type your message. In this expanded view, select the text you want to format, then choose an option like B, I, or U to bold, italicize, or underline the text.

There are also options for highlighting, font size, lists, and more. Check out More options

for additional formatting options, and the buttons below the box for attaching a file or inserting fun stuff like emoji.

4. Chat happens in channels, too.

When you go to any channel in Teams the very first tab is Conversations. Think of this as one big group chat. Everyone who has access to the channel can see the messages on the Conversations tab.

You’ll have to judge based on your organization and culture what messages are suitable for the Conversations tab in a particular channel.

The other important thing to know about messages in a channel is that replies to a channel message stay attached to the original message. This way, the whole thread of the conversation can be easily followed by anyone reading it. This is the beauty of threaded conversations!

To reply to a channel message, be sure to use the little Reply link underneath the message.

5. There are a few ways to search for and find messages.

Depending on what you remember about the sender of the message or the characteristics of the message, a different way of looking for it might make the most sense.

Find a chat based on a person’s name

Type the person’s name in the command box at the top of the app. You’ll see their name and any group chats they're a part of with you listed. Select their name to go to your one-on-one chat with them, or a group chat to resume that one.

Find a message that has a keyword that you remember

Start typing a keyword into the command box at the top of the app and press Enter. You’ll see a list of results that include the keyword.

Filter to show certain types of messages

From the Activity feed, select Filter

to show certain types of messages such as unread messages, @mentions, replies, and likes. For a more specific search, go to the Feed menu and select My Activity.

Find your saved messages

To save a message, select Save message

just to the right of the text.

To see a list of your saved messages, select your profile picture at the top of the app, then choose Saved. Or just type /saved in the command box at the top of the app.

6. Hide or mute chats to keep them out of your way.

While you can't delete an entire chat conversation in Teams, you can hide the chat from the chat list, or mute it so you stop getting notifications. For details, see Hide, mute, or pin a chat in Teams.

How do you send long text in Microsoft Teams?

Send and read messages in Teams.

Select New chat. at the top of the app to start a new conversation..

Type the name or names into the To field at the top of your new chat..

Compose your message in the box at the bottom of the chat. To open your formatting options, select Format. beneath the box..

How long can a message be in Teams?

28 KB is an approximate limit because it includes the message itself (text, image links, etc.), @-mentions, number of connectors, and reactions. Shared channels members from outside the team count toward this limit.

How do you break a paragraph in Teams chat?

Press Shift+Enter to start a new line.

How do you maximize text on a team?

. You'll see a tool bar at the top of your compose box that holds options for things like bolding your text, italicizing, highlighting, and font size. You have three options for font size: small, medium, and large.