Keeping track of all your Microsoft Teams chats could soon be a lot easier with a new update coming to the platform.
The video conferencing giant has announced that it is working on an update that will allow users to manage multiple chats in a much more structured and (hopefully) less stressful way.
However, the upgrade can also raise the stress level for those Microsoft Teams users who like to have as few open chats as possible, or those who are plagued by countless group or team chat notifications where they may not contribute much.
Microsoft Teams chats
Simply titled “compact chat list”, an entry for the new addition on the official site Microsoft 365 Roadmap notes, “The new chat density setting will allow users to condense their chat list and display more chats on screen.”
The change is made possible by hiding the message preview, giving more room for the chats themselves. This may gain favor with those users who like to keep track of all their various conversations, but it may worry those who like to take a peek at what their contacts have sent to them before opening the chat.
The update is listed as being in development at the time of writing, although with a scheduled release date of June 2023, users will hopefully not have to wait too long. Once launched, it will be available to both desktop users and Microsoft Teams web users.
The launch is the latest in a series of improvements to Microsoft Teams in recent weeks as the company looks to make its platform more usable and intuitive for users around the world.
This includes an improved dashboard view that it says can help users quickly identify or find the content they’re looking for, putting an end to annoying Ctrl+F searches, tracing piles of text to find a specific chat that happened days or even weeks ago.
Another recent change also brought meeting attendees the ability to change the display name to whatever they choose – provided it’s appropriate, of course.
However, the platform also recently announced the ability to allow chat participants to mention everyone in a group at once – which is sure to cause more problems than it solves.
Opinion – do I not like it
Look, I understand what Microsoft Teams is trying to do here (I think). More space for chats means better visibility of who is trying to contact you, meaning you shouldn’t (at least in theory) miss out on an important message.
But I’m definitely in the camp of those who like a little preview of what my friends have said before I dare to open chat – and I bet a lot of you do too.
It can certainly be a game-changer for some Microsoft Teams users, especially when it comes to increasing productivity and online collaboration, but for me at least, I may need some time to warm up to it.