Do project teams in your organization keep creating the same channels and tabs? With a team template you define that structure once. Users pick the template when they create a team and get the right channels, tabs and apps straight away. That saves time, and every project or department works with the same layout, which fits well when you set up Teams to manage projects. This article shows how admins create a template in the Teams admin center, how to control who sees which templates and what to watch out for.
What do you need?
- The Teams Administrator role (or Global Administrator) to create templates in the admin center.
- A clear idea of the structure you want: which channels, which tabs per channel and which apps. Sketch it on paper first with a few future users.
- Users who are allowed to create teams. If your organization has restricted the creation of Microsoft 365 groups, only permitted users see the option.
Not familiar with the admin center yet? Start with the Teams admin center.
Create a template
- Open the Teams admin center > Teams > Team templates.
- Select Add and choose Create a brand new template, Use an existing team as a template or Start with an existing template.
- Enter a name, short and long description, and language.
- Add channels, with tabs per channel (for example Planner, OneNote or a website).
- Add apps and select Submit.
If you already have a team that works well, choose Use an existing team as a template. The admin center copies its channels, tabs and apps, and you can adjust them afterwards.
What does a template include?
- Included: channels with their name and description, tabs per channel and installed apps.
- Not included: members, files, messages, the content of tabs, private and shared channels and most team settings. A sensitivity label is also chosen separately when the team is created.
There are limits on the number of channels, tabs and apps per template. So keep the template compact; a team with five clear channels gets used better than one with twenty.
Who sees which templates?
Under Teams > Templates policies you hide templates you don't want used, such as some of Microsoft's default templates. Assign a policy to a department to show only their templates. The global default policy applies to everyone who has no other policy.
Use the template
Users select + > Create team in Teams and pick the template. The team gets all the channels and tabs, but no files or messages. It can take a few hours before a new template shows up. How users then set up the team further is explained in create a team.
Tips
- Use a recognisable name, for example Project - Standard or Client file, and a description that says when to choose the template.
- Don't want members to remove the fixed channels and tabs again? Read stop members deleting channels, tabs and apps.
- If you change a template later, the change only applies to new teams. Existing teams don't change along with it.
Common problems
- The template doesn't appear. Wait a few hours and check that the user's templates policy doesn't hide it.
- An app is missing in the new team. Check the app permission policy: if an app is blocked for that user, it isn't added.
- The user sees no option to create a team. Group creation is probably restricted in your organization.
Nederlandstalige versie: Teamsjablonen maken en beheren in het Teams-beheercentrum