Best practice for channels and document libraries

Question

Hello,

I am looking to use Teams integrated with SharePoint for managing multiple projects.

I have created a Team and under this I want to create a channel for every independent project which based on my minimal experience is the best practice. The confusion regarding files comes with the new folder automatically created with each channel. Likely, rather than a long list of folders corresponding to project under the 'Documents' library, we would like a separate document library that appears in the bar on the left hand side in SharePoint. The issue is then of course there are two separate locations associated with the project, that under the 'Files' tab in Teams and the dedicated document library.

I know you can add in the document library into Teams as an additional tab however this doesn't solve the problem and the confusion remains.

Please let me know if there is better practice for this or indeed a better way I could go about managing multiple (~1year) projects that are undertaken by the team (~20 people).

Thanks,

A

Answer 1

Hi Alex,

I see. Indeed, the default "Files" tab can't be removed from a channel in Teams. However, you can rename it to make it clearer that it's not the primary file storage location for that channel. For example, you could rename it "Chat Files" or "Temporary Files" to indicate that it's only for files that are shared in channel chat.

Another option you might consider is to set up a naming convention for files and folders that identifies the project they belong to. For example, you could prefix all files and folders related to a particular project with the project name or code. This can help ensure that files are stored in the correct location and make it easier to locate files related to a particular project.

Additionally, you can create custom views in the document library that filter files based on their properties. For example, you can create a view that shows only files related to a particular project, or only files of a certain file type. This can help make it easier to find the files you need within a large document library.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

Regards,
Joshua.

Answer 2

Hi,

Ok thanks. Unfortunately it looks like removing the default 'Files' tab is not an option unlike those that I create.

Ill do some digging and see if there's another way around it. I do like the integration with Teams using channels but we are striving for single file locations as the idea here is to have all parts of a project in a single place.

Thanks,
Alex

Answer 3

Hello Alex,

You're right, when you create a separate document library for each project and add it as a tab in Teams, it will exist separately from the default "Files" tab that's automatically created for each channel in Teams. This means that you'll need to encourage your team members to use the document library tab you've created, rather than the default "Files" tab, to avoid confusion.

To minimize confusion, you could consider removing the default "Files" tab from each channel, so that the only place to access files for that channel is through the dedicated document library tab. To do this, go to the channel where you want to remove the "Files" tab, click on the ellipsis next to the tab name, and select "Close tab." This will remove the "Files" tab from the channel.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

Regards,
Joshua.

Answer 4

Hi,

Thanks for the response.

I intended to create a separate document library for each project. Each channel (which represents an independent project) would then have a tab pointing to that library.

However this doesn't answer my question - the confusion is that this library will be created in addition to the default storage creation for the channel under the 'Files tab' which is where anything places in the chat will go and is different to the created document library location...

Sounds as this is unavoidable and you just have to encourage users to use the additional tab created which points to the created document library.

Thanks,
Alex

Answer 5

Hi, I'm Joshua and I am happy to help.

It's great that you're using Teams and SharePoint to manage your projects! Creating a channel for each independent project is a good practice because it keeps the project-related conversations, files, and tasks in one place, making it easier for everyone to collaborate and stay organized.

Regarding the confusion regarding files, you can consider creating a separate document library in SharePoint for each project. This way, you can keep the project-related files separate and organized, which will help you avoid clutter and confusion. You can then add a link to each project's document library as a separate tab in Teams for easy access.

To do this, follow these steps in the link below:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/crea...

Once you've created all the document libraries, you can add them as tabs in Teams.

Check the link below to know how:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/add-...

By adding each project's document library as a separate tab in Teams, you'll make it easy for your team members to access the files they need for each project without having to navigate through multiple folders.

However, If you have a lot of projects or if the projects are very different from each other. In such cases, it may be better to keep the document libraries separate.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

Regards,
Joshua.