Managing a teams channel when a new user joins the team

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Managing a teams channel when a new user joins the team

Lemons, Kathryn 55

Hi All!

University dept. trying to get better at using teams to manage projects, etc.

We currently have a channel in our Team that is focused on hiring a new faculty member. It has files, a planner, chats, etc. We had to setup a "Standard" channel for two reasons: We absolutely needed the planner, AND we don't have an admin right now so we had to add an admin from a different department who is going to be helping.

Here's my question: When we hire someone we want to be able to preserve all of the info in this channel (including the planner, chats, etc) BUT we do not want the new hire to have access to it. They will obviously have to get added to the TEAM.

Is there a way to either:

remove the team member from just that specific standard channel?
Copy/export all the info in the channel into a maybe a onedrive or sharepoint folder that we can control permissions to?

Any other suggestions?

One other small questions (somewhat related). Is there a way to remove the "Notes" tab in the channel if we don't use it? It's taking up too much space and we can't really see the tab for "Planner".

Thank you for your help!
Kat

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Answer 1

Viego An 8,955 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Lemons, Kathryn,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. I am happy to assist you.

In Teams, a standard channel is visible and accessible to all team members. Standard channels are designed for collaboration and communication across the entire team, so it’s not possible to restrict access for a specific user if they are already a member of the team.

For more information, please refer to: Overview of standard channels in Microsoft Teams

Besides that, you can also consider using a private channel, which allows only specific people in the team to have access. This can help you restrict certain users from seeing channel content while still keeping them in the team. Visit here to learn more: IT Admins - Private channels in Microsoft Teams

As a workaround, you may also turn on channel moderation to help manage member activity within the channel.

Go to Teams > Click the three dots icon next to the channel > Manage channel

User's image

Click to the drop down under Channel moderation > On

User's image

Then you can choose moderators to manage member activity within the channel.

Regarding the content inside the channel, you can export data by using the Teams Data Export tool.

For information on how to use it and the requirements, please see: Export options for switching from Microsoft Teams

Lastly, here is how to remove the Notes tab from the channel:

Go to the channel > right‑click the Notes tab > Remove User's image

Click Remove to confirm the removal

User's image

Then the tab will be permanently removed from the channel

User's image

I hope this information is helpful. If you need any further assistance, please feel free to reach out. I am here to help. Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation.

Lemons, Kathryn 55 Reputation points

2026-01-23T17:00:31.3+00:00

Thank you for responding Viego.

We wanted to do a private channel, but we couldn't because we NEEDED the planner app.

Do you know what happens when we "Archive" a channel. I've seen mixed documentation on that.

Who has the ability to Archive / Restore? If it is archived, do you no see the channel at all? Would that be an option for when we are finished with this project?

Thanks!
Viego An 8,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-26T06:49:54.98+00:00

Hello @Lemons, Kathryn,

Thank you for your update.

If you need to use Planner, here is a workaround for Private channels:

Use a Web‑linked Planner plan:

You can create a Planner plan in the Planner web app (tasks.office.com) or in any Standard channel. Then, in your Private channel, add a Website tab and paste the URL of that Planner plan.

While users will access the plan outside the channel’s built‑in interface, this method still allows them to work with the same Planner plan.

Regarding archived channel information, the conversations and files become read‑only, but you will still be able to search for them. Any retention or deletion policies applied to the channel will continue to apply, and the channel can be reactivated if needed.

For more detailed information, please refer to this article: Archive or restore a channel

You can consider these suggestions based on your specific needs. If you require more information or have other options in mind, feel free to let me know, I will do my best to assist you.

If you found the answer useful, please click "Accepted Answer" and kindly give it an upvote.

If you have any follow-up questions, feel free to click "Comment" to continue the discussion.

Note: To receive email notifications related to this thread, please follow the steps in our documentation to enable email alerts.
Lemons, Kathryn 55 Reputation points

2026-01-26T14:51:56.4766667+00:00

OK, that is helpful for next time. But since we've already created a standard channel with a planner. What do you recommend for how to save the material from that channel in a different secured location when we are done with the hiring process?

Also, I don't have the option to "Remove" the notes app, so do you think that is a network thing that I have to talk to my IT about?

Thanks again or your help.
Lemons, Kathryn 55 Reputation points

2026-01-26T14:56:40.72+00:00

One other question. I wanted to test out linking to an existing plan (as you suggested) to see if it would work for next time.

In planner I "Copied Link to Plan" then I went to the channel and selected the "+" on the top of the channel and selected "link existing page", but when I paste in the link to the planner I get the following message.

The link must go to a Loop page. Try again.
Viego An 8,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-27T07:07:30+00:00
Hello @Lemons, Kathryn,

Thank you for your update and for considering my suggestions.

Regarding the workaround I mentioned earlier, instead of using a page link, here is what I meant:

Click Add a tab (+)

Select App

Search for Website > Choose Website

Paste the link into the URL field > Save

Once added, you can simply click the Website tab to open Planner directly.

I apologize for any confusion earlier. Please try the steps again and let me know whether they work for you or meet your needs.

For the Notes tab, please review the member permissions to confirm whether members are allowed to delete tabs. If that option is not enabled, only a Team owner will be able to remove the tab. You can verify this by following the steps below:

Sign in as a Team owner. > Click the three dots (…) next to the team name. > Select Manage team.

Go to the Settings tab.

Scroll to Member permissions.

Ensure “Allow members to create, update, and remove tabs” is checked.

After updating the permissions, please try again.

Regarding your question : “What do you recommend for saving the material from that channel in a different secured location after the hiring process?”

I recommend exporting the data and storing it in a safe location, such as an external hard drive or a cloud service like OneDrive, as suggested earlier. This helps ensure that the information remains securely accessible even after the channel activity is completed.

I hope this information is helpful. If you need any further assistance, please feel free to reach out. I am here to help. Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation.
Lemons, Kathryn 55 Reputation points

2026-01-27T17:08:52.82+00:00

Hello again! Thank you. yes, adding the planner that way did work. Unfortunately it jumps you over to the planner app in teams and OUT OF the channel, but at least it does work.

As for removing the notes, I went to our Team/Channel owner (dept. chair) to ask him to remove it, but it's not even showing in his teams for this channel... so I'm not sure what is happening there....
Viego An 8,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-28T06:47:13.26+00:00

Hello @Lemons, Kathryn,

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, when using the Website tab as a workaround, users will access the plan outside the channel’s built‑in interface, but they will still be working with the same Planner plan as mentioned earlier.

Regarding the Notes tab, have you had a chance to review the setting “Allow members to create, update, and remove tabs” I previously provided?

To further isolate the issue, please try creating a brand‑new team and add a new channel, then test whether you are able to delete the tab in that environment.

Thank you for considering the suggestions I provided and giving them a try. Since I do not have access to your tenant environment, there may be cases where my recommended solutions do not fully resolve the issue or other problems appear. If that happens, please update me right away with any new details or results in the Comment. I will do my best to support you and help find a solution as quickly as possible.
Viego An 8,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-29T11:05:48.71+00:00

Hello @Lemons, Kathryn,

I hope you’re doing well. I’m reaching out again to follow up on this issue, as we haven’t heard back from you since our previous message.

Have you had a chance to review the information we provided? If there’s anything unclear or if you need further assistance, I’m happy to help.

Looking forward to your update.

Wishing you a pleasant day!
Viego An 8,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-01T14:16:23.02+00:00

Hello @Lemons, Kathryn,

I just wanted to gently check in once more regarding this issue. I haven’t received a response yet, and I wanted to make sure everything is going smoothly on your end.

If you’ve had a chance to review the previous information, I’d love to hear your thoughts. And if you need any further clarification or support, I’m here to help.

Looking forward to your reply, and wishing you a great day ahead!

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Managing a teams channel when a new user joins the team

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