WonderLaura @iwmentor – Laura Rogers

Every file you’ve ever uploaded to a Teams channel already lives in SharePoint. So the real question isn’t whether you’re using SharePoint in Teams. It’s whether you’re getting everything out of it.

In this week’s Power Hour, I walked through all the ways to bring SharePoint into Teams. In this post, we’ll cover libraries, channel tabs, and a handy email trick. Then, in part two, I’ll show you how to build a SharePoint home site and push it to your whole organization. Let’s break it down.

📁 How SharePoint in Teams Works Behind the Scenes

First, let’s start with the basics. Every team is a SharePoint site. When you create a team, you also get a default document library called Documents. In Teams, you see that library as the Shared tab in each channel.

Meanwhile, each channel is just a folder in that same library. For example, I created a new channel called “Testing 923” during the show. Right away, a matching folder showed up in SharePoint. So all the files across all your channels land in one single library.

Want to jump from Teams to the full site? Just click Open in SharePoint on the Shared tab. Honestly, it’s a bit tucked away, and I don’t love how many clicks it takes. Still, it’s the fastest route to your site contents.

Notice here I am in the Mark8 Project Team, and I clicked on the Design channel, which is a folder in the Documents library in that SharePoint site. Also, if I clicked See all channels, I would see more folders that are just hidden in this view.

Here’s the corresponding SharePoint site, that I can get to by clicking the Open in SharePoint button ⬆️

📚 Add More Document Libraries to Your Team

Now, I’m a big fan of using multiple libraries. Dumping everything into that one default library causes real problems. Here’s why separate libraries help:

1. Permissions. Some content needs different access than the rest.
2. Metadata. Different content often needs different columns.
3. Fewer folders. Nobody enjoys drilling down seven levels deep.
4. Syncing. People usually sync one library at a time. As a result, one giant library means thousands of files syncing to everyone’s desktop. I’ve untangled that mess before, and trust me, it’s not fun.

So how do you get another library into your team? Let’s do it:

1. Go to any channel and open the Shared tab.
2. Click Add document library. (Again, it’s a little hidden.) See in the Teams screenshot above 👆🏻
3. Paste the URL, or select the site.
4. Click Next.
5. Pick the library you’d like, and click Confirm.

Here’s the interesting part. Teams adds a shortcut inside that channel’s folder. The shortcut shows up in Teams, but you won’t see it when you browse the library in SharePoint. Pretty cool, right? It’s one of my favorite SharePoint in Teams tricks.

Personally, I think this is the easiest approach for end users. After all, they see the other library right next to the files they already work with.

🗂️ Add SharePoint Tabs to a Channel

Tabs are another great way to use SharePoint in Teams. You can add SharePoint content as a tab at the top of any channel. Since tabs are set at the channel level, each channel can have its own.

Click the + to add a tab. You’ll see a few quick options:

• New page / Existing page are Loop pages.
• New list / Existing list are SharePoint lists. (Microsoft Lists and SharePoint lists are the exact same thing.)

Next, choose the SharePoint app for even more options. First, it asks which site to pull content from. By default, that’s your team’s own site. However, you can pick any SharePoint site. Just remember that everyone on the team needs access to that content. Otherwise, they’ll get an error on the tab.

By contrast, content from your own team’s site is easy. Everyone in the team is already a member of that site, so the permissions line up automatically.

From there, you can add pages, lists, and document libraries. You can also rename any tab so it’s short and clear. Plus, Teams lets you post a message to the channel when you add a tab, so everyone knows it’s there.

✅ Checkpoint

Before moving on, add one SharePoint list or page as a tab in a test channel. Then rename the tab so it’s short. If it opens without errors, you’ve got the basics of SharePoint in Teams down.

💡 Bonus: Email Files Straight Into a Channel

Here’s a fun freebie. Every channel has its own email address. Just open the channel’s options and choose Get email address. When someone emails that address, the message itself becomes a file in the channel. In addition, every attachment lands there as a file too. For instance, say you’re working with a customer on a project. They can email project files right into the channel. That way, the whole team sees them, and you don’t have to forward anything.

⚖️ Library Shortcut or Tab? Which One Should You Use?

There are two ways to bring another library into a channel. Which is better? It really comes down to the experience you want for your users.

With a shortcut, the library shows up inside the Shared tab, right next to the channel’s own files. People don’t have to hunt for it. They just open the files they already work with, and there it is. With a tab, the library gets its own spot across the top of the channel. That’s handy for something people use all day.

Here’s my take. For most end users, the shortcut feels more natural. On the other hand, tabs are great for lists and pages, since those don’t belong in a file view anyway. Either way, that’s another nice thing about SharePoint in Teams. You get to choose.

🧠 Why SharePoint in Teams Makes Life Easier

Most people spend their whole day in Teams. So when the content they need lives in a SharePoint site they never visit, it might as well not exist.

That’s why SharePoint in Teams is such a big deal. Instead of sending people to SharePoint, you bring SharePoint to them. A contracts library, a purchase request list, or a company news page can all sit right inside the channel where the conversation happens.

Plus, nothing gets duplicated. The tab or shortcut points to the real content in SharePoint. So when someone updates a file or list item in Teams, it’s updated in SharePoint too. In fact, that’s the whole idea behind SharePoint in Teams: meet people where they already work.

🎯 Wrapping Up

As you can see, SharePoint in Teams goes way beyond the Shared tab. You can add extra libraries, bring in lists and pages as tabs, and even email files straight into a channel.

Next, let’s take it further. In part two, I’ll show you how to set up a SharePoint home site and make it the default app in Teams for everyone.

Watch the full replay below. Also, join us live for Power Hour on Wednesdays at 11 Central, and vote on upcoming topics in my Tuesday newsletter. And if you’re ready to go deeper, check out the courses at IW Mentor.