Microsoft Teams channels are the spaces inside a team where conversations happen, and each one uses either a Posts layout for announcement-style messages or a Threads layout for quick back-and-forth. A team can have standard, private or shared channels, and a channel owner can share a channel with people inside or outside the organisation.
Here's the catch with sharing. People from outside your organisation can only ever be members of a shared channel, never owners, and you can't add them at all until an admin has switched on something called B2B direct connect. If the Share option won't take an outside email address, that's almost always why, and it's an admin job, not something you can fix from your side.
Posts layout or Threads layout
| Posts layout | Threads layout | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Announcements and messages that need to reach many people at once | Immediate back-and-forth and side conversations that don't interrupt the main discussion |
| Who sees it | Everyone | Most users; some guests, external users and people on older versions of Teams see it as posts |
| Education accounts | Always used | Shown as posts |
| Known quirks | None listed | Viewed as posts, some messages can appear out of order, with issues in bolding and notifications |
To create either kind, select Chats on the left of the app (or Teams, if you use the separate view), choose New items from the drop-down at the top of your list, select New channel and pick Posts layout or Threads layout as the conversation type. If you're starting from scratch, read my guide to creating a team in Microsoft Teams first, because every channel lives inside a team.
You're not stuck with your first choice. Any channel owner, and some members depending on permissions, can switch it later: go to the channel, select More options, then Edit channel, and under Conversation layout choose Threads layout or Posts layout. Before you switch a busy channel to threads, think about who's in it. If half of them are guests or on an older version, they'll still see posts.
Scheduling a channel message
Microsoft's own tip is to post when most people will see it, during the team's working hours. You can schedule any channel message for a set date and time straight from the compose box, as of October 2026:
- Compose your message, then select Actions and apps.
- Select Schedule message.
- Choose the date and time from the pop-up menu and click Continue.
- Select Send. The message goes out automatically at that time.
Until it's posted, you can still change your mind. Hover over the message and select Edit to change the wording, use the down arrow next to the scheduled date and time to reschedule it, or go to More Options and Delete to cancel it. It's a small feature that saves a lot of early-morning or late-night posting for teams spread across time zones.
Sharing a channel with people
If you're a channel owner, you can share from the channel card or from the channel options:
- Go to the channel and select More options, then Share channel, then Share with people.
- Type the names of people in your organisation, or the email addresses of people outside it, and select them from the list.
- Select Share. To make someone an owner, use the down arrow next to Member and choose Owner, then Close.
People you share with get a notification and can get into the channel right away. Remember the limits above: outsiders stay members, and B2B direct connect has to be on first.
Owners, members and guests
Every person in a team has a role, and each role has different permissions:
- Owners add and remove members, add guests, change team settings and handle admin tasks. A team can have more than one owner.
- Members talk in conversations, can view and usually upload and change files, and collaborate in the ways the owners allow.
- Guests are people from outside your organisation, such as partners or consultants, that an owner invites. They have fewer capabilities than members or owners, but there's still a lot they can do.
Two details trip people up. Members can be added straight to public teams, but for a private team they have to ask the owner to join. And file permissions for members and guests follow whatever your admin has set in SharePoint, which only your admin can change. If someone can see a channel but can't edit its files, that's where to look.
Archiving a team and its channels
When a project ends, owners can archive the team instead of deleting it. Conversations and files become read-only but stay searchable. To archive:
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- Select More list options, then Your teams and channels.
- Under All, find the team, select More options, then Archive team.
- If you want, tick Make the SharePoint site read-only for team members. Owners can still edit it.
Once archived, everything's frozen. Nobody can start new conversations or reply to posts in a channel, add or remove channels, edit team settings or add apps. As an owner you can still add or remove members, update roles, and delete, renew or restore the team. To restore it, open the Archived Teams view and choose Restore team. One mobile quirk: to see an archived team on your phone, add it to your favourites from the desktop app or Teams on the web first.
My verdict on Teams channels
I'd use a Posts channel for anything that has to reach everyone, schedule those posts for working hours, and keep Threads for the busy working channels where everyone's on the latest Teams. If you work with clients or freelancers, sort out B2B direct connect with your admin before you need it, not on the day. And if you're still weighing Teams up against the alternative, my Slack vs Microsoft Teams comparison lays out the differences.
Channels are where a lot of a team's day happens, and that's exactly where good habits and a bit of automation save the most time. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
Frequently asked questions
Can people outside my organisation join a Teams channel?
Yes, through a shared channel, but they can only be members, and an admin must enable B2B direct connect first.
Can I change a Teams channel from posts to threads?
Yes. Go to the channel, select More options, then Edit channel, and choose Threads layout or Posts layout under Conversation layout.
Can I edit a scheduled channel message in Teams?
Yes. You can edit, reschedule or delete a scheduled channel message at any time before it's posted.
What happens to channels when a team is archived?
All team activity is frozen. Conversations and files become read-only but can still be searched, and nobody can post, reply or add channels.
Why do some people see my threaded channel as posts?
Some guests, external users and people on an older version of Teams can't use threaded channels, so they see every channel in a posts layout.
