Microsoft Teams guide
By
Elias Brandt
Elias Brandt writes about marketing, email and analytics tools for Appcyclopedia, working on a ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 and a Galaxy S25.
- Web
- Windows
- macOS
- iOS
- Android
Short answer
Select Calendar on the left, then New or a free time slot. Add a title, the attendees and the time, check that Teams meeting is on, and select Save or Send. Everyone you invited gets an invitation with the join link.
Inviting someone outside your organisation: type their full email address in the attendees field. A name alone only finds colleagues.
Below: scheduling from the calendar, a chat or a channel, doing it on a phone, and finding a time everyone is free.
How to set up a Teams meeting, from the calendar or a chat
To schedule a meeting in Microsoft Teams, start where the people you are inviting already are. The calendar suits most meetings, a chat suits the people in it, and a channel suits a whole team.
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From the Teams calendar
Open Calendar and select New
Select Calendar on the left side of Teams. Select New at the top, or click an empty time slot in the calendar to start a meeting at that time. A scheduling form opens.
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Add a title and the people you are inviting
Type a title people will recognise in their calendar. Add names in the Required attendees field; colleagues appear as you type. For someone outside your organisation, type their full email address. Optional attendees go under Response options, then Add optional attendees.
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Set the date and time, and repeat it if needed
Choose the start and end. For a weekly or monthly meeting, set it to repeat so one invitation covers every occurrence. Select Scheduler to see when attendees in your organisation are busy; shaded times are taken.
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Check Teams meeting is on, then select Save or Send
Make sure the Teams meeting toggle is on, or the invitation goes out without a join link. Select Save or Send. The meeting appears in your calendar and every attendee gets an invitation by email.
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From a chat or a channel
Schedule it from a chat
In Chat, open the conversation, select More chat options at the top and choose Schedule a meeting. Everyone in the chat is added as an attendee. Fill in the details and select Send.
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Or schedule it in a channel for the whole team
Select Teams, choose the team and channel, open the arrow next to Meet now and select Schedule a meeting. Every member gets a personal invitation. The channel cannot be changed after you send it.
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On a phone
Tap Calendar, then New event
In the Teams app, tap Calendar, then New event. Add a title, tap Add participants to invite people, or tap Share to a channel for a channel meeting. Set the time and tap Done to send the invitations.
A weekly check-in with two colleagues and an outside designer: open Calendar, select New, add the colleagues by name and the designer by full email address, set it to repeat every week and select Send. All three get one invitation with a link that works for every week.
Add people by full email address when in doubt: it reaches anyone, inside or outside the organisation, and the invitation carries the link for them.
More about Microsoft Teams
Microsoft’s app for chat, video meetings and shared files at work and at home.
When the Teams meeting invite does not go out right
- The invitation has no join link
The Teams meeting toggle was off when you saved. Open the meeting in your calendar, turn the toggle on and select Send update.
- An outside guest did not get the invitation
Check that you typed their full email address and not only a name. Open the meeting, add the address again and select Send update. You can also select Share, then Copy join link and send the link yourself.
- Scheduler shows no availability for someone
Scheduler shows busy times only for people whose calendars your organisation can read. Guests from outside appear without availability; ask them directly.
Calendar, chat or channel: which to schedule from
All three create the same kind of meeting with a join link. What differs is who is invited and where the meeting’s chat lives afterwards.
| Schedule from | Who is invited | Where the chat lives |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar | Whoever you add | A meeting chat of its own |
| Chat | Everyone in that chat | The same chat |
| Channel | Every member of the team | The channel, visible to the team |
Use the calendar for most meetings, and a channel only when the whole team should see the conversation afterwards.
If your organisation uses Zoom rather than Teams, scheduling a Zoom meeting follows the same pattern: set the time, then send the invitation link.
How to find a time that suits everyone
Scheduler in the meeting form lays attendees’ calendars side by side, with their time zones. Shaded blocks are busy or tentative and clear ones are free, so you can see a time that works before you send anything.
It only works for people whose calendars your organisation can see. For guests, propose two or three times in a message first, then schedule the one they choose.
What attendees receive
Each attendee gets an invitation by email with the date, the time in their own time zone and a Join the meeting now link, plus a meeting ID and passcode. Colleagues also see it in their Teams calendar. Guests open the link in a browser and can join without installing Teams, as the guide to joining a Teams meeting explains.
What to check before you send the invitation
Most scheduling mistakes only show up when someone cannot get in: a missing link, a guest typed as a name, the wrong week. A quick look at the form before Send catches all three.
Confirm the Teams meeting toggle is on, the guests have full email addresses and the repeat setting is right, then send. If you need to change anything later, edit the meeting and select Send update.
Scheduling Teams meetings: common questions
- Can people outside my company join a meeting I schedule?
- Yes, unless your organisation blocks it. Invite them by full email address and they can join from the link in a browser, without a Teams account.
- How do I get the link without sending an invitation?
- Save the meeting, open it in your calendar, select Share and then Copy join link. Paste the link wherever you need it.
- Does a Teams meeting show up in Outlook?
- Yes, for work and school accounts. Teams and Outlook share the same calendar, so a meeting scheduled in one appears in the other.
- Can I change the time after sending the invitation?
- Yes. Open the meeting, change the time and select Send update. Attendees get the change and the join link stays the same.
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Test log
Followed the steps? Tell us how it went on your device. Entries appear here after we check them.
- Worked Every step, start to finish · Elias Brandt, Daniel Okonkwo and Marta Kowalczyk Team
I tested this
Steps performed and confirmed 11 days ago
When you need this
If you want to set up a Teams meeting for later and send people the link, schedule it from the Teams calendar. A chat or a channel works when the people are already there.
- Describes
- Microsoft Teams desktop app for Windows and Mac, and Teams in a browser, with a work or school account · Microsoft Teams app for iPhone and Android
- Takes
- Two or three minutes
- Platforms
- Web · Windows · macOS · iOS · Android
- Published
- 11 October 2026
- Facts checked
- 10 October 2026
Steps repeated and verified by 
Elias Brandt , 
Daniel Okonkwo and 
Marta Kowalczyk
on
- Elias Brandt: the Windows and web steps on a ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Windows 11 Pro).
- Daniel Okonkwo: the Mac steps on a MacBook Pro (macOS 27.0.1) and the iPhone steps on an iPhone 15 (iOS 27.0.1).
- Marta Kowalczyk: the Android steps on a Galaxy A55 (Android 16).
Part of How to schedule and run an online meeting .
Microsoft Teams 
