Edit a file in Microsoft Teams

Edit a file in Teams

To open and edit a file in Teams, select a file from any of these locations:

• The files list when you select OneDrive   on the left side of Teams

• The Files tab at the top of a channel

• The Shared tab at the top of a chat

• The message where the file was attached

By default, the file opens inside Teams with the standard Office tools available at the top of the screen.

Additional tools

Depending on the file type, you’ll see the some of the following buttons in the top right of the Teams screen:

• Comments  This will show you any comments made in the file.

• Catch up    See the changes others have made since you last viewed the file.

• Editing    Here you can indicate whether you want to work with the file as an editor (the default) or reviewer.

• Share   To share the file with others, select:

  • Share - Enter names of people you want to send your file to and select Send. You can also manage editing access by selecting People in your organization with the link can edit. 

  • Copy Link  - Generate a shareable link to send others and manage editing access by selecting People in your organization with the link can edit.

  • Work together in Meeting - Share the file during a meeting so others can collaborate with you.

  • Manage Access - See the links to your file and who has access.
    To change who can open the file and whether they can edit or download it, select People in your organization with the link can edit and make your choices.

• ​​​​​​​Close - This will close the file and take you back to where you were in Teams when you first opened the file.

Edit an Office file in its desktop or web app

Before attempting to edit an Office file in its desktop app, make sure:

• you're using the Teams desktop app for Windows or MacOS.

• you have an Office 365 E3 or E5 license.

• to download the desktop apps for PowerPoint, Word, and Excel (Office version 16 or newer).

1. Right-click a file from any of these locations:

   • The files list when you select OneDrive   on the left side of Teams

   • The Files tab at the top of a channel

   • The Shared tab at the top of a chat

   • The message where the file was attached

2. Select Open in and choose Desktop app or Open in browser.

If you’re using Teams on the web, you can choose between Teams and Browser.

You can also manually choose where a file is opened without changing your default setting by going to the file and selecting More options  > Open.

Change your file open preference

To change where you want to open Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files in:

1. Select Settings and more   > Settings   in Teams.

2. Select​​​​​​​ Files and links  .

3. In File open preference., select the dropdown menu to choose where you want files to open:

   • Teams

   • Desktop app

   • Browser

Your changes will be applied automatically.

Related topics 

Explore the Files list in Microsoft Teams

Move or copy files in Microsoft Teams