Microsoft Teams update adds tons of new feature including new backgrounds

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By Mark Anthony Ramirez
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Microsoft Teams update adds new features

Microsoft Teams
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft Teams added some new features to improve user experience, with some additions directed at meeting organizers and teachers. A new attendance report feature is being added that allows the meeting organizer to download an attendance report after a meeting has ended. 

The new participants report feature will be available to desktop users, with Microsoft confirming it begins to roll out in the coming weeks. Once updated, meeting organizers will be able to download an attendance report, so don't be late. 

Another update to teams involves the Tags in Teams feature, which for those not in the know, allows users to rapidly search a group of people without having to use @mention to do so. The updated tags feature will now get description support and Tab management. 

Custom backgrounds was a feature desktop users received last year to Windows 10 and macOS desktop versions of Microsoft Teams, and will now debut in the mobile version and be released first on iOS. 

The custom background feature is handy when you don't wish to share your home or office's current condition.  There are preset backgrounds users can choose from, or maybe you can use a photo when your home was tidy and less lived in before Covid-19. There's also the nifty option to blur out the background, so other team members cannot see anything behind you. 

Microsoft Teams is also testing out a new PowerPoint Live integration feature via the desktop client. With PowerPoint Live, you can seamlessly present slides without having to share your desktop screen. The new feature also includes support for presenter view mode that allows you to access notes and chat with those in attendance simultaneously, which is a beneficial tool to keep communication flowing during a presentation. 

Mark Anthony Ramirez
Mark Anthony Ramirez

Mark has spent 20 years headlining comedy shows around the country and made appearances on ABC, MTV, Comedy Central, Howard Stern, Food Network, and Sirius XM Radio. He has written about every topic imaginable, from dating, family, politics, social issues, and tech. He wrote his first tech articles for the now-defunct Dads On Tech 10 years ago, and his passion for combining humor and tech has grown under the tutelage of the Laptop Mag team. His penchant for tearing things down and rebuilding them did not make Mark popular at home, however, when he got his hands on the legendary Commodore 64, his passion for all things tech deepened. These days, when he is not filming, editing footage, tinkering with cameras and laptops, or on stage, he can be found at his desk snacking, writing about everything tech, new jokes, or scripts he dreams of filming.