Simplifying Microsoft Teams: Choosing Between Separate and Combined Views

In this blog, I explore a Microsoft Teams feature I’ve personally found helpful. You might remember when the Teams button disappeared from the left-hand menu. At the time, I embraced the change—but lately, I’ve found myself doing a lot more scrolling. That reminded me there’s a setting to bring the button back, which got me thinking: should I reinstate it?

You can find this setting under Chat > … menu > Customize view > Chats and channels. Look for the option labeled “Viewing chat, teams, and channels,” as shown in the image below.

The setting offers two options: Combined or Separate views. Here's a quick refresher on each:

1.      Combined View (the new default without the Teams button) 

This option merges Chats, Teams, and Channels into a single list. One noticeable change: pinning Teams and Chats is no longer available. Any pinned chats were automatically moved into Favorites. I began adding more chats to my Favorites—and while Channels can also be added, Teams themselves can't.

I appreciated having everything in one place. It felt simpler, more streamlined. I also discovered Sections, which lets you group Channels and Chats together—helpful for staying organized, as shown in the image below.

2.      Separate View (the old way with the Teams button)

In this layout, the Teams pane reappears in the left-hand menu, giving you direct access to your teams and channels. To view your chats, you simply select the Chat button separately. While it may feel a bit more segmented than the Combined view, some users find this setup more intuitive and easier to navigate.

What did I decide?

I opted to stick with the Combined setting. To better manage my conversations and collaborations, I created additional Sections to group similar projects together. I also organized more of my channels and chats—showing channels in the list and moving chats into Favorites or the new Sections for quicker access.

One thing to keep in mind: when you show a channel in a Favorites list or Section, it remains in your Teams and Channels list—you're simply showing it like a shortcut for quicker access. Chats, on the other hand, are moved into the Favorites list or Section you specify, changing their position in your main view.

This setup has helped me streamline my view and I’ve also noticed I’m scrolling far less—and searching more.

If you’re curious about how to get the most out of search in Teams, check out my blog on searching in Teams for an overview of its capabilities and tips to find what you need faster.

About the Author

Product Lead – Learning Content Development<br><br>Barb's primary responsibilities include the design, development, and project management of courseware for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) products such as Autodesk Vault, Autodesk Fusion Lifecycle, ENOVIA V6, and PTC Windchill. Her work also involves the development of custom training that is designed and configured to an organization’s specific environment, processes, and roles. Barb is a Professional Engineer and holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and trained in Instructional Design.

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