Background
Channel Management is a product that allows you to move, copy, archive and restore, merge, and export channels in your Microsoft Teams teams. The following article explains the different scenarios and what results you should expect to see when managing your team’s channels.
Meet your channels
In general, there are three types of channels in Microsoft Teams.
Public (Standard) Channels
Standard channels are the default and most common channels found in Microsoft Teams.
The General channel that is automatically created when creating a new team is a standard channel, and so are all the other channels you create unless you change them upon creation. All the members of the team have access to the standard channel and can perform all the actions that are allowed by the policies of the organization.
For more information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-channels-overview
Private Channels
Private channels are channels where you need to manually add people, even if they are members of your team. Private channels are great for confidential projects in your organizations as they have improved security.
For more information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/private-channels
Shared Channels
Shared channels are the newest type of channels in Microsoft Teams.
Shared channels allow you to give access to people from both your organization who are not in your team and other federated organizations.
For more information: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/shared-channels
Channel Management Actions
Overview
Before you is a list of possible actions available with SphereShield Channel Management:
Move - moving a channel moves the entire channel, its content, and history including messages, replies, files, and available tabs to another team. If the channel contains a Wiki tab, you will need to manually create a wiki tab and SphereShield will insert the original channel’s Wiki content into the new channel.
Copy - copying a channel copies the entire channel, its content, and history including messages, replies, files, and tabs to another team or the same team. If the channel contains a Wiki tab, you will need to manually create a wiki tab and SphereShield will insert the original channel’s Wiki content into the new channel. The channel is kept in the original team.
Archive - archiving a channel moves the entire channel, its content, and history including messages, replies, files, and tabs to a designated Archive team that SphereShield creates automatically when the action is performed for the first time. If the channel contains a Wiki tab, you will need to manually create a wiki tab and SphereShield will insert the original channel’s Wiki content into the new channel.
Restore - restoring an archived channel moves the entire channel, its content, and history including messages, replies, files, and tabs back to its original team. If the channel contains a Wiki tab, you will need to manually create a wiki tab and SphereShield will insert the original channel’s Wiki content into the new channel.
Merge - merging two channels integrates an entire channel, its content, and history, including messages, replies, files, and tabs to another channel in the same team or another team. If the target channel has a wiki tab and the original channel also has a wiki tab, the wiki will be merged automatically. If the original channel has a Wiki tab and the target channel doesn’t have a Wiki tab, you will need to create a wiki tab in the same manner as the other actions.
Export - exporting a channel sends an email to a designated user, which contains a PDF document with the channel’s entire history of messages, replies, and files including links to the SharePoint location of the file.
Technical Restrictions and Limitations
Keeping content - in general, when we are unavailable to completely move the content of a channel and removing the original channel is a part of the process (such as when moving or archiving), we keep the original channel with all of its content to not lose customer data.
SharePoint Sites - If you want to delete a channel’s SharePoint site, you can find the site link in the Admin Portal auditing section. We do this to prevent customer data loss.
OneNote - OneNote tabs can’t be moved or copied between private and shared channels. So we will follow the Keeping content restriction.
Shared Channels - Shared Channels can’t hold Wiki tabs (as a part of Microsoft’s design). As such, if a channel that contains a Wiki tab is merged and the target channel is Shared, we will keep the original channel in its entirety regardless of its type (see the Keeping content restriction).
Public Channels Action Results
Move
When a public channel is moved, all of the content is moved and the original channel is removed.
Copy
When a public channel is copied, all of the content is copied and the original channel remains in the original team.
Archive
When a public channel is archived, all of the content is moved and the original channel is removed.
Restore
When a public channel is restored, all of the archived content is moved back to the original team and the archived channel is removed.
Merge
With another public channel
When merging two public channels, all of the content is merged into the target channel.
With a private channel
When merging a public channel and the target channel is private, all of the content is merged into the target channel, except for OneNote.
With a shared channel
When merging a public channel and the target channel is shared, all of the content is merged into the target channel, except for Wiki tabs (which are not supported on Shared channels).
If the original channel doesn’t have a Wiki tab the original channel will be removed.
If the channel has a Wiki tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
Export
When exporting a public channel, all of the messages, replies, and files will be exported to a PDF document that will be sent to a designated user.
Private Channel Action Results
Move
When a private channel is moved, all of the content is moved and the channel is removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
Copy
When a private channel is copied, all of the content is copied except for OneNote and the original channel remains in the original team.
Archive
When a private channel is archived, all of the content is moved to the archive team and the original channel is removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
Restore
When a private channel is restored, all of the archived content is moved back to the original team and the archived channel is removed.
Merge
With another private channel
When merging two private channels, all of the content is merged into the target channel.
If the original channel doesn’t have a OneNote tab the original channel will be removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
With a public channel
When merging a private channel and the target channel is public, all of the content is merged into the target channel, except for OneNote.
If the original channel doesn’t have a OneNote tab the original channel will be removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
With a shared channel
When merging a private channel and the target channel is shared, all of the content is merged into the target channel, except for Wiki tabs (which are not supported on Shared channels) and OneNote.
If the original channel doesn’t have a OneNote or Wiki tab the original channel will be removed.
If the channel has a OneNote or Wiki tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
Export
When exporting a private channel, all messages, replies, and files will be exported to a PDF document that will be sent to a designated user.
Shared Channel Action Results
Move
When a shared channel is moved, all of the content is moved and the channel is removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
Copy
When a shared channel is copied, all of the content is copied except for OneNote and the original channel remains in the original team.
Archive
When a shared channel is archived, all of the content is moved to the archive team and the original channel is removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
Restore
When a shared channel is restored, all of the archived content is moved back to the original team and the archived channel is removed.
Merge
With another shared channel
When merging two shared channels, all of the content is merged into the target channel.
If the original channel doesn’t have a OneNote tab the original channel will be removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
With a public channel
When merging a private channel and the target channel is public, all of the content is merged into the target channel, except for OneNote.
If the original channel doesn’t have a OneNote tab the original channel will be removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
With a private channel
When merging a private channel and the target channel is shared, all of the content is merged into the target channel, except for Wiki tabs (which are not supported on Shared channels) and OneNote.
If the original channel doesn’t have a OneNote tab the original channel will be removed.
If the channel has a OneNote tab it won’t be moved and the original channel will be kept.
Export
When exporting a shared channel, all messages, replies, and files will be exported to a PDF document that will be sent to a designated user.