How to create teams channels that sync with existing sharepoint documents?

Hello Chloe,

The behavior you're seeing is by design for how Microsoft Teams handles file storage. Here’s an explanation of why this happens and a step-by-step guide to achieve what you want.

Why Teams creates a new SharePoint site

When you create a new team in Microsoft Teams, it automatically creates a new, dedicated SharePoint team site to store all the files for that team.

• Standard channels within that team will get their own dedicated folder inside the main document library of this new SharePoint site.
• Private and shared channels are designed with more isolated security and therefore create their own separate SharePoint sites to store their files.

This architecture ensures that permissions and settings for each team are managed independently, rather than being tangled with your company's main, overarching SharePoint site.

How to link a Teams channel to your existing SharePoint folders

Since your files already exist on your main SharePoint site, you should not create a new team. Instead, you can either create a new team from your existing SharePoint site or add your document library as a tab in an existing team.

Option 1: Create a new Team from an existing SharePoint site

This method is the cleanest way to create a team that uses your existing site's file structure.

1. Navigate to your company's main SharePoint site in a web browser.
2. In the bottom-left corner of the site's homepage, look for a feature that says "Add real-time chat" or check the "Next Steps" panel in the top-right.
3. Click this option, and follow the prompts to add Microsoft Teams functionality to your site.
4. This process will create a new team and link it to your existing SharePoint site. You can then add your folders as tabs to organize your channels.

Option 2: Add an existing Document Library or folder as a tab

If you already have a team created and simply want to add a view of an existing SharePoint folder to a channel, follow these steps:

1. In Microsoft Teams, navigate to the channel where you want to add the folders.
2. Click the + icon on the tab bar at the top of the channel.
3. Select the Document Library app from the list of options. If you use the standard "SharePoint" app, it will only show you content from the new site that Teams created.
4. You will be given options to browse sites. If you don't see your main SharePoint site listed, select "Use a SharePoint link".
5. Navigate to your existing SharePoint folders in a web browser and copy the URL of the document library (or the specific folder you want).
6. Paste the URL into the field in Teams.
7. Give the new tab a name, and click Save.

This will add a new tab to your Teams channel that syncs directly to the specified folder in your existing SharePoint environment, without having to move any files.

Regards,

Raviteja M.