I'm in new teams and can't switch to open files in the app rather than browser

Anonymous
2023-10-24T14:47:38+00:00

Hi there,

I have had issues with old Teams when trying to open a file in the app, it always defaults to open in the browser which makes it hard to edit, then various error messages pop up when trying to open in the default app. From reading help in the community forums, it suggested to uninstall and reinstall. I can now only install the new app which won't even give me the option to try and change my default for opening files and says to use the previous version which I can't find to download.

Please help. I really struggle to properly edit ppt and docs through the browser as some of the functionalities are very limited.

Thanks

AC

Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Teams for business | Files | Other

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Mr. Trust_A 4,820 Reputation points
2024-10-22T14:38:21+00:00

Hello AC_89,

Microsoft is aware of the issue where the option to open files in the desktop app is missing in the new Teams. This could be due to not meeting one of the three prerequisites:

  1. You must be using the Teams desktop app for Windows or Mac.
  2. You need to have the corresponding Office desktop apps (Microsoft Office 2016 or later) installed from the Microsoft 365 portal.
  3. You must have an Office 365 E3 or E5 license.

For more details, please refer to the support article: Desktop app option is missing when editing Office files in Teams - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn

Hope this helps!

Regards,

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-01-19T22:16:35+00:00

    You could try uninstalling the new version if you no longer have the toggle and try to download classic. Your auto-updates could affect though....

    Link to download Classic - https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2187327

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-01-19T22:14:26+00:00

    Typically if you had the option already in the "classic" Teams and toggled to the New Teams, the option will be there...BUT beware, if you cleared your Teams cache, you will lose it.

    Most people may have had it as an option because they chose the setting in Classic when prompted.

    (Not my image, but an example when you opened a file from Teams - prompted for app)

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-01-11T17:31:02+00:00

    I looked into this previously and you need a specific license for O365 to open the file in the desktop app. If you were previously licensed to do this and had the capability in classic teams and THEN changed your license it will continue to work in that app while that configuration is in place but when switching to new teams or when setting up a new teams account etc the licensing wont allow it. At least in my case. We were on Enterprise and setup everyone's teams. Then changed off that license. The function continued to work as the teams account were setup on enterprise license. New setups or "new" teams would look at the current licensing which didnt support opening files in desktop apps from the teams app. This may or may not be the case for you and your org.

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  4. Anonymous
    2024-01-08T15:27:40+00:00

    Can you please confirm which version of Windows and Teams that this option appears for?

    Windows 11 Pro 22H2

    "New" Teams - afraid to "upgrade" again in case it tells me I can't go back so I can't give you that version. I went back to "old"

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