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
    2023-11-21T10:07:53+00:00

    Thank you for your responses so far Oluwatosin,

    Can you confirm that the ability to open Office documents in the Desktop App by default is on the New Teams development roadmap?

    We're encouraging people to move to new Teams here, but will rescind that advice given how incredibly clunky it is to work with Officer documents via Teams.

    Thanks

    Sam

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-12-04T00:28:31+00:00

    It is actually possible to change the default setting in 'New Teams'.

    1. Click the three ... next to your image in the 'New Teams App'
    2. Click settings - it will open the general tab
    3. Click on 'Files and links'
    4. under 'File open preference - Always open Word, PowerPoint, Excel Files in:
    • Teams
    • Desktop App
    • Browser
    1. Select 'Desktop App'

    Moving forward you should be able to open in the desktop app.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-12-04T17:53:03+00:00

    My File Open Preference drop down only has 2 options to select: Teams and Browser. There isn't an option for Desktop App. Is this something that needs to be enabled by our IT team?

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-05T15:33:45+00:00

    I do not have a solution to this issue, unfortunately, but I am experiencing the same issue. Cold comfort of company.

    As SU_18 describes, my drop-down options under "File Open Preference" only have "Teams" and "Browser" options available.

    I can add that I have used the radio button at top left to switch between "Old Teams" (Now called "Classic") and "New Teams". This issue exists in both versions, and began after the "New Teams" rollout.

    This is baffling, because within either version, I can still manually choose to open in desktop app by clicking the "Show more actions" dots to the right of the filename, if I hover over, or by right-clicking on the file, and using the Open tab. So the functionality still exists, but cannot be the default.

    One of the biggest resistances I encountered to the Teams environment was the perception that you could only open links within Teams in either the browser or the Teams app. Everyone in my organization "just wanted to open the file" (meaning in their desktop app). It took me a long time to educate my peers that they could open in their desktop apps (including setting default behavior), and now I am fighting this battle again.

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