How can I use Templates for Planner in Private Team Channels?

Hi MC4,

From what you've described, it sounds like this may be related to the way Planner currently works within private channels, rather than an issue with your specific tenant or configuration.

Because private channels have their own dedicated SharePoint site and a separate membership structure, certain Planner capabilities that are available in standard team channels may not yet be fully supported. Consequently, features such as using a custom template or reusing an existing plan might not be available when creating a Planner plan in a private channel.

To better understand the behavior you're seeing, could you please confirm the following?

• Are you able to create a new blank plan in the private channel, but the "Use a template" or "Copy existing plan" options do not appear?
• Does the same template display correctly when you create a plan in a standard (non-private) channel?
• Are you accessing Planner through Microsoft Teams, Planner on the web, or both?

The answers to these questions will help determine whether this is a feature availability within private channels or something else that may require further investigation. If the functionality works as expected in standard channels but not in private channels, that would generally suggest this is a current behavior rather than the result of a configuration issue.

In the meantime, as a possible workaround, you could create the plan in a standard team channel first and then manually recreate the required buckets, tasks, and settings within the private channel plan.

For additional background information, you may find the following Microsoft article helpful: IT Admins - Private channels in Microsoft Teams

I don't have direct visibility into Microsoft's product roadmap. However, if support for templates in private-channel plans would be valuable for your organization, I would encourage you to submit feedback through the Microsoft Teams Community. Feedback submitted there is reviewed by the product teams and helps influence future enhancements.

Once you’ve submitted your feedback, feel free to share the link here. I’d be happy to upvote it to help increase its visibility.

If you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Wishing you a smooth rest of your day.

Best regards,