Ability to archive channels

Would be nice if we had the ability to archive channels. For example: we created a channel for a specific project. Once the project is complete, we can archive that channel or at least move it out of the primary view. I could see the channel list getting large and clunky quickly with multiple projects many of which are complete.

Also, when a conversation in the channel is complete it should be archived or hidden.

8,135 votes

(thinking…)

Facebook

Google

Forgot password?

Create a password

Signed in as (Sign out)

We’ll send you updates on this idea

Cory shared this idea · Nov 3, 2016 · Flag idea as inappropriate… · Admin →

on the backlog ·

AdminAlex (Teams Engineering, Microsoft Teams) responded · Jul 3, 2019

We are still considering this feature for future releases, and will continue to update the status when it changes.

~Alex

Show previous admin responses (7)

on the backlog ·

Warren responded · Aug 6, 2018

Unfortunately due to re-prioritization this item has slipped back onto the “backlog” for the time being.

I hope to see it move back into “working on it” soon and will continue to engage the feature team with your feedback.
-Warren

working on it ·

Warren responded · Jun 1, 2018

Updating feature title to reflect the work for Channel since the chat ability is available.

The work on the channel archiving is still moving along though I have no additional updates to share at the moment.

-Warren

working on it ·

Warren responded · Mar 6, 2018

Some good news, the ability to archive (hide) a chat is available.

You simply click the ellipses “…” next to the chat you wish to hide, and select Hide from the drop down menu.

As for the ability to archive a channel, that is still being worked upon.

-Warren

working on it ·

Warren responded · Feb 12, 2018

No big updates. This item is still being actively worked upon. No timeline is available at this moment.

I’ll keep an eye on this and provide additional information as soon as I get it.

-Warren

working on it ·

Suphatra responded · Oct 2, 2017

Hi everyone, I wanted to let you know that we finished the planning and have started the coding for “restoring deleted channels”. We had to put this work on hold temporarily in order to prioritize some other things (such as Guest Access) so that’s why its been a while since my last update.

For the other feature requested on this ticket — “archiving channels and chats” — this requires a much larger cross-Microsoft collaboration that is also dependent on the Groups team. We’re working with them to figure out how we can make this feature happen across the two products for you.

Thanks for your patience, and for your feedback. We really appreciate you!

Sincerely,
Suphatra

working on it ·

Suphatra responded · Apr 28, 2017

Hi everyone,

First, I want to remind you that we have had legal archiving in the product for a long time. That means all messages are retained in a compliance folder automatically for you. For more info on this, read here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Top-Features-of-Microsoft-Teams-amp-Information-Protection-in/ba-p/63046

Secondly, for those seeking an end-user way to archive content (essentially, for non-legal reasons), I am happy to report we are actively working on giving you a way to archive channels. We should have this to you soon.

Lastly, archiving chats is a separate work item that we still have in review, as that is harder to solve for. I will let you know when this work begins.

Thanks and hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Suphatra

planned ·

Suphatra responded · Mar 3, 2017

Thank you so much for your feedback! We’ve reviewed this and put it into our planning. I’ll let you know as it progresses into the workflow.

Meanwhile, please continue to provide your ideas, bugs, and feedback — its your voice that is making this product better and better every time we ship. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,
Suphatra
Microsoft Teams

Twitter: skprufo Email: sparavimicrosoft.com

532 comments

Add a comment…

Attach a File

(thinking…)

Facebook

Google

Forgot password?

Create a password

Signed in as (Sign out)

Submitting...

Anonymous commented · July 19, 2019 7:23 AM · Flag as inappropriate

We need the ability to archive channels and archive selective conversation content within channels.
Dan commented · July 17, 2019 7:39 AM · Flag as inappropriate

We would like this feature as well.
Malay commented · July 16, 2019 9:46 PM · Flag as inappropriate

It is vital to have this feature since many customers are looking forward to have this functionality. I agree with many comments out here. It would also be great if this functionality would be extended with Graph API support so that not only from UI but also can be accomplished via code.
Rae Jobst commented · July 16, 2019 5:45 PM · Flag as inappropriate

Hoping this is back on the roadmap soon
Michael commented · July 15, 2019 9:57 AM · Flag as inappropriate

So within a channel, most of the content is stored elsewhere so I get the temptation to leave it as on the backlog however in many cases we want to "close" the channel so it disappears from view so that larger teams don't get clogged up. If you added the ability to assign a status to the channel that might also work.
Anonymous commented · July 12, 2019 3:40 AM · Flag as inappropriate

Archiving Channels is something that makes sense for temporary projects.
This is an important feature to keep channels and teams manageable in the long run.
Patrick Szalapski commented · July 10, 2019 7:09 AM · Flag as inappropriate

Without this, our list of channels gets out of control and adoption of Teams goes down as people can't deal with so many channels, even if they are dormant.
Matt commented · July 10, 2019 12:18 AM · Flag as inappropriate

When the vote reaches 8000, will it be implemented? Or do we have to wait until it gets to 10,000?
James commented · July 8, 2019 8:41 PM · Flag as inappropriate

We are starting move some workflows away from Teams because we can’t archive completed projects or previous initiatives. It is a shame because it was nice to do everything in one spot. But it isn’t manageable.
Anonymous commented · July 8, 2019 2:01 PM · Flag as inappropriate

Please add Archive.
Jules Fishelman commented · July 8, 2019 10:27 AM · Flag as inappropriate

Please do create this feature
ITS commented · July 8, 2019 4:39 AM · Flag as inappropriate

What @Matt Jones said... plus please do it, this has been years now for a very important feature
Ohama commented · July 3, 2019 10:57 PM · Flag as inappropriate

We need to archive the conversations as our knowledge, searching by text or term.
Matt Jones commented · June 27, 2019 8:04 PM · Flag as inappropriate

This feature is essential for widespread adoption to prevent channel 'sprawl' and to enhance the longevity of the Team. With us saving files in SharePoint amongst the different channels, we want the option to 'archive' the channel so that the files aren't lost, but the channel doesn't show in the channel list or top level 'Documents' folder in SharePoint.
Anonymous commented · June 26, 2019 11:57 AM · Flag as inappropriate

on the backlog · Warren responded · Aug 6, 2018 This is a feature that would really make using Teams ssoooo much better. It's coming up on a year that it has been 'on the backlog'. Is it coming 'off of the backlog' anytime soon?
RebeccaH commented · June 26, 2019 8:29 AM · Flag as inappropriate

Any news on this? Would like to archive a channel and not the whole Team.
some teams user commented · June 26, 2019 12:07 AM · Flag as inappropriate

hello microsoft?
Chris commented · June 24, 2019 10:32 PM · Flag as inappropriate

This seems like a no-brainer to me. Any news Microsoft?
Anonymous commented · June 24, 2019 9:29 AM · Flag as inappropriate

We will never be able to make the move away from slack, without this feature.
Anonymous commented · June 23, 2019 9:37 PM · Flag as inappropriate

My marketing team's Team is overflowing with channels. This is a desperately needed feature for marketing teams that run multiple campaigns and for anyone else using Teams to manage projects.