Pin a Message in Teams Chats and Conversations to Highlight Content
Due in tenants just about now (according to MC272167, published July 22), Teams users can pin a selected chat message to the top of a chat. According to Microsoft 365 roadmap item 82584, this capability will “drive awareness and provide the chat members with quick access to important content.” Given that many chats are filled with not-so-important content, pinning is a good way to highlight the most important issue in a conversation.
Update: Somewhat confusingly, Microsoft issued MC317764 on January 25 to say that they will begin to roll out chat pinning in mid-February 2022 with the aim of completing deployment at the end of February. As far as I can tell, the functionality described in MC317764 is the same as reported here. The same roadmap item (82584) applies.
Pinning a Chat
Any chat participant can pin a message to the top of the chat or unpin the pinned message if they don’t like it. Pinning works in chats with guests and external participants, but only a single message can be pinned. You can pin messages which include emoticons or GIFs but it’s best to restrict pinning to text-only messages as these messages display best. As you can see in Figure 1, a pinned chat appears at the top of the conversation. This example shows how to use pinning to remind chat participants about the purpose of the chat.
Figure 1: A pinned message appears at the top of a Teams chat
My personal use case for pinning is to remind myself and other chat participants when a conversation is under a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). In other words, the information discussed in the chat can’t be revealed to others without permission. This often happens when I chat with Microsoft engineering contacts, as is the case in Figure 2. You can also see that I have given this chat a name, which helps to find the chat in the chat list.
Figure 2: A pinned chat reminds chat participants that a discussion is under NDA
Pinning works in meeting chats. However, you can’t pin a meeting recording or transcript. This is because these are meeting resources and not chat messages.
Anyone can Pin a Message in Teams Chat
The egalitarian nature of chats means that no one “owns” a chat, even the person who starts the conversation. Everyone in a chat has equal rights, so everyone can pin and unpin merrily and there’s no way to lock a pinned chat to stop someone else deciding that it’s not so important and unpinning the message.
Different Pinning in Meetings
Channel conversations also support pinning. However, unlike a chat, a channel contains multiple conversations (threads) composed of base topics and replies (messages). You can pin a base topic or a reply. In either case, Teams shows the pinned status of the message with an icon (Figure 3). Any team member (including guests) can pin as many messages as they want in a channel.
Figure 3: The icon used to highlight a pinned message in a Teams channel conversation
Unlike pinned chats, Teams doesn’t display pinned conversations at the top of the channel. Instead, pinned conversations appear in the channel’s information pane (Figure 4). Limited room is available to display pinned conversations, so the information pane features the two most recently pinned conversations.
Figure 4: Pinned conversations shown in a Teams channel information pane
nor is there any indication shown of who pinned or unpinned a message. Everything’s done on trust and hopefully people won’t fall out when someone unwittingly unpins a message someone else thinks is important. Teams doesn’t write events to the Office 365 audit log when users pin or unpin messages.
To Pin or Not to Pin
Some will never pin a chat or channel conversation. Others see great value in the feature. It all comes down to your personal Teams habits. I’ve found a way to use pinning for chats to highlight NDA discussions, but I’ve never used pinning for channel conversations. I guess I shall have to look harder.
This kind of information warrants just a few words in the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook. It’s still interesting, so that’s why we cover it here. Learn more about how Teams works by subscribing to Office 365 for IT Pros today!
Hello, I went into teams and the pin option does not exist as a setting. I only have reply, edit, delete, save, mark as unread, share, translate, and immersive reader. The pin option is also not listed in more actions. I have updated teams to the most recent version. Are there additional steps needed to get the “pin” feature?
No, only the software… But I note that Microsoft published MC317764 on Jan 25, 2022 to say “This new feature will enable users to pin a specific message and provide chat members with quick access to critical content whenever it’s needed.” That looks awfully like the feature they planned to roll out earlier. I still see the Pin option in the public preview version of Teams, so I don’t know what’s happening. Software!
I have the latest deployment and the pin option is not available in the ellipsis .
You have Microsoft Teams Version 1.4.00.35564 (64-bit). It was last updated on 1/31/2022.
I’m also commenting here to learn how to disable pinning this feature. I have the exact problem that “Pin” appears right under my cursor just as I’m about to click “Edit.” Instead of quickly editing my messaged, I now look silly pinning, unpinning, and editing all in succession. How can this be disabled?
{"id":null,"mode":"button","open_style":"in_modal","currency_code":"EUR","currency_symbol":"\u20ac","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":100,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/office365itpros.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/cover-141x200.jpg","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Virtual Tip Jar","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for supporting the work of Office 365 for IT Pros!","payment_confirmation_title":"Office 365 for IT Pros","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
If this is released with only being able to pin 1 message at a time in a given chat, the feature is essentially useless.
how did you do figure 1
Select Pin from the […] menu after selecting the message you want to pin.
I dont have the pin icon for Teams chats, its just not under the(…)
I am trying to keep my excel link pinned but the group is saying they do not see it. Can you pin a link?
Is the link to Excel in a message? If so, you can pin that message – but I don’t think you can pin a direct link to an Excel worksheet.
Hello, I went into teams and the pin option does not exist as a setting. I only have reply, edit, delete, save, mark as unread, share, translate, and immersive reader. The pin option is also not listed in more actions. I have updated teams to the most recent version. Are there additional steps needed to get the “pin” feature?
No, only the software… But I note that Microsoft published MC317764 on Jan 25, 2022 to say “This new feature will enable users to pin a specific message and provide chat members with quick access to critical content whenever it’s needed.” That looks awfully like the feature they planned to roll out earlier. I still see the Pin option in the public preview version of Teams, so I don’t know what’s happening. Software!
I have the latest deployment and the pin option is not available in the ellipsis .
You have Microsoft Teams Version 1.4.00.35564 (64-bit). It was last updated on 1/31/2022.
Microsoft took the feature back. They are now in the process of reissuing the software (MC317764) starting in mid-February. I have updated the post.
How do i turn this garbage feature off? It populates right as i got to click edit a message and pins my message.
I’m also commenting here to learn how to disable pinning this feature. I have the exact problem that “Pin” appears right under my cursor just as I’m about to click “Edit.” Instead of quickly editing my messaged, I now look silly pinning, unpinning, and editing all in succession. How can this be disabled?
I don’t think you can. You can file a support incident with Microsoft to see if they can help.
Great article. Cuts right to the chase.
Hi, can I delete the “pinned a message” and “unpinned a message” messages in my chat?
You mean remove the options? If so, no you can’t.
where is the option to pin more than one message in chat ?
There isn’t one.
How come my unpinned chats reappear as pinned again even after I have unpinned them several times !!
I don’t know because I can’t see what you do. Have you reported the problem to Microsoft?