Enhancements to Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows: Breakout Rooms and Zoom Controls

With technology continually evolving, Microsoft Teams continues to keep pace, ensuring it remains a leading collaborative tool for organizations worldwide. This article explores the latest updates to Microsoft Teams Rooms on Windows: the integration of breakout room support, customizable Together Mode scenes, and enhanced zooming controls during screen shares. These updates are designed to foster better communication and collaboration, making meetings more dynamic, engaging, and user-friendly.

Breakout Room Support: A New Level of Meeting Experience

Starting from mid-June and with completion expected by late July, Microsoft is rolling out a new feature for Teams Rooms on Windows that allows participants to be a part of breakout rooms. The breakout room capability enables participants to be moved in and out of the main meeting under the control of a meeting organizer.

When a meeting organizer enables the 'Automatically move people to rooms' setting, participants will be notified that they will be moved to their assigned breakout room within 10 seconds. Conversely, when the organizer turns on this setting again, participants will be alerted that they will be moved back to the main meeting in the same time frame.

It's important to note that Teams Rooms on Windows is not intended for breakout room organization, and such functionality is not offered. Users are encouraged to familiarize themselves with these new experiences for optimal usage.

Select Together Mode for Everyone: Personalizing Your Meeting Space

Also included in this update is the option to choose a Together Mode scene that best suits your meeting type using the view switcher on the console. For Teams Rooms on Windows acting as an organizer or presenter, you can make all participants see the same scene by selecting the 'Select for everyone' checkbox and clicking the 'Apply' button. This feature can make your meetings more engaging, fostering a greater sense of unity and collaboration amongst participants.

Zooming Controls for Screen Share Viewing

Another exciting update rolling out in stages from early June to mid-September is the introduction of new zooming controls while viewing a screen share. This feature, which will be available to all users, allows you to use new buttons to zoom in, zoom out, and restore the original size of the incoming screen share. These new controls replace the need for gestures and shortcuts, streamlining the process and making it more intuitive. However, this feature is currently not available when a watermark is enabled, which applies only for Teams Premium.

Preparing for the Updates

To prepare for these updates, it's essential to notify your users about these new features and experiences. Updating training resources and documentation, as well as support and/or knowledge base articles, is also recommended to ensure smooth adoption of these new functionalities.

Microsoft's commitment to enhancing the Teams Rooms on Windows experience is evident in these updates. By making meetings more engaging and user-friendly, Microsoft is ensuring that Teams remains a top choice for organizations seeking effective collaboration and communication tools. The addition of breakout rooms, customizable Together Mode scenes, and enhanced zooming controls while viewing screen shares adds to the platform's versatility, making Teams Rooms on Windows an even more powerful tool for remote and hybrid workforces.