The Search box is very useful for when you want to find a conversation you had months ago, a word from within a file or something, or you need to locate the attachment from a chat message. In the Search bar at the top of the app, type the word you want to search for, either something related to a file, a message or a person’s name. This becomes your ‘search term’.
Find a Channel
Entering a term in the Search bar will present you with all the channels from your teams with that word in the name.
Not What You're Looking For
Click the first row that states “Search for…” and keep searching!
The results found by your search term will appear to the left divided into three categories: Messages, People and Files.
Finding Messages
Narrow down your search by providing some context about your search term. Use the Filter bar to dig deeper. 
- From – Who sent the message?
- Type – Was this in a Channel or Chat?
- More filters – Add context by inputting a Subject, Date range or Team/Channel and this will help you find exactly what you are looking for.
Click on the desired message and Teams will take you back in time, right to that conversation thread. Because conversation replies are threaded together, you can make sense of the conversation, even ones from years ago.
Finding People
Using the People category is straightforward. But, did you know you can search for all the Messages someone has made in the teams you share in common? They’ll be sorted by date so you can easily catch up.
Filtering Through Files
When you are looking for a file, the Files search category goes the farthest. Use this to filter by name, but also by file content. When you still have too many results to sort through, refine by filters and narrow by:
- Team
- File Type
- Type a person’s name
Note: Searching through Files means you are searching the content of the files as well. Keep in mind, you cannot search OneDrive or SharePoint.
