In Microsoft Teams, you may want to archive some Teams you have created for Classes as you need to use new Classes for the next academic year. Archiving a Team removes the Team from your Active Teams list and halts the Team’s activities. All the content associated with the Team, including files, conversations, grades and assignments, etc. (which you can re-use later) are saved and you will be able to access it any time.

This article outlines the procedures required for archiving and restoring Classes in Microsoft Teams. It also provides details on how to copy files from one Class to another Class Team and re-use assignments from archived Teams.

What happens when a Team is archived?

Archiving a Team does not delete it. In an archived Team, all the activities in the Team, including the ability to add or edit channels, post messages, or create new assignments, are halted. However, the Team owners can still add or remove Team members and update their roles. An archived Team will no longer appear with your view of Active Teams.

How to manually archive a Team

To manually archive a Team, follow the steps given below:

1. Click the ‘More options’ icon, next to the filter icon. (Three small dots)

2. Select ‘Manage teams’.

3. Click the ‘More options’ icon (three dots icon) next to a Team’s name and select ‘Archive team’.

4. To view an archived Team, click the ‘More options’ icon and select ‘Manage teams’ again. Scroll down to the bottom of your Teams list to view the expandable list of archived Teams.

How to copy files from one Class to another Class

1. In the channel of your Team, select the Files tab.

2. Select all the files (except Class Materials) and click Copy.

3. Select the Team and channel to which you want to paste the files.

4. For the Class Materials files, open the Class Materials folder and then follow steps 2-3 to copy them to another Team.

Re-use assignments from archived Teams

Microsoft Teams allows you to re-use assignments you have created in any Team, whether it is from an archived Class or not. To reuse an assignment, follow the steps given below:

1. Navigate to the General Class of your current Class and select Assignments.

2. Click Create and select ‘From existing’.

3. Select the Class where you originally created the assignment.

4. Click Next.

5. Select the assignment you want to re-use.

6. Click Next.

7. The assignment will recreate all the information you had included before. Edit any assignment details you want to change and then select Classes or individual students to assign the work to.

8. Click Assign. This will notify your student of their new assignment.