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Before publishing an app to Microsoft Teams, you must first develop it. Custom apps can be built using the Microsoft Teams Toolkit or independently using the Microsoft Teams SDKs. The app can be something simple, like a bot or messaging extension, or more complex, such as a tab that integrates with external services.
An app manifest file is a fundamental requirement when you build a Teams app. This JSON file describes the app’s functionalities, permissions, locations within Teams, and how it integrates within the Teams interface. Use the App Studio in Teams or the Teams Toolkit for Visual Studio Code to help create the app manifest easily.
Before publishing your custom app, it is imperative to test it extensively. Microsoft Teams provides the ability to upload a custom app for testing purposes. You can do this by navigating to the Teams admin center and uploading the app package (which includes the manifest and icons together with any necessary bots or tabs).
Once the app is uploaded, it will be available in your organization’s app catalog, and you can manage its policies and settings from the admin center.
App permission and setup policies are essential for controlling which apps are available to Teams users and the order in which they appear. The Microsoft Teams admin center enables you to manage these policies efficiently.
To configure policies:
After your custom app is published, it’s important to monitor and manage it to ensure that it continues to meet organizational needs and compliance standards. This includes:
Imagine your organization needs a custom app that allows users to access a customer relationship management (CRM) system directly from within Teams. The app would include a tab to display CRM data, a bot that answers queries about customer information, and messaging extensions that can insert CRM data into conversations.
Once developed and tested, you upload the app to your organization’s catalog, then define the appropriate permission policy to ensure all customer-facing teams have access while restricting it from other departments. You also adjust setup policies to pin the app on the side navigation bar for the sales team, ensuring quick access to the tool. As the app is in use, you would frequently review analytics to monitor adoption and gather user feedback to plan for improvements in subsequent releases.
Aspect | Description |
---|---|
App Development | Use Teams Toolkit or Teams SDK to develop your app. |
App Manifest | Required to define app capabilities and integration points. |
Testing | Essential to ensure app works as intended before publishing. |
Publishing | Uploaded to the organization’s app catalog via the Teams admin center. |
App Permission Policies | Dictate which apps are allowed or blocked. |
App Setup Policies | Control how apps are pinned and ordered for user access. |
Management | Updating the app, monitoring usage, and addressing feedback. |
By carefully following these steps, IT admins charged with the management of Microsoft Teams within their organization (as outlined in the MS-700 exam) can skillfully publish and configure custom apps, ensuring that they align with company policies and enhance workplace productivity and collaboration.
Explanation: Custom apps are typically published to the Teams App Store or distributed internally through the organization’s app catalog rather than being published directly through the Teams Admin Center.
Explanation: Sideloading must be enabled to add custom apps that are not published to the Teams App Store or the organization’s app catalog.
Answer: b, c
Explanation: Both custom apps and sideloading of apps need to be enabled to allow the publishing and addition of custom-built apps to Teams.
Explanation: You can distribute custom apps within your organization without uploading them to AppSource by using the organization’s app catalog in Teams.
Answer: a
Explanation: The Publish-TeamsApp cmdlet is used to publish a custom app to an organization’s app catalog in Microsoft Teams.
Answer: a
Explanation: The maximum size for a Teams app package that can be uploaded to the Teams Admin Center is 20 MB.
Explanation: Custom apps can be added to meetings in Teams so long as they have been designed to be compatible with the meetings extensibility points.
Answer: c
Explanation: The app manifest for a custom Teams app must include the App ID, which is a unique identifier for the app.
Explanation: In addition to global admins, Teams service admins and app catalog admins can also publish custom apps to the Teams app catalog.
Answer: c
Explanation: Governance and compliance review should be performed to ensure custom apps comply with the organization’s policies before they are published.
Explanation: Apps published to an organization’s app catalog are not immediately available to all users. Administrators can manage who can see and install the app through permissions and policies.
Answer: b
Explanation: After updating the manifest, you need to create a new app package with the updated manifest and upload it again for the changes to take effect.
A custom app is a software application that is developed by a third-party or in-house developer to be integrated with Microsoft Teams.
Custom apps can increase productivity by streamlining workflows, automate tasks, and provide additional functionality not available in the default Teams experience.
To publish a custom app to Microsoft Teams, developers need to first package their app as an app package file and then submit it to the Teams app store for approval.
The process for submitting a custom app to the Teams app store involves creating an app package, uploading it to the Teams app store, completing the submission form, and waiting for approval from Microsoft.
The requirements for submitting a custom app to the Teams app store include having a valid Microsoft account, meeting the app package requirements, and agreeing to the Teams app submission policies.
The approval time for a custom app submission can vary but typically takes around 3-5 business days.
To install a custom app in Microsoft Teams, you can search for it in the Teams app store, click the ‘Add’ button, and follow the installation prompts.
Yes, developers can update their custom app in Microsoft Teams by creating a new version of the app package and submitting it for approval to the Teams app store.
The process for updating a custom app in Microsoft Teams involves creating a new version of the app package, updating the app’s metadata, and resubmitting it to the Teams app store for approval.
Custom apps can be configured in Microsoft Teams by opening the app, clicking the three-dot menu, and selecting ‘Configure.’
The different types of custom apps that can be created for Microsoft Teams include tabs, bots, connectors, and messaging extensions.
Yes, custom apps can be added to specific channels in Microsoft Teams by going to the channel settings, selecting ‘Tabs,’ and clicking ‘Add a tab.’
To remove a custom app from Microsoft Teams, you can click the three-dot menu in the app and select ‘Uninstall.’
Yes, custom apps can be created for specific teams in Microsoft Teams by selecting the team in the app studio and adding the app to the team.
The app manifest in Microsoft Teams is an XML file that provides information about the custom app, including its name, description, logo, and permissions.
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