Create and manage meeting templates and template policies
Microsoft Teams Premium includes the ability to create custom meeting templates. Meeting templates can be used to control meeting settings that the meeting organizer normally controls. With templates, you can create consistent meeting experiences in your organization and help enforce compliance requirements and business rules.
Meeting templates can be used to enforce settings or to set defaults. Each template setting can be locked so the meeting organizer can't change it, or can be left unlocked for the meeting organizer to change if needed.
Here are some examples of when a custom meeting template can be useful:
Enforcing automatic meeting recording for certain types of meetings.
Restricting chat and attendee camera and audio and using the Q&A feature for presentation-style meetings.
Using a stricter default for who can bypass the lobby, but allowing the meeting organizer to change the setting if needed.
Templates with sensitivity labels
Templates have the option of specifying a sensitivity label. Labels can also be applied directly to meetings, independent of templates. Sensitivity labels can control some of the same settings as templates:
End-to-end encryption
Meeting chat
Record automatically
Who can bypass the lobby
Who can present
Who can record
Watermarks
If any of these settings are configured in the label, they'll override these settings in the template.
Templates included with Teams
Teams Premium includes the following default meeting template:
Additionally, these templates are available in Teams for Education:
Class
Lecture
Create a custom meeting template
To create a custom meeting template
In the Teams admin center, expand Meetings and select Meeting templates.
Select Add
Type a name and description for the template.
Choose the settings that you want to use for this template. (See the sections below for descriptions of each setting.)
To prevent the meeting organizer from changing a setting, select the setting and then select lock.
To prevent the meeting organizer from seeing a setting, select the setting and then select Hide.
Select Save.
Once the template has been created, it may take up to 24 hours to be available to your users.
Meeting template settings
For each setting in the meeting template, you can define the following:
Default value: This is the value that is applied to a meeting when the template is used.
Visible: This determines if the meeting organizer can see this setting in the meeting options.
Lock status: This determines if the meeting organizer can change the setting that was set by the template. If the setting is locked, the meeting organizer can't change it.
Security
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Sensitivity label | Specifies the meeting sensitivity label to be used for the meeting. Note that the sensitivity label may override certain settings in the template. |
| Who can bypass the lobby? | Specifies who can bypass the lobby and join the meeting directly. |
| People dialing in can bypass the lobby | Specifies if people calling in by phone can bypass the lobby and join the meeting directly. |
| Enable meeting end-to-end encryption | Specify if you want the meeting to use end-to-end encryption. Recording and transcription won't work if this is on. |
| Apply a watermark to shared content | Specifies if a watermark is overlaid on content that is shared on screen in the meeting. |
| Apply a watermark to everyone's video feed | Specifies if a watermark is overlaid on attendees video feeds in the meeting. |
Audio and video
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Allow mic for attendees | When On, attendees can unmute. |
| Allow camera for attendees | When On, attendees can turn on their cameras. |
Recording and transcription
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Record meetings automatically | When On meetings are recorded automatically. |
| Who can record meetings? | Specifies whether meetings can be recorded by organizers only or by organizers and presenters. |
Roles
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Notify when callers join and leave | Specify if you want a sound to play when people calling in by phone join or leave the meeting. |
Meeting Engagement
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Attendees can chat | Specifies if the meeting chat is available. Can also be used to prevent chat before and after the meeting. |
| Attendees can use reactions | Specifies if attendees can use reactions in the meeting. This must be On for the raise hand feature to work. |
| Enable Q&A | Specifies if attendees can use the Q&A feature to ask questions during the meeting. |
| Manage what attendees see | When On, meeting organizers can preview and approve content being shared on screen before other meeting participants can see it. |
Manage meeting template policies
You can use meeting template policies in Microsoft Teams to determine which meeting templates are available to users in your organization.
Specify which meeting templates are available to users
By default, the Global policy allows users to see all available templates, including default templates and any custom templates that you've created. If you want to limit which templates are available for different people or groups, you can create policies specifying this.
To create a meeting template policy:
In the Teams admin center, expand Meetings and select Meeting template policies.
Select Add.
Type a name and description for the policy.
In the Viewable templates list, select any templates that you don't want users with this policy to see, and then select Hide.
Select Save.
Once you've created the policy, you need to assign it to users or groups.
Change which meeting templates are visible to users
You can update a meeting template policy if you want to change which templates are available to the users with that policy.
To edit a meeting template policy
In the Teams admin center, expand Meetings and select Meeting template policies.
Select the policy you want to change, and then select Edit.
To make a viewable template hidden, select the template in the Viewable templates list and then select Hide.
To make a hidden template viewable, select the template in the Hidden templates list and then select Show.
Select Save.
Meeting template, sensitivity labels, and admin policies
In Teams meetings, meeting organizers can configure a variety of settings that determine which features are available in the meeting. As an administrator, you can disable or enforce specific values for these settings by using a combination of admin policies, sensitivity labels, and meeting templates.
Meeting templates are created and managed in the Teams admin center and sensitivity labels are created and manged in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal. By using admin policies, meeting templates, and sensitivity labels together you can enable a variety of meeting scenarios to help meet the compliance and business needs for the different departments in your organization.
The following table shows a list of Teams features that may be useful for managing meetings with different compliance needs in your organization and where they can be configured.
| Feature | Teams admin policy | Sensitivity label | Meeting template | Meeting organizer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allow camera for attendees | The IP video and Mode for IP video admin policy settings determine which participants can use their cameras. | No setting | Can prevent or allow camera for attendees. Setting can be enforced or meeting organizer can be allowed to change. | Can prevent or allow camera for attendees if not locked by a template. |
| Allow mic for attendees | The Mode for IP audio setting determines which participants can use their mics. | No setting | Can prevent or allow mic for attendees. Setting can be enforced or meeting organizer can be allowed to change. | Can prevent or allow mic for attendees if not locked by a template. |
| Apply a watermark to everyone's video feed | Can be set to On or Off. If set to Off, then not available in sensitivity labels, meeting templates, or meeting settings. | Can enforce or prevent watermarks on participants' video feeds, or leave the setting uncontrolled. | Can enforce or prevent watermarks on participants' video feeds unless the setting is controlled by a sensitivity label. | Meeting organizer can turn on or off unless the setting is disabled by admin policy or enforced on or off by a meeting template or sensitivity label. |
| Apply a watermark to shared content | Can be set to On or Off. If set to Off, then not available in sensitivity labels, meeting templates, or meeting settings. | Can enforce or prevent watermarks on content shared on screen or leave the setting uncontrolled. | Can enforce or prevent watermarks on content shared on screen unless the setting is controlled by a sensitivity label. | Meeting organizer can turn on or off unless the setting is disabled by admin policy or enforced on or off by a meeting template or sensitivity label. |
| End-to-end encryption | When On, end-to-end encryption can be turned on by a sensitivity label, meeting template, or the meeting organizer. | Can enforce or prevent end-to-end encryption or leave the setting uncontrolled. | Can enforce or prevent end-to-end encryption unless the setting is controlled by a sensitivity label. | Meeting organizer can turn on or off unless the setting is disabled by admin policy or enforced on or off by a meeting template or sensitivity label. |
| Manage what attendees see | No setting | No setting | Can be set to On or Off and can enforce the setting or allow the meeting organizer to change it. | Meeting organizer can turn on or off unless the setting is enforced on or off by a meeting template. |
| Meeting chat | Can be set to On, Off, or On for everyone except anonymous participants. If set to Off, then the chat setting is disabled in labels, templates, and meeting settings. | Can enforce chat to be On, Off, or meeting-only, or leave the setting uncontrolled. | If enabled in admin policy and not controlled by a sensitivity label, can be set to On, Off, or meeting-only. Setting can be enforced or meeting organizer can be allowed to change. | If enabled by admin policy and not enforced by a sensitivity label or template, meeting owner can set to On, Off, or meeting-only. |
| People dialing in can bypass the lobby | Sets the default setting for new meetings. | If the label is controlling who can bypass the lobby, this setting is enforced On or Off, otherwise it's uncontrolled. | If not controlled by a sensitivity label, can be set to On or Off. Setting can be enforced or meeting organizer can be allowed to change. | If not enforced by a sensitivity label or template, meeting owner can set to On or Off. |
| Prevent copying chat content to clipboard | No setting | Can prevent the meeting chat from being copied. (Doesn't apply to anonymous participants.) | No setting | No setting |
| Record automatically | Meeting recording can be disabled completely using a meeting policy, but there's no admin policy for Record automatically. | Can enforce or prevent automatic meeting recording or be left uncontrolled. | If not controlled by a sensitivity label, can be set to On or Off and can enforce the setting or allow the meeting organizer to change it. | Meeting organizer can turn on or off unless the setting is enforced on or off by a meeting template or sensitivity label. |
| Who can bypass the lobby | Sets the default setting for new meetings. | Can enforce a particular option for who can bypass the lobby, or can be left uncontrolled. | If not controlled by a sensitivity label, selects a setting for who can bypass the lobby. Setting can be enforced or meeting organizer can be allowed to change. | Meeting organizer can choose who can bypass the lobby unless the setting is enforced by a label or template. |
| Who can present | Sets the default setting for new meetings. Available values are Only organizers and co-organizers, People in my organization and guests, and Everyone. | Can enforce settings of everyone, authenticated attendees, organizers, or specific people, or can be left uncontrolled. | No setting | Meeting organizer can select who can present unless enforced by a sensitivity label. |
| Who can record | Meeting recording can be disabled completely using a meeting policy, but there's no admin policy for Who can record. | Can enforce settings of organizers or organizers and presenters, or can be left uncontrolled. | If not controlled by a sensitivity label, selects a setting of organizers or organizers and presenters. Setting can be enforced or meeting organizer can be allowed to change. | Meeting organizer can choose who can record - organizers or organizers and presenters - unless the setting is enforced by a label or template. |
Put them all together
Admin policies' effect on sensitivity labels and meeting templates: Admin policies determine if a feature is available to users. If a feature is turned off in the admin policy, it can't be enforced by a sensitivity label or meeting template. Ensure that the settings you want to control with labels and templates are enabled in admin policies.
Sensitivity labels and templates together: Some settings are available in both sensitivity labels and templates. When a sensitivity label is used, its settings take precedence over meeting template or meeting organizer settings. You can use templates along with sensitivity labels to account for variations within a particular type of meeting.
User-based policies and meeting-based policies: Teams policies apply at the user or group level, while sensitivity label and template settings apply at the individual meeting level. Consider where it makes sense to configure settings in Teams admin policies versus sensitivity labels or templates.
Different meeting types with the same sensitivity: Using templates and labels together can be useful if you have different types of meetings with the same sensitivity. You can create multiple templates with different settings, all using the same sensitivity label.
Specify default values that meeting organizers can change: Templates can enforce a setting or allow the meeting organizer to change it. This allows you to implement default settings that meet your compliance needs while giving meeting organizers the option to override the setting if appropriate. Some admin policies can also be used to set a default value that can be changed by a meeting organizer.