Working efficiently across enterprise projects requires rapid access to your primary communication channels, project boards, and cloud tools. In Microsoft Teams, the left-hand app bar (or bottom navigation bar on mobile) serves as your primary control center, hosting essential modules like Activity, Chat, Teams, Calendar, and Calls. However, default app layouts often push critical tools into hidden menus while displaying modules you rarely use. To optimize your daily workflow, Microsoft allows you to customise and pin apps directly to the Teams navigation bar.
Whether you need instant one-click access to Microsoft Planner, OneNote, Shifts, Walkie Talkie, or custom company integrations, personalizing your navigation dock streamlines daily navigation and minimizes unnecessary clicks.
Understanding the Teams Navigation App Bar
The Teams navigation bar is organized into two primary tiers:
- Pinned Apps: Always visible at the top (or left edge on desktop). Pinned items feature permanent icon shortcuts and display unread notification badges.
- More Added Apps (Overflow Menu): Accessed by clicking the three-dot ellipsis (
...) icon. Houses secondary apps, custom organizational tools, and installed third-party utilities that do not fit on your primary dock.
How to Pin and Unpin Apps in Microsoft Teams (Desktop & Web)
Reorganizing your navigation bar takes only a few seconds in the desktop application or browser interface:
1. Pinning an App to the Main Bar
- Open Microsoft Teams on your Windows or Mac desktop.
- Click the three-dot (
...) View more apps button on the left navigation bar. - Find the app you want to keep visible (e.g. Planner, OneNote, Tasks by Planner and To Do, or Approvals). You can search for specific tools using the search bar.
- Right-click the app icon and select Pin.
- The app icon immediately anchors permanently to your main left navigation dock.
2. Unpinning Seldom-Used Apps
If you rarely use modules like Calls or Walkie Talkie, declutter your dock:
- Right-click the app icon on your left navigation bar.
- Click Unpin.
- The app returns to the three-dot overflow drawer, keeping your visible bar clean and focused.
How to Rearrange Pinned App Icons by Priority
The order of your pinned applications is fully customizable via simple drag-and-drop:
- Click and hold any pinned app icon on the left bar.
- Drag the icon upward or downward to your desired position in the hierarchy.
- Release the mouse button to lock the new arrangement in place.
Placing your highest-frequency apps—such as Chat and Calendar—at the very top ensures muscle memory allows instant jumping between conversations and schedule overviews.
Customising the Navigation Bar on Mobile (iOS & Android)
On mobile devices, screen real estate is constrained to four or five primary tabs at the bottom of the screen. You can tailor which tabs appear on mobile:
- Open the Microsoft Teams mobile app on iPhone or Android.
- Tap the More (
...) button located at the bottom-right corner. - Tap Reorder in the expanded tray.
- Touch and hold the three horizontal drag handles adjacent to any app.
- Drag your most important apps into the top section to display them on the persistent bottom navigation bar.
- Drag less critical items down into the More drawer.
- Tap Done (or the checkmark) to save your mobile navigation layout.
Navigation Bar Layout Comparison Table
| Workflow Profile | Recommended Top Pinned Apps | Productivity Advantage |
|---|---|---|
| Project Managers | Chat, Teams, Planner, Approvals, Calendar | Instant oversight of active task boards and milestone sign-offs. |
| Customer Support / Frontline | Activity, Shifts, Walkie Talkie, Calls, Chat | Immediate access to shift rotas, team radio channels, and diallers. |
| Executives & Directors | Calendar, Chat, Approvals, PowerPoint Live, Teams | Rapid switching between meeting calendars and executive approvals. |
| Software Developers | Teams, Chat, Azure DevOps / GitHub app, OneNote | Direct integration with pull request notifications and team documentation. |
Administrator Policies vs Personal Pinning
In enterprise corporate environments, Microsoft 365 tenant administrators can enforce baseline app setup policies across company departments:
- Org-Mandated Apps: IT administrators may pin specific company apps (such as Viva Engage or HR Helpdesk) globally. If an app cannot be unpinned, it has been locked by organization policy.
- User Precedence: In modern Teams, personal rearrangements generally persist alongside administrator-mandated tools, allowing individual users to position personal tools beneath organization defaults.