Where are assignment files stored in Microsoft Teams?

When you attach a document to an assignment in Teams you have the option to allow students to edit their own copy. This feature creates a copy of the document for each student allowing them to complete and return their version of the document.

Once the student has returned their completed work using the Turn in button, you are able to access the document through the Teams assignments page, but a question I’m often asked is whether there’s a way to access these files directly.

Can you access assignment documents directly?

Yes! First, let’s briefly take a look at how Teams stores documents.

You’ve probably noticed in the Files tab that there is an option to Open in SharePoint. All teams secretly sit on top of a SharePoint site and it’s within this site that documents are stored.

To access the documents for any team, go to the Files tab of the relevant team and choose Open in SharePoint.

To view the assignment documents of your students navigate to Site Contents and Student Work.

Here you will see two folders: Submitted files and Working files.

Within each of these is a folder for every student and in every student folder is a folder for each assignment.

When a student uploads a document to an assignment, it goes into the Working files folder. From here the student can open the file (in Teams assignments or in SharePoint) and make changes.

Once the student has clicked on the Turn In button in Teams, the file is copied to the Submitted files folder and can no longer be edited.

Is there a shortcut to access assignment files?

No. There isn’t currently a shortcut to the assignment documents but you can always sync the Student Work folder to your OneDrive app for quick access using the Sync button in the Files tab of the relevant team.

Not only does this provide a quick way to access and review student assignments, but it also provides a simple way to copy a neatly structured version of each student’s assignments to share in reports.

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