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Help & Support for the Attensa Connector for Microsoft Teams

The Attensa Teams Connector enables seamless integration between Microsoft Teams and Attensa Workspaces. Deliver Attensa Briefings into Teams channels that keep teams informed on the topics that are relevant to their work and save time.

The information below explains installing the Connector, creating Briefings, and optionally installing the Attensa web app in a tab in Teams.

If you have any questions please contact us at:

support@attensa.com
US +1 971 340 2000
UK +44 203 318 5284

How to:

Adding Connector

Adding Connector to Teams Channel

Create Briefings

How to create and manage briefings

Install Attensa App

Install the Attensa app in a tab

Adding the Attensa Connector to a Channel

Follow the steps below to install the connector and create a briefing for any channel. Note: if you do not see the Attensa Connector in the Teams App catalog it is likely because the Team administrators for your organization select which Apps you are able to see. Contact your administrator to request that they include the Attensa Teams connector in your App catalog.

Select Apps and then search for ‘Attensa' in the Apps catalog. Then select the Attensa Connector App.

Select Add to a team

Choose the Team you would like to configure Attensa for.

You can configure the Attensa Connector to use topics on your Attensa Workspace or if you don’t yet have an Attensa Workspace you can use topics from the Attensa TopicCenter which offers a variety of publicly available topics.

To use Public Topics select ‘Use Attensa Topic Center’.

To connect to your Attensa Workspace you will need to obtain the Authorization Code for the Connector and then select ‘Use my Workspace’. This will automatically create a secure connection between Microsoft Teams and your Attensa Workspace. The Authorization Code is found in Settings > Account Settings. See below for the steps.

Note: Selecting ‘Use Attensa Topic Center’ provides a wide variety of topics to use for creating briefings from Attensa’s public Topic Center. You can also create your own Attensa Workspace with a free trial by selecting Free Trial above.  

Finding the Authorization Code for your Attensa Workspace in:

Settings > Account Settings > Briefing Settings

Creating a Teams Briefing

After installing the Teams connector you will be able to configure a briefing for the channel. All of the fields are required:

Briefing Name – will appear at the top of your briefing.

Briefing Topics: a list of available topics will appear and up to 3 can be selected for a briefing. If you linked the Connector to your Attensa Workspace those topics will be available. If you linked to Attensa Public Topics the topics from Attensa’s TopicCenter will be available.

Briefing Frequency: sets how often Attensa will generate a new briefing if there are new items in the topics included in the briefing.

Starting Time: sets the time for the first briefing.

Once these fields have been completed select ‘Save’ and your briefing will be created.

Integrate the Attensa App in a Teams Tab

As an option, you can also integrate the Attensa Workspace web app into a tab in Teams. This provides team members access to the Workspace features without leaving Teams. This includes live updates on topics followed by a team member, the ability to discover new topics in the Workspace shared catalog, and the ability to create new topics and manage sources.

Select the + to add a new tab to the selected channel.

From the list of options choose ‘Website’.

Name the tab.

Enter the full URL of your Attensa Workspace.

When the Attensa app loads you will be asked to sign in.

That’s it! Your Workspaces is now available within the Teams channel. Team members can view live updates for the topics they follow without leaving the Teams app and discover new topics in the team’s shared catalog.

Connector FAQs

It’s easy to get started.  Here are some frequently asked questions and answers.  If you have other questions, need help or want us to create a topic for you just let us know at support@attensa.com

Yes. When configuring the connector you'll be able to select the option to use Attensa's public topics. This will provide a wide range of topics to use in setting up briefings. When you're ready you can create your own Attensa Workspace, your own private topics and use it with the connector.  

Select ‘Connectors' in the menu for the channel that the Briefing appears in.  Select ‘Configured' and then locate the Attensa Connector.  Select ‘Manage' and then ‘Remove'.  This will completely remove the briefing from the Channel.  

Attensa topics are collections of sources that are filtered to provide content that is relevant to a specific interest or subject.  Whether it includes 1 or 1,000 sources the content is tuned to the specific subjects you want. No more digging through different sources to find the news and information that matters to you.

Once created, topics can be shared and others can follow them.  Topic updates can be delivered in a variety of ways including email briefings, the Attensa web app and inside other work applications like Slack or Microsoft Teams.  

There are a few different ways to create topics including the Attensa Topic Builder, search and save, and the manual method of selecting sources and creating filters.

Topic Builder: The Topic Builder uses keywords that you provide to identify the most relevant sources and an initial filter to produce a set of content.  After that, you can edit the sources and/or the filters including using concept tags provided by Attensa to hone in on specific subjects.

Search and Save: When you perform a search in Attensa you will have an option to save the search as a Topic. Save searches take the form of a Topic and will be continuously updated going forward.

Manual Method: Select the specific sources that you want and then create a filter to match your subject. Attensa’s source search allows you to search within the sources to find those that frequently contain the content you’re looking for.

When you configure the connector for a channel you are able to set the frequency and the starting time for the Briefing you are creating. The briefing will only be delivered if new articles are available. This means that there may be gaps between briefings. The Attensa app will monitor the selected to see if there are new items and if not, a briefing will not be generated.

Attensa uses its ability to search the individual items inside of each source to find relevant content and then assembles a collection of the sources containing the most relevant content. A topic’s sources can be managed at any time; adding or removing as desired with the results updated immediately.

Filters are used to refine and organize collections of content into the specific subjects desired.  There are two types of filters text filters and concept tags.

Text filters use keywords and phrases to refine to identify relevant content. 

Concept tags are assigned to each item in Attensa using natural language processing and machine learning techniques.  These tags describe the nature of each item, identify its meaning and the various people, places, and things that the item relates to.  Concept tags are powerful tools for identifying specific attributes of content for topics.  

Filters can be created using either or both terms and concept tags and can range from simple to complex in nature. If desired filters can also be created using boolean logic. 

Yes. the combination of Attensa’s automated filtering capabilities and a curator produce highly relevant content very efficiently.

This is typically done by creating the desired topic and then setting the topic to hide items until reviewed and included.

Topic creators and curators can also selectively hide items within a topic that they believe should not be included.  

Items can also be curated by copying them selectively between topics by a curator.

Topics typically relate to a single area of interest and people follow multiple topics.  Briefings group topics to provide updates for a set of topics.  

Personal briefings group updates for the topics that an individual follows to provide personalized updates. For example, a personal daily briefing.  

Briefings can also be used to provide updates through different channels.  For example, briefings can be created for Slack channels that deliver updates from selected topics into a Slack channel. 

Each briefing can contain up to three Topics.

No, each channel can have one Briefing with up to three topics included in it.  

Have Questions or Need Help?

Contact Us

Email: support@attensa.com
Phone: 
US +1 971 340 2000
UK +44 203 318 5284

Attensa Support Site

Enter your email.
Then check your inbox for a link to create your Attensa Workspace.