The best way for Microsoft Teams users (without administrator rights) to save, export, print, copy, archive, back up, or migrate Teams conversation threads, messages, chat history
TL;DR:
To export Teams chat messages without Microsoft Teams admin rights, download Gildas Lormeau’s (GL) browser extension at https://github.com/gildas-lormeau/single-file-export-chat.
Alternatively, you can use the technique I was working with prior to discovering GL’s browser extension.
GL is also the inventor of this technique. I’ll refer to this second technique as the GL more-manual-SingleFile extension method. It requires a few extra steps in comparison to using their one click “single-file-export-chat” browser extension. However, it does provide some insight on how their browser extension works.
GL more-manual-SingleFile extension method
Install GL’s SingleFile browser extension at:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/singlefile/mpiodijhokgodhhofbcjdecpffjipkle
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/single-file/
https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/singlefile/efnbkdcfmcmnhlkaijjjmhjjgladedno
+ (plus)
GL’s extra few lines of code at
https://github.com/gildas-lormeau/SingleFile/issues/483#issuecomment-1327745298
Assumptions:
You are not very tech-savvy.
You can log into Microsoft Teams in a browser at https://teams.microsoft.com/
In Teams, you do not have admin rights for a group chat. Nevertheless, you still need to export the messages from that specific group chat.
You have multiple days, months, and even years worth of Teams messages to export and you have no time for useless advice such as manual copying and pasting them one page at a time.
You are not impressed with the lame solutions from ChatGPT by OpenAI, which I may add, seem to be typical of many online guides that provide solutions to this problem. It’s called GIGO in tech circles.
You want to use noncommercial software to export for free.
You want to export messages from the Chat section (in Microsoft Teams left column). NOT the Team section (in Microsoft Teams left column).
You wish to export Teams messages in their entirety, including any body text that contains clickable links.
You want to export Teams messages to a searchable final output rather than an image file.
You do not want to waste time manually copying and pasting individual Teams messages, which is a common technique offered by quite a few online guides. This manual copying and pasting makes sense if you only have a few Teams messages to export.
You do not want to use the GoFullPage browser extension. Even though it is not as effective as GL’s solutions, it does let you export Teams messages as images (e.g., a non-searchable PDF file). Before I came across GL’s methods, the GoFullPage browser extension was the best method I tried. Unfortunately, the final product is not searchable due to its image format.
Do not bother with these techniques below:
The following solutions — or lack thereof — will be useless to you if you do not have programming skills or you do not have admin rights for exporting Teams group chat messages. I tried to make them work for the better part of a day after researching them online. It was pretty much a waste of time because a lot of the solutions offered presume you have admin rights.
1. Export the messages in the Team section (in Microsoft Teams left column).
For this, there are several online guides available. They will NOT work when trying to export messages in the Chat section (in Microsoft Teams left column).
2. Request export of Teams chat messages at https://privacy.teams.live.com/ui/en/dataexport . This will not be possible if you do not have admin rights of the group chat in Teams.
3. Log into https://login.live.com/ . If you do not have admin privileges for the Teams group chat, this won’t be possible.
4. Backup-TeamsChat
https://www.lee-ford.co.uk/backup-teamschat/
https://github.com/leeford/Backup-TeamsChat
https://twitter.com/lee_ford/status/1426082778177757184
6. Prior to discovering GL, this was the closest solution I could find, but it still did not work. However, through it, in a roundabout way, I discovered GL.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/66264402/export-microsoft-teams-chat-to-file-for-archiving
7. Graph API (Microsoft). For example,
https://www.psguy.eu/how-to-export-ms-teams-chat-to-html-file-for-backup/
8. Web scraping using Selenium. For example,
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62587174/export-chat-messages-in-microsoft-teams-channels-programmatically-to-word-or-pdf
9. This is for Microsoft Teams personal. Not Microsoft Teams business account. And it is not going to work if you do not have admin rights.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/export-or-delete-your-microsoft-teams-free-data-1ed6ac68-5fb4-41be-9861-1a4127fecf68
10. Copy Teams Messages. For example,
https://techcult.com/how-to-export-ms-teams-conversation/#Method_1_Copy_Teams_Messages
11. Take Screenshots. For example,
https://techcult.com/how-to-export-ms-teams-conversation/#Method_2_Take_Screenshots
12. Save Teams Chat as PDF. For example,
https://techcult.com/how-to-export-ms-teams-conversation/#Method_4_Save_Teams_Chat_as_PDF
13. This browser extension does not work. Waste of time.
Microsoft Teams Chat Extractor
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/microsoft-teams-chat-extr/fhnkibfmfnbebnhcihmpdbibjgolbifm/
https://github.com/ingo/microsoft-teams-chat-extractor
Here are some of the terms I used to Google for solutions:
SingleFile GoFullPage
site:stackoverflow.com export Teams chat extract
GoFullPage Teams Chat Extractor
How to scrape Microsoft Teams chat
Script to scroll through Microsoft Teams long chat messages conversations to copy backup archive
Export Microsoft Teams chat to file for archiving
GoFullPage “login.live.com” “privacy.teams.live.com/ui/en/dataexport”
How to export Microsoft Teams data
How to save export print copy archive backup migrate Microsoft Teams all chat history messages conversations threads
Export teams history “login.live.com” “Microsoft account doesn’t exist”
Where is Microsoft Teams chat history
Conclusion:
To export Teams chat messages without admin rights, just use Gildas Lormeau (GL)’s browser extension, at https://github.com/gildas-lormeau/single-file-export-chat
I hope I have spared you from some frustrating research.
