Course Administration | SAJID Lab

Difference between Microsoft Teams Users and BIIS Registered Students

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

BUET uses a BIIS system, that tracks registered students on a course. Course teachers can download their attendance sheet in .csv format. Teachers also use Teams for sharing class materials and assignments. Unfortunately, registration deadline is almost 2 weeks into the classes, and letting unregistered students do class causes later administrative problems. So, teachers often add all students in team of the section. It is a tedious process to check if a member teams is also registered in BIIS. In an ideal world, BIIS should have integrated Canva / Moodle for each class. However, at present, we can use this method to quickly cross check Teams and BIIS members. Please check my to see how it is installed and used.

This tutorial is only applicable for BUET teachers.

Step 1: Download BIIS Attendance Sheet

Log in to your faculty BIIS account, go to View Class Roster, Select Level Term and from the course list, download the csv file of the course.

Step 2: Prepare Script

In the same folder of the csv file, either download and copy of and unzip

Create a blank text file in the same folder of the csv file, rename it to team-biis-diff.ps1. Copy the following code in that file using note pad.

#usage 
#.\team-biis-diff.ps1 -team "EEE 416 All (Jan 2025)" -biiscsv "EEE_416.csv"
param(
 [string]$team = "EEE 416 All (Jan 2025)",
 [string]$biiscsv = "EEE_416.csv"
)
# Define CSV file name
$teamcsvFileName = ($team -replace ' ','_') + "_TeamMembers.csv"
$teamcsvDiffFileName = ($team -replace ' ','_') + "_BIIS_diff.csv"
Write-Host "BIIS Teams Sync"
Write-Host "by Dr. Sajid Muhaimin Choudhury, Dept of EEE, BUET"
Write-Host "https://www.sajid.bd"
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "This file would take users from $team and extract members to $teamcsvFileName."
Write-Host "It would then compare $teamcsvFileName and $biiscsv, and create $teamcsvDiffFileName"
Write-Host "If BIIS has a student that is not in Teams, it would add the student ID with ADD"
Write-Host "If Teams has a student that is not in BIIS, it would add the student ID with DROP"
# Rest of your script logic here (replace with your actual code)
Write-Host "Team: $team"
Write-Host "BIIS CSV File: $biiscsv"
# Show help if no parameters are provided
if ($PSBoundParameters.Count -eq 0) {
 $scriptName = $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Name
 Write-Host ""
 Write-Host "ERROR: No Parameters given. Pass parameters." -ForegroundColor Red
 Write-Host "Usage: .\$scriptName [-team <TeamName>] [-biiscsv <CSVFileName>]" -ForegroundColor Red
 Write-Host "Example: .\$scriptName -team 'EEE 101 Jan 2023' -biiscsv 'EEE_101.csv'"
 Write-Host ""
}
# Connect to Microsoft Teams
Write-Host "Connecting to Microsoft Teams...Please Enter Login Info in the separate screen..."
Connect-MicrosoftTeams
# Get Team Group ID
$selectedTeam = Get-Team -DisplayName $team
if ($null -eq $selectedTeam) {
 Write-Host "ERROR: No team found with display name '$team'. Exiting script." -ForegroundColor Red
 exit
}
# Get the members of the selected Team
$members = Get-TeamUser -GroupId $selectedTeam.GroupId
# Sort members by Email Address
$sortedMembers = $members | Sort-Object User
# Prepare data
$memberDetails = foreach ($member in $sortedMembers) {
 [PSCustomObject]@{
 "Display Name" = $member.Name
 "Email Address" = $member.User
 "Role" = $member.Role
 }
}
# Export to CSV
$memberDetails | Export-Csv -Path $teamcsvFileName -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8
Write-Host "Team members exported successfully to $teamcsvFileName" -ForegroundColor Green
# 2 Import BIIS data without headers
$BIISData = Import-Csv -Path $biiscsv -Header "StudentID", "Name", "PersonalEmail", "OfficialEmail", "PhoneNumber"
# Extract official emails from BIIS data
$BIIS_OfficialEmails = $BIISData | Where-Object { $_.OfficialEmail -and $_.OfficialEmail.Trim() -ne "" } | Select-Object -ExpandProperty OfficialEmail
# Import Teams data
$TeamsData = Import-Csv -Path $teamcsvFileName
# Filter Teams data to include only members
$Teams_Members = $TeamsData | Where-Object { $_.Role -eq "member" }
# Extract email addresses from Teams members
$Teams_Emails = $Teams_Members | Where-Object { $_."Email Address" -and $_."Email Address".Trim() -ne "" } | Select-Object -ExpandProperty "Email Address"
# Determine emails to add (in BIIS but not in Teams)
$EmailsToAdd = $BIIS_OfficialEmails | Where-Object { $_ -notin $Teams_Emails }
# Determine emails to drop (in Teams but not in BIIS)
$EmailsToDrop = $Teams_Emails | Where-Object { $_ -notin $BIIS_OfficialEmails }
# Prepare the output data
$OutputData = @()
foreach ($email in $EmailsToAdd) {
 $OutputData += [PSCustomObject]@{
 Email = $email
 Command = "ADD"
 }
}
foreach ($email in $EmailsToDrop) {
 $OutputData += [PSCustomObject]@{
 Email = $email
 Command = "DROP"
 }
}
# Export the results to a CSV fil
$OutputData | Export-Csv -Path $teamcsvDiffFileName -NoTypeInformation -Encoding UTF8
Write-Host "$teamcsvDiffFileName has been created successfully." -ForegroundColor Green

Save the ps1 file.

Step 3: Run PowerShell Script

Click Start and type PowerShell.
Right-click Windows PowerShell and choose Run as administrator.
In powershell window, go to the folder where you have the script and the .csv file, and run the script with this command:

.\team-biis-diff.ps1 -team "YOURTEAMNAME" -biiscsv "EEE_416.csv"

Replace YOURTEAMNAME with the actual display name of your team, and EEE_416.csv with the name of your csv. For convenience, you can also keep this text in the 1st line of your script as a comment, and copy paste it. Here is a sample output of a successful run in powershell:

4. You can log into teams with your faculty account. If you have owner access to the team, it would create another csv in the folder with all students to be added or dropped from the class. Here is a screenshot of a sample CSV.

Step 4: Take Action!

For students who are marked DROP in CSV file, ensure that they are indeed registered for the class (sometimes the registration is pending approval from advisor / head). If they are indeed not in the class, remove them from the teams manually.
Students who are marked ADD needs to be added in the teams.

Bulk Add Users to Microsoft Teams Using PowerShell

Sat, 05 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Adding multiple users to a Microsoft Teams group manually can be tedious and error-prone, especially for large groups. As we use Teams to manage class, we need to add upto 35 students for each sessional class, 65 students for theory and 195 students if we want to add the entire batch in a team. Fortunately, we can automate this task using PowerShell simplifies the task, reducing time and mistakes. Also, it is not straight forward to export the list of members from a team to a Excel file.

I am releasing these two templates to make our lives easier:

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use PowerShell and Excel to bulk-add users to a Microsoft Teams group. You can also download the templates and directly use them:

Prerequisites

installed on your system.
Owner access to the Microsoft Teams where you will add members. (You need to create the teams using the Microsoft Teams desktop app or web interface)
Excel file (BulkAdd.xlsx) containing users’ email addresses and roles.

Step 1: Installing and Running PowerShell

Windows Users

Windows typically comes with PowerShell pre-installed. To open it:

Click Start and type PowerShell.
Right-click Windows PowerShell and choose Run as administrator.

If you need to install the latest PowerShell version, download it from the .

macOS/Linux Users

Download and install PowerShell from the official GitHub repository:

After installing, open the terminal and type pwsh to launch PowerShell.

Step 2: Install Necessary Modules

You need two modules: MicrosoftTeams and ImportExcel.

Open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Install-Module MicrosoftTeams -Scope CurrentUser
Install-Module ImportExcel -Scope CurrentUser

Step 3: Prepare Excel Data

Download In the Data sheet, enter Batch, Department and Section. The roll number range should be automatically generated for departments with 195 students, and for other departments, you need to tweak the Sections sheet.

Step 4: PowerShell Script

Here’s the script that automates the bulk addition of users:

Unzip the file and extract the Teams-bulk-add.ps1 file, keep it in same folder as the excel file.

Modify the TeamDisplayName variable as your team’s name:

# Define Team display name
$TeamDisplayName = "EEE 416 (Jan 2025) B1 + B2"

# Ensure ImportExcel module is installed
if (!(Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name ImportExcel)) {
 Write-Host "ImportExcel module not found, installing..."
 Install-Module ImportExcel -Scope CurrentUser -Force
} else {
 Write-Host "ImportExcel module already installed."
}

# Ensure MicrosoftTeams module is installed
if (!(Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name MicrosoftTeams)) {
 Write-Host "MicrosoftTeams module not found, installing..."
 Install-Module MicrosoftTeams -Scope CurrentUser -Force
} else {
 Write-Host "MicrosoftTeams module already installed."
}

# Import required modules
Import-Module ImportExcel
Import-Module MicrosoftTeams

# Connect to Microsoft Teams
Write-Host "Connecting to Microsoft Teams..."
Connect-MicrosoftTeams

# Get Team Group ID
$team = Get-Team -DisplayName $TeamDisplayName

if ($null -eq $team) {
 Write-Host "No team found with display name '$TeamDisplayName'. Exiting script."
 exit
}

$groupId = $team.GroupId
Write-Host "Team '$TeamDisplayName' found. Group ID: $groupId"

# Read data from BulkAdd.xlsx (assuming file is in the same folder as script)
$scriptPath = Split-Path -Path $MyInvocation.MyCommand.Definition -Parent
$excelPath = Join-Path $scriptPath "BulkAdd.xlsx"

if (!(Test-Path $excelPath)) {
 Write-Host "File 'BulkAdd.xlsx' not found in script directory. Exiting script."
 exit
}

# Read the Excel sheet named "PowerShellData"
$data = Import-Excel -Path $excelPath -WorksheetName "PowerShellData"
Write-Host "Debugging imported data:"
$data | Format-Table

foreach ($row in $data) {
 $email = $row | Select-Object -ExpandProperty (Get-Member -InputObject $row -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Name)
 $role = $row | Select-Object -ExpandProperty (Get-Member -InputObject $row -MemberType NoteProperty | Select-Object -Skip 1 -First 1 -ExpandProperty Name)

 if ([string]::IsNullOrEmpty($email) -or [string]::IsNullOrEmpty($role)) {
 Write-Host "Empty email or role found. Skipping..."
 break
 }

 Write-Host "Email: $email, Role: $role"

 #Add users to team (uncomment the following line to add users to the team)
 Add-TeamUser -GroupId $groupId -User $email -Role $role
}

Write-Host "Process completed."

Replace Your Team Display Name with your actual Microsoft Teams name where you want to add the members.

Step 5: Execute the Script

Save this script as Teams-bulk-add.ps1. Run it by opening PowerShell and executing:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
.\Teams-bulk-add.ps1

If prompted about execution policy, type Y and hit Enter.
Log into Microsoft Teams after Running the script
Here is a screenshot of the script adding members to the team
Here is a screenshot of the teams after all 65 members added.

Step 6: Fetch Team Member list

Download

Modify the TeamDisplayName variable as your team’s name.

 1# Define Team display name
 2$TeamDisplayName = "EEE 416 (Jan 2025) B1 + B2"
 3
 4# Connect to Microsoft Teams
 5Write-Host "Connecting to Microsoft Teams..."
 6Connect-MicrosoftTeams
 7
 8# Get Team Group ID
 9$selectedTeam = Get-Team -DisplayName $TeamDisplayName
10
11if ($null -eq $selectedTeam) {
12 Write-Host "No team found with display name '$TeamDisplayName'. Exiting script."
13 exit
14}
15
16
17
18if (-not $selectedTeam) {
19 Write-Error "Team '$teamName' not found. Exiting script."
20 exit
21}
22
23# Get the members of the selected Team
24$members = Get-TeamUser -GroupId $selectedTeam.GroupId
25
26# Sort members by Email Address
27$sortedMembers = $members | Sort-Object User
28
29# Prepare data
30$memberDetails = foreach ($member in $sortedMembers) {
31 [PSCustomObject]@{
32 "Display Name" = $member.Name
33 "Email Address" = $member.User
34 "Role" = $member.Role
35 }
36}
37
38# Install ImportExcel Module if not already installed
39if (-not (Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name ImportExcel)) {
40 Install-Module -Name ImportExcel -Scope CurrentUser -Force
41}
42
43# Import the ImportExcel module
44Import-Module ImportExcel
45
46# Define Excel file name
47$excelFileName = ($selectedTeam.DisplayName -replace ' ','_') + "_TeamMembers.xlsx"
48
49# Export to Excel
50$memberDetails | Export-Excel -Path $excelFileName -AutoSize -WorksheetName "Team Members"
51
52Write-Host "Team members exported successfully to $excelFileName" -ForegroundColor Green

Run the script

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser
.\Teams-getmembers.ps1

The script would create an excel file with all team members.

Conclusion

You’ve now automated the bulk addition of users into Microsoft Teams using PowerShell. This approach saves considerable time, especially when managing large teams.

Happy automating!

Note: I might update the script in the future, where it would check against the BIIS generated roll number list, and also automatically remove members that are not present in the BIIS list, but that might need further testing.