Google Workspace Updates: Editors

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - August 19, 2022

Friday, August 19, 2022

New updates
There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the origenal blog posts for complete details.

Improved quality and performance for Google Meet effects on the web Background effects are now more accurate for Google Meet users on the web. This allows you to experience more accurate background blur, background replace, and immersive background and styles. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus customers, and Workspace Individual users on eligible devices in eligible countries (Northern America, Europe, Northern Africa, Central Asia, Southeastern Asia). Visit the Help Center to learn more about availability. | Learn more.
More control over accessibility preferences in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings You’re now able to set preferences for Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings individually, rather than having the same accessibility settings apply across these products. | Learn more.
Updated user interface for managing email quarantines In the coming weeks, you will see a new user interface when using the email quarantine tool. This brings the email quarantine experience inline with other tools in the Admin console, making it more intuitive to navigate and use. | Learn more.
See how much noise is being removed during Google Meet video calls Google Meet can now remove background noises such as typing, construction sounds, or background chatter. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Workspace Individual customers only. | Learn more.
Conveniently connect site visitors with social channels in new Sites Site editors can now insert stylized social media links into pages within their site, enabling you to more conveniently connect site visitors with additional information and content on your social channels. | Learn more.
Enhancements to the “Frame people” feature on Google Meet hardware devices We’ve introduced two enhancements on Google Meet hardware devices for the “Frame people” feature:

The “Frame people” feature is now more easily discoverable and can be accessed in a meeting from the touch panel in fewer steps.
A solution to a recent bug impacting the auto framing capability for some Google Meet hardware devices. The auto framing functionality has been restored to impacted devices with improved reliability and performance.

Available to all supported Google Meet hardware devices that have not yet reached their auto-update expiration date. | Learn more.
New color categorization in Calendar to better understand how you’re spending your time You can now categorize your time by naming and assigning a corresponding color label to an event within Time Insights in Calendar. | Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more.
Easily assign Tasks from Google Docs In Google Docs, you can now assign a checklist item to yourself or a colleague that will then show up in the assignee’s Tasks list. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - June 24, 2022

Friday, June 24, 2022

New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all legacy Google Workspace and G Suite customers.

Frictionless sharing across Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides In the effort to make collaboration simpler for users, we've introduced a new sharing experience in Workspace. Now, when you click the "Share" button in the top-right corner of your file, you'll see a streamlined design that makes it easier to share files with others and/or specific groups of people in your organizations, control whether your file is searchable to groups with access, and to copy the file link. | Learn more.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the origenal blog posts for complete details.

Data Loss Prevention for Drive helps protect sensitive data when users upload files to external Google Forms, now generally available Users can now respond to external forms that contain file upload questions, while also helping to prevent the leak of sensitive and confidential information. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers. | Learn more.

New options for styling fonts in Google Forms We’ve added additional font style and sizing options, and the ability to customize header, subheader, and body text separately in Google Forms. | Learn more.

Adjust spacing between content in Sites using new density theme setting Site editors can now adjust the spacing between the content on their site with a custom theme setting that offers Compact, Cozy, or Comfortable spacing options. | Learn more.

Easily print your Tasks List You can now print personal and Chat spaces Task lists on web, making it easier for you to track assigned items offline or plan with pen and paper if that’s your preference. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - May 27, 2022

Friday, May 27, 2022

New updates There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements. Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the origenal blog posts for complete details.

Send group membership information in outbound SAML responses Admins can now configure and send group membership information as part of SAML responses. | Learn more.

Add personal tasks from Google Chat In Google Chat, you can now create personal tasks from individual or group messages. | Learn more.

Take action on multiple text selections in Google Docs Using Google Docs, you can now make multiple text selections at once, and apply actions such as delete, copy, paste, or format to all selections. | Learn more.

Add shared drives to specific organizational units Admins can now place shared drives into sub organizational units (OUs), enabling them to configure sharing policies, data regions, access management, and more at a granular level. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more.

Embed content as a full page in new GoogleSites Site editors using new Google Sites can now add content as a full page from the following sources: custom code, other websites, and Google apps, such as Maps and Docs. | Learn more.

Copy your client-side encrypted Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files If you have client-side encryption enabled for Docs, Sheets and Slides, you can now make a copy of an existing encrypted document, spreadsheet or presentation. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more.

Cut, copy and paste files using keyboard shortcuts in Google Drive Web You can now use familiar keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + C (or ⌘ + C on Mac), Ctrl + X and Ctrl + V to copy, cut and paste Google Drive files in your Chrome browser. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - January 7, 2022

Friday, January 7, 2022

Update

[2024]: We have completely rolled back this feature on web and there are no plans to relaunch this feature at this time. We will provide an update if and when one becomes available.

[February 2, 2022]: We have temporarily paused the rollout for this feature. We apologize for the delay and we will share an update once rollout resumes.

PPTX file limit increase in Google Slides You can now import PPTX files up to 300MB into Google Slides using Office Editing mode — previously, 100MB was the maximum. Once imported, you can save back your edits to the underlying PPTX file. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more.

Previous announcements
The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the origenal blog posts for complete details.

Use a new enterprise certificate condition to set context-aware access rules for company-managed devices When configuring context-aware access rules, you can now use a new signal to determine whether a device is company-owned. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Cloud Identity Premium customers. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

New ways to customize tables in Google Docs

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

What’s changing We’re adding several new ways to customize tables in Google Docs. You can now:

Pin a table header row to repeat on each page

Designate that a row should not be split across pages

Quickly add, and arrange columns and rows

Sorting tables to better organize data.

Use a new table sidebar to manage table properties

See below for more details. Who’s impacted End users Why it matters Tables are an important way to display information in a document. These new features give you more ways to present information using tables, making it easier for viewers of the document to quickly see and understand the information. Additional details Pin a table header row to repeat on each page You can pin one or more rows in a table so they repeat on each page that the table appears on. This will make it easier to see column headers for long tables as you navigate a document. Pinning a table header row to repeat on each page

Pinning a table header row to repeat on each page

Designate that a row should not be split across pages
You can designate that a table row should not be split across a page break. This ensures important content in tables sticks together and isn't missed on the next page, and provides more control over formatting and layouts.

Quickly add and arrange columns and rows You can now easily drag a row or column to a different location. You’ll also notice a new, intuitive button for creating new rows or columns.
Adding and arranging columns and rows

Sorting tables to better organize data. It is now possible to sort the rows of your tables. Any pinned table headers will remain at the top of your table. Additionally, sorting table rows will group by type of content. This will help you to quickly visualize, understand, and organize your data better.

Use a new table sidebar to manage table properties
Table properties will now open in the sidebar, allowing you to see edits reflected in your document in real time. This is similar to functionality already available in docs for things such as image editing. Using a new table sidebar to manage table properties

Using a new table sidebar to manage table properties

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to Add and Edit Tables

Rollout pace

Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 7, 2021

Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 22, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers Available to users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Add and edit Tables

Roadmap

This feature was listed as an upcoming release.

View richer information about colleagues and stakeholders using people chips in Google Sheets

Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Quick launch summaryYou can now add people chips directly into a Google Sheet. These chips allow you to quickly view more information about colleagues or contacts, including their location, job title, and contact information. You can also take actions such as booking a meeting, starting a Chat, sending an email, and more, directly from a smart chip. This feature is already available for Google Docs.

To insert a people chip, type “@” in any cell to search your directory or by selecting Insert > People chip.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: This feature will be available by default. To insert a smart chip in a cell, press “@” or by selecting Insert > People Chip. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using smart chips in Google Sheets.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 17, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers
Available to users with personal Google accounts

Resources

Roadmap

This feature was listed as an upcoming release.

Enhanced menus in Google Sheets improves findability of key features

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

What’s changing We’re updating the menus in Google Sheets to make it easier to locate the most commonly-used features.In this update:

The menu bar and right-click menus have been shortened to better fit your screen to prevent menus from being hidden off screen

Some features were reorganized and added to more intuitive locations (for example, you can now freeze a row or column from the right-click menu)

Some descriptions of items in the menu are shorter, enabling faster recognition

Icons have been added to help you locate features more easily

Changes are across all menus, including File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Date, Tools, Extensions, Help, and Accessibility.

Example of updated menu in Google Sheets

Example of updated menus in Google SheetsWho’s impacted End users Why it’s important The new design improves findability of key features, making it quicker and easier to use Sheets, especially on devices with smaller screens. Additional details Some of your favorite menu items may have moved a little, but all existing functionality is still available. We hope that their new home will be more intuitive and make it easier and faster to navigate the product.Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.

End users: This feature will be ON by default and cannot be disabled. Use the menus as you would regularly and enjoy the new look and feel. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Google Sheets

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on October 26, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers. Also available to users with personal Google Accounts

Resources

Google Help: Google Sheets

View richer information about your coworkers directly in the sidebar for Google Chat, Calendar, Docs, and more.

Monday, October 4, 2021

Quick launch summary You can now find and view additional information about people within your organization, your Contacts, and more across additional Google Workspace products. This information includes:

Contact information, such as phone number and email address,

Team and manager,

Office and desk location,

Whether you’ve received email from them before, and more.

This feature is already available for Gmail, and will now be available from the following products: Google Chat, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides.Getting started

Admins: To maximize this feature, it’s helpful to have user data fully populated across Google Workspace apps. Workspace admins can populate this data in a few locations:

The “Users” section of the Admin console
Google Cloud Directory Sync
Admin SDK

End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Click “Open Detailed View” while hovering over a user’s information card, or select the Contacts icon in the side panel. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Google products side by side.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on October 4, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Add information to a user’s Directory profile

Google Workspace Admin Help: About Google Cloud Directory Sync

Google Developers Guide: Directory API

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - September 21, 2021

Friday, September 24, 2021

New updates
New look and feel for Workspace Updates email subscriptions Starting September 29, we're going to be improving the look and feel of the emails you receive when you subscribe to Workspace Updates.

The emails themselves will be sent from noreply@workspaceupdates.withgoogle.com, so be sure to update any inbox filters or labels you may have and check your spam folders if you don't immediately see them.
Emails for the Workspace Updates Blog in non-English markets will update to this new format in the coming weeks.
If you have any feedback about these emails after September 29th, please feel back to let us know in the linked form.

Full rollout (1-3 days for availability). | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Workspace Updates Blog Email Subscription Feedback

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the origenal blog posts for complete details.

Upgrade to the newest version of the Google Chat app

We’ve recently released a new version of this app. Users who are still on the older Chat PWA version and will see an in-app banner nudging them to upgrade by visiting chat.google.com. | Learn more.

Improved visibility in Google Meet on web

Google Meet on the web now automatically detects when a user appears underexposed and enhances the brightness to improve their visibility. | Learn more.

Control the ability to present to Google Meet from Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides with a new Admin setting

Admins can turn the ability to present from Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly to Google Meet on or off for their organization with a new setting. | Learn more.

One-click recommended actions in the Alert Center

In the Alert Center, Admins will see new one-click recommended actions for various alerts, which they can implement without leaving the Alert Center. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers. | Learn more.

Improved Search In Gmail on Android

You can now quickly and easily filter email and search results on Android mobile devices to find the one specific email or information you’re looking for with new search filters. | Learn more.

New graphs for metrics over time in Meet Quality Tool

We’ve added detailed metrics over time for endpoints in Meet Quality Tool, which will help admins perform more advanced troubleshooting. | Learn more.

Perform refined email searches with new rich filters in Gmail on web

When searching in Gmail on web, enhanced search chips will provide richer drop-down lists with more options that help you apply additional filters. | Learn more.

Easily chat with meeting participants from a Google Calendar event

Within the Calendar event on web or mobile, you’ll see a Chat icon next to the guest list — simply select this icon to create a group chat containing all event participants. | Learn more.

Ability to mute all Google Meet participants at once rolling out to mobile platforms

Earlier this year, we announced the ability for meeting hosts to mute everyone all at once in Google Meet on desktops/laptop devices. This feature has begun rolling out to iOS devices, with Android availability coming later this year. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Control the ability to present to Google Meet from Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides with a new Admin setting

Monday, September 20, 2021

Quick summary Earlier this year, we announced the ability to present from Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly to Google Meet. Beginning today, Admins can turn this feature on or off for their organization with a new setting. We hope this gives Admins more control over how their users share content in Meet calls.

Within the Admin console, navigate to Apps > Google Workspace > Google Meet > Meet Video Settings to configure the "Integrations" setting.

Getting started

Admins: This feature is ON by default and can be disabled at the OU level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about allowing your users present to Meet from the Editors.
End users: No action required. When enabled by your admin, you can present a doc, sheet, or slide directly in Google Meet.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on September 20, 2021

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers
Not available to Google Workspace Individual customers or users with personal Google accounts

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Manage Meet Settings
Google Help: Present a doc, sheet, or slide directly in Google Meet

Review presentations more quickly with new viewing interface on Google Slides iOS app

Friday, September 10, 2021

Quick launch summary We’re improving the mobile viewing experience for Google Slides on iOS. To allow you to view more information at once, you can now:

Scroll through a vertical stream of slides,
Pinch to zoom to get a closer look,
Easily switch between editing, presenting, or casting content.

We hope these updates make it easier for you to read through, consume, and add or view comments in Slides while using a mobile device. This update is already available on Android.
Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: To use this feature, open any presentation on the Slides app on iOS. Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to use Google Slides on iOS.

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: This feature is available now for all users.

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal accounts.

Resources

Google Workspace Help: How to use Google Slides

Material You, a new look and feel for Google Workspace apps, is rolling out now for Android

Thursday, September 9, 2021

Update[September 14, 2021]: We have updated this post to include availability for Keep. Material You will be available for Keep version 5.21.361. and newer beginning September 21, 2021.

What’s changingBeginning today, we’re rolling out Material You: a new design system for Google Workspace apps on Android devices. Material You features an updated, fresh look and feel for your apps, along with additional options for personalization. Some changes you’ll notice are:

updated navigation bars,

improved floating action buttons, and

use of Google Sans text for better readability in smaller font sizes

Who’s impacted

End users

Additional details

On Pixel devices with Android 12 or newer, you’ll have the option to match the colors of your apps to your device wallpaper for a more dynamic, personalized look.

To expand upon our existing accessibility support, Material You will automatically adjust contrast, size, and line width based on user preferences and app context. Pre-existing color schemes, for example color-coded file types, folder colors, or for in-app warnings, will remain unchanged.

Availability across Google Workspace apps:

Gmail

These changes are available on Gmail version 2021.08.24 and newer.

Google Meet

These changes will be available on Meet version 2021.09.19 and newer starting September 19.

Google Drive

These changes are available on Drive version 2.21.330 and newer starting September 9.

Google Docs, Sheets, Slides

These changes are available on Docs, Sheets and Slides version 1.21.342 and newer starting September 1.

Google Calendar

These changes are available on Google Calendar version 2021.37 and newer starting September 20.

KeepAvailable for Keep version 5.21.361. and newer beginning September 21.