Author Archives: Danielle Hertz

ICYMI: Checking in on G Suite’s newest tools

2020 is just around the corner, and we’re already looking ahead. But before we shift focus to the upcoming year, let’s take a look at what we’ve accomplished together over the last six months in G Suite.

Giving businesses the assist 

In November we hosted Google Cloud Next ‘19 in London, where even more assistive features were introduced in G Suite.

For starters, you’ll start seeing suggestions in Google Docs to help correct grammar faux pas via cutting-edge, neural network technology. We’re also bringing the power of Smart Compose from Gmail over to Docs so you can draft work faster, along with other helpful updates

Integrations between the Google Assistant and G Suite are also now available in beta for businesses to test. These integrations bring you new ways to accomplish more on the go with the Google Assistant when you’re logged into your G Suite account. This includes things like managing your calendar, sending quick messages and joining meetings hands-free. If those features pique your interest, you can learn more about how your company can sign up to try these helpful new additions.


Take-home tip: Did you know that Google Docs, Sheets and Slides have built-in AI to help you do things like search the web and embed imagery in documents, crunch numbers in spreadsheets and more? Learn how to use the “Explore” feature.


Start simple

Access to technology that’s easy to use matters, especially if you run a business—you can’t afford to adopt new systems that create confusion among your employees or that slow work down. We get that, which is why we’ve always been focused on making G Suite tools intuitive to use. 

These past few months, the product and engineering teams worked tirelessly to provide highly requested features in G Suite to make work flow more seamlessly. That list of features includes things like even more accessibility in G Suite as well as security updates including advanced phishing and malware protection, the introduction of Google’s Advanced Protection Program (APP) to protect high-risk users from security attacks (like CEOs), making Titan security keys available to more countries, and more. 

Take-home tip: There’s more material available if you’re  interested in learning more about how to get started in G Suite, including a step-by-step walkthrough for setting up G Suite for your business. Also, our handy ultimate resource guidegives you a sneak peek at some of the often overlooked resources available to you for free! 


Want to keep reading about everything G Suite did this year? There’s plenty more. You can also keep track of the latest on our website. Happy early new year!

Making our tech spill-proof, crash-proof—thank you, IT

They keep our laptops humming and our work flowing, and they’re often the first people we contact when there’s a problem: I’m talking about tech support. At Google, these folks offer a range of services to help us handle damage control for issues—troubleshooting the simplest to the most complex of problems every day—just like at your jobs. When we need help, we turn to our tech support service called Techstop.

Google Tech Stop

To commemorate SysAdmin Appreciation Day (That’s today, by the way.), we stopped by our San Francisco Techstop office to say thank you to our own tech support folks, and to ask them a few questions. Much to their surprise, they didn’t have to fix an issue for us.

What’s one thing you wish people would do before they came to IT?

Emma: Basic troubleshooting, like restarting a machine. You’d be surprised how many problems are resolved with a simple reboot.

Charles: Another tip would be to clear your cache and cookies before stopping by. This can help if you force a shutdown while a program is trying to update. If the program closes before it saves whatever it was doing, it can cause issues—clearing cache can help sometimes.

If you could wave a wand and eliminate a recurring problem that you deal with, what would it be?

Emma: The blue screen of death when machines don’t run on a modern OS. It causes disruption and takes entirely too long to remediate. I wish it would just go away.

Charles: Resetting passwords or sign-in credentials, in general. I’d love it if we didn’t have to do this, but I understand that people forget. 

What’s your favorite Google product hack or tip?

Emma: If you type “chrome://restart” into your Chrome browser, it’ll restart your browser and re-open tabs. I use this if my connection is slow or if my browser doesn’t load properly.  

Charles: I like to save time with Gmail shortcuts. If you want to learn what shortcuts are available, click Shift + ? and you’ll see a list of shortcuts appear on your screen. Just make sure to enable keyboard shortcuts in your Gmail settings first! If you’re working on a Chromebook with Chrome OS, you can click CTRL + ALT + ? and they’ll appear.

What's the weirdest or funniest laptop mishap you've encountered at Google?

Emma: I once had someone come in with a clicking noise on their laptop. I opened the bottom case of their computer and found a piece of a plastic arm from a toy stuck within the base. The person laughed and said, “oh kids…”

Charles: Do you know those little silicon packets that come in packaging or new clothing items? We’ve had dozens of people come into Techstop because their headphone ports stop working. Apparently, these packets get left within backpacks, the beads burst and they jam headphone jacks. Look out for those pesky things.

If you could describe working in IT in just 3 words, what would they be? (Feel free to make them fun!)

Emma: Unpredictable. Exciting. Gratifying.

Charles: Fluid. Inquisical. Magical.

What do you think your job will look like in 5 years? 

Emma: In five years, almost all of our IT systems will be cloud-based. Since troubleshooting systems will be a thing of the past, I think we’ll work tighter with product and data analytics teams to suggest and test new systems and environments. 

Charles: We help thousands of employees fix IT issues, and we're able to do this efficiently by focusing on how to address problems that happen over and over again. We call this "root reduction.” Root reduction helps us scale our IT services, and it also frees up our schedules so that we can focus on more strategic work. In five years, I think we’ll use the time we save through root reduction to become internal IT consultants for teams. We’ll embed with individual departments to help them solve trickier problems or workflows specific to their needs. 

From resetting our passwords to debugging and fixing a system crash, we salute you “IT guy” (or gal!). Thanks for keeping us online, even when we drown our computers in coffee.

Source: Gmail Blog


Making our tech spill-proof, crash-proof—thank you, IT

They keep our laptops humming and our work flowing, and they’re often the first people we contact when there’s a problem: I’m talking about tech support. At Google, these folks offer a range of services to help us handle damage control for issues—troubleshooting the simplest to the most complex of problems every day—just like at your jobs. When we need help, we turn to our tech support service called Techstop.

Google Tech Stop

To commemorate SysAdmin Appreciation Day (That’s today, by the way.), we stopped by our San Francisco Techstop office to say thank you to our own tech support folks, and to ask them a few questions. Much to their surprise, they didn’t have to fix an issue for us.

What’s one thing you wish people would do before they came to IT?

Emma: Basic troubleshooting, like restarting a machine. You’d be surprised how many problems are resolved with a simple reboot.

Charles: Another tip would be to clear your cache and cookies before stopping by. This can help if you force a shutdown while a program is trying to update. If the program closes before it saves whatever it was doing, it can cause issues—clearing cache can help sometimes.

If you could wave a wand and eliminate a recurring problem that you deal with, what would it be?

Emma: The blue screen of death when machines don’t run on a modern OS. It causes disruption and takes entirely too long to remediate. I wish it would just go away.

Charles: Resetting passwords or sign-in credentials, in general. I’d love it if we didn’t have to do this, but I understand that people forget. 

What’s your favorite Google product hack or tip?

Emma: If you type “chrome://restart” into your Chrome browser, it’ll restart your browser and re-open tabs. I use this if my connection is slow or if my browser doesn’t load properly.  

Charles: I like to save time with Gmail shortcuts. If you want to learn what shortcuts are available, click Shift + ? and you’ll see a list of shortcuts appear on your screen. Just make sure to enable keyboard shortcuts in your Gmail settings first! If you’re working on a Chromebook with Chrome OS, you can click CTRL + ALT + ? and they’ll appear.

What's the weirdest or funniest laptop mishap you've encountered at Google?

Emma: I once had someone come in with a clicking noise on their laptop. I opened the bottom case of their computer and found a piece of a plastic arm from a toy stuck within the base. The person laughed and said, “oh kids…”

Charles: Do you know those little silicon packets that come in packaging or new clothing items? We’ve had dozens of people come into Techstop because their headphone ports stop working. Apparently, these packets get left within backpacks, the beads burst and they jam headphone jacks. Look out for those pesky things.

If you could describe working in IT in just 3 words, what would they be? (Feel free to make them fun!)

Emma: Unpredictable. Exciting. Gratifying.

Charles: Fluid. Inquisical. Magical.

What do you think your job will look like in 5 years? 

Emma: In five years, almost all of our IT systems will be cloud-based. Since troubleshooting systems will be a thing of the past, I think we’ll work tighter with product and data analytics teams to suggest and test new systems and environments. 

Charles: We help thousands of employees fix IT issues, and we're able to do this efficiently by focusing on how to address problems that happen over and over again. We call this "root reduction.” Root reduction helps us scale our IT services, and it also frees up our schedules so that we can focus on more strategic work. In five years, I think we’ll use the time we save through root reduction to become internal IT consultants for teams. We’ll embed with individual departments to help them solve trickier problems or workflows specific to their needs. 

From resetting our passwords to debugging and fixing a system crash, we salute you “IT guy” (or gal!). Thanks for keeping us online, even when we drown our computers in coffee.

Source: Gmail Blog


Making our tech spill-proof, crash-proof—thank you, IT

They keep our laptops humming and our work flowing, and they’re often the first people we contact when there’s a problem: I’m talking about tech support. At Google, these folks offer a range of services to help us handle damage control for issues—troubleshooting the simplest to the most complex of problems every day—just like at your jobs. When we need help, we turn to our tech support service called Techstop.

Google Tech Stop

To commemorate SysAdmin Appreciation Day (That’s today, by the way.), we stopped by our San Francisco Techstop office to say thank you to our own tech support folks, and to ask them a few questions. Much to their surprise, they didn’t have to fix an issue for us.

What’s one thing you wish people would do before they came to IT?

Emma: Basic troubleshooting, like restarting a machine. You’d be surprised how many problems are resolved with a simple reboot.

Charles: Another tip would be to clear your cache and cookies before stopping by. This can help if you force a shutdown while a program is trying to update. If the program closes before it saves whatever it was doing, it can cause issues—clearing cache can help sometimes.

If you could wave a wand and eliminate a recurring problem that you deal with, what would it be?

Emma: The blue screen of death when machines don’t run on a modern OS. It causes disruption and takes entirely too long to remediate. I wish it would just go away.

Charles: Resetting passwords or sign-in credentials, in general. I’d love it if we didn’t have to do this, but I understand that people forget. 

What’s your favorite Google product hack or tip?

Emma: If you type “chrome://restart” into your Chrome browser, it’ll restart your browser and re-open tabs. I use this if my connection is slow or if my browser doesn’t load properly.  

Charles: I like to save time with Gmail shortcuts. If you want to learn what shortcuts are available, click Shift + ? and you’ll see a list of shortcuts appear on your screen. Just make sure to enable keyboard shortcuts in your Gmail settings first! If you’re working on a Chromebook with Chrome OS, you can click CTRL + ALT + ? and they’ll appear.

What's the weirdest or funniest laptop mishap you've encountered at Google?

Emma: I once had someone come in with a clicking noise on their laptop. I opened the bottom case of their computer and found a piece of a plastic arm from a toy stuck within the base. The person laughed and said, “oh kids…”

Charles: Do you know those little silicon packets that come in packaging or new clothing items? We’ve had dozens of people come into Techstop because their headphone ports stop working. Apparently, these packets get left within backpacks, the beads burst and they jam headphone jacks. Look out for those pesky things.

If you could describe working in IT in just 3 words, what would they be? (Feel free to make them fun!)

Emma: Unpredictable. Exciting. Gratifying.

Charles: Fluid. Inquisical. Magical.

What do you think your job will look like in 5 years? 

Emma: In five years, almost all of our IT systems will be cloud-based. Since troubleshooting systems will be a thing of the past, I think we’ll work tighter with product and data analytics teams to suggest and test new systems and environments. 

Charles: We help thousands of employees fix IT issues, and we're able to do this efficiently by focusing on how to address problems that happen over and over again. We call this "root reduction.” Root reduction helps us scale our IT services, and it also frees up our schedules so that we can focus on more strategic work. In five years, I think we’ll use the time we save through root reduction to become internal IT consultants for teams. We’ll embed with individual departments to help them solve trickier problems or workflows specific to their needs. 

From resetting our passwords to debugging and fixing a system crash, we salute you “IT guy” (or gal!). Thanks for keeping us online, even when we drown our computers in coffee.

Source: Gmail Blog


ICYMI in May: here’s what happened in G Suite

While Laurel vs. Yanny dominated office chatter this past month, businesses also got their first taste of working in the all-new Gmail. Packed with advanced security features, more integrations and new applications of Google’s artificial intelligence, Gmail is already receiving positive feedback like this, this and this from users.

To experiment with the new Gmail in your personal Gmail accounts, go to Settings in the top right of your inbox and select “Try the new Gmail.” It’s also available for G Suite businesses to use in the Early Adopter Program (EAP).

Subhead 1 ICYMI G Suite

We all have that one coworker who we rely on for tips on how to master spreadsheets, draft functions, organize email and more. We want to empower anyone who uses G Suite to become the go-to “pro” in the office. To help, we’re kicking off a bimonthly series called “G Suite Pro Tips.”

This month, a Google developer expert breaks down how to combine data from one spreadsheet into another spreadsheet in less than two minutes:

Import data from one spreadsheet to another
Subhead 2 ICYMI G Suite

→ Now you can work offline with ease in the new Gmail. Open Gmail in Chrome browser and search, write, delete or archive up to three months worth of messages.

→ We’ve made it easier for IT admins to export and download a copy of data securely from core services like Gmail, Google Docsand more. Navigate to the Tools section in the right-side slideout menu of the Admin console and select “Data Export.”

→ We made some minor changes to Drive’s user interface (UI), stuff like colors and fonts.

Drive UI change

→ We're rolling out Hangouts Meet to new regions. Welcome Colombia, Croatia, Lithuania and Portugal! We’re also automatically enabling Hangouts Meet (instead of Classic Hangouts) for all G Suite domains. Now, you’ll see Meet video meeting details in your Google Calendar events.

→ We’ve expanded Braille support for Sheets on Windows computers. Now you can use Braille on ChromeOS, Windows and Mac systems. Learn more.

Jamboard is now Bluetooth-enabled. Connect Bluetooth Conferencing devices (speaker and microphone combined) for your next jam session.


Check out a full recap of all product updates in May (PDF version).

Source: Drive


ICYMI in April: here’s what happened in G Suite

You might’ve seen the news. Gmail got a makeover.

Gmail’s new user interface was designed to help businesses accomplish more, in less time, from one spot. New tools like confidential mode can help you protect sensitive information in emails by setting up expiration dates or even revoking messages (the beauty of working in the cloud). We also added even more AI-powered features to help employees stay focused on work that requires more critical thinking and less time on repetitive tasks. Read more.


The new Gmail is available for businesses in an Early Adopter Program (EAP) and can be turned on in the Admin Console. Learn more.
ICYMI 1

Speaking of managing your inbox, there’s nothing worse than when you accidentally send an email to the wrong person (or click “send” before you finish typing). Gmail has your back.

When you push send on a message, a notification pops up in the bottom right corner of your inbox and gives you the option to select “Undo.” It looks like this:

ICYMI April - 1

Click undo!


You also have the option to decide how long you have to un-send a message. Go to Settings > General > scroll down to “Undo Send.” Choose from 5, 10, 20 or 30 seconds. Learn more.
ICYMI April - 2
Subhead 2 ICYMI G Suite

→ Think macro and skip minutiae. Now you can record macros in Google Sheets—no code required.

Hangouts Meet is available in six additional countries: Dominican Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia and Luxembourg. You can also call U.S. or Canadian phone numbers for free.

→ New security protections in Chrome help employees avoid phishing attacks. Learn more.

Google Drive will share new prompts to help make sure you’re passing along files to the right people. Now if you try to send a file to someone without access, Drive will flag the name of the person and their email address to show you the access they need. These prompts also work for Team Drives.
Access Checker in Drive

→ We’ve made it easier for you to embed Slides directly into Docs. And the best part is any changes you make to a slide will automatically reflect in your Doc.


Check out a full recap of all product updates in April (PDF version). See you next month.

ICYMI in March: here’s what happened in G Suite

Just like that, another month down.

In March, we announced a slew of security updates to Google Cloud, including enhancements to G Suite. In a nutshell, G Suite companies can now use advanced configurations to help fend off phishing scams. These updates will continue to help businesses block (ph)ishy activity, like if an untrusted sender tries to share encrypted attachments or if someone tries to trick you by sending information from a domain that looks like yours.

With these protections in place, more than 99.9 percent of Business Email Compromise (BEC) scenarios—when someone impersonates an executive to get sensitive information—are automatically moved to spam or flagged to users as shifty. Sorry, Charlie.

We also automatically enabled basic device management for mobile devices that access G Suite. Now IT admins can better enforce pass codes, erase confidential data for Android and iOS devices with selective account wipe and more without users needing to install profiles. Lastly, we added IRM controls to Team Drives to prevent folks from printing, downloading or copying files they shouldn’t have access to.


Many of these protections are default-on, which means you don’t have to do a thing. Read up here, or get started using the security center for G Suite.
ICYMI 1
ICYMI 2

This one is so simple. Did you know that you can make a copy of a Google Doc or Sheet with a quick URL change? In the URL of your document, delete the information before the final backslash. In this case, change “edit” to “copy.” Done!

And since security should always be top of mind, brush up on how to manage your share settings in Docs or other apps on our Help Center.

ICYMI 2
People predictions

→Most of us track down files in Google Drive by searching for the name of the person who shared a file with us. Because of this, Drive is going to start intelligently organizing the “Shared with Me” section by listing names and the files that people have shared with you, so you can track down files faster.

→ Two-step verification is an easy and effective way to protect G Suite users, which is why we recommend that businesses use security keys. Moving forward, all G Suite admins—not just G Suite Business admins—will be able to manage the deployment of security keys and view usage reports. Learn more.

→ Now your jams in Jamboard will automatically save to Drive.

Source: Drive


ICYMI in March: here’s what happened in G Suite

Just like that, another month down.

In March, we announced a slew of security updates to Google Cloud, including enhancements to G Suite. In a nutshell, G Suite companies can now use advanced configurations to help fend off phishing scams. These updates will continue to help businesses block (ph)ishy activity, like if an untrusted sender tries to share encrypted attachments or if someone tries to trick you by sending information from a domain that looks like yours.

With these protections in place, more than 99.9 percent of Business Email Compromise (BEC) scenarios—when someone impersonates an executive to get sensitive information—are automatically moved to spam or flagged to users as shifty. Sorry, Charlie.

We also automatically enabled basic device management for mobile devices that access G Suite. Now IT admins can better enforce pass codes, erase confidential data for Android and iOS devices with selective account wipe and more without users needing to install profiles. Lastly, we added IRM controls to Team Drives to prevent folks from printing, downloading or copying files they shouldn’t have access to.


Many of these protections are default-on, which means you don’t have to do a thing. Read up here, or get started using the security center for G Suite.
ICYMI 1
ICYMI 2

This one is so simple. Did you know that you can make a copy of a Google Doc or Sheet with a quick URL change? In the URL of your document, delete the information before the final backslash. In this case, change “edit” to “copy.” Done!

And since security should always be top of mind, brush up on how to manage your share settings in Docs or other apps on our Help Center.

ICYMI 2
People predictions

→Most of us track down files in Google Drive by searching for the name of the person who shared a file with us. Because of this, Drive is going to start intelligently organizing the “Shared with Me” section by listing names and the files that people have shared with you, so you can track down files faster.

→ Two-step verification is an easy and effective way to protect G Suite users, which is why we recommend that businesses use security keys. Moving forward, all G Suite admins—not just G Suite Business admins—will be able to manage the deployment of security keys and view usage reports. Learn more.

→ Now your jams in Jamboard will automatically save to Drive.

Source: Google Cloud


ICYMI in February: here’s what happened in G Suite

While we all tuned in to see who would win gold at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, our teams multitasked and brought new updates to G Suite. Here’s a look at what happened in February (and okay, a final list of Olympic winners, too.).

We announced even more intelligent, connected tools

We can’t say it enough. To stay competitive, your business can’t afford to rely on decades-old legacy systems. SaaS tools—ahem, G Suite—make it easier for you to align teams, make decisions faster and to skip repetitive, manual tasks. And even better: you can do it all from one place.

This month, we highlighted new, intelligent updates in G Suite to help teams accomplish more: Hangouts Chat is available, Calendar will use artificial intelligence (AI) to suggest the best conference room for you and Quick Access in Docs will intelligently suggest files to help you build out more useful materials like it does in Drive.

ICYMI 1
Image 1 ICYMI

Now that Chat is available, you can start using it with your team to move projects forward. First thing’s first. Set up your notifications.

Go to the cog wheel at the top right of your Chat screen (chat.google.com) and select “Notification settings” to specify when and where you receive notifications on web and mobile. Choose the down arrows and select the option that’s right for you. In that same window, you can also decide whether you want to be notified by email. Once you’ve picked your preferred settings, click “ok.”

Here are more tips on how to use Chat.

ICYMI header 2

→ It’s now possible to comment on Microsoft Office files stored in Google Drive, just like you do in Docs. Comment, assign tasks or mention coworkers on Office files, PDFs and images within the Drive preview pane. Dive straight into collaborating with clients or coworkers in real-time, no matter the file.

Bloccos - Image 1

→ We’re making it easier for developers to create more engaging email experiences for their users using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)—stuff like RSVPing to events, scheduling appointments or filling out questionnaires directly in email. Developers can sign up here for preview access.

→ Jamboard is coming to the European Union next month. Welcome to the Jam-fam, Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Spain and Finland.

→ Speaking of jamming, we also added AI-powered AutoDraw to Jamboard. This new drawing tool auto-detects what you sketch in Jamboard and pairs it with suggested images. Great for creative teams or students (or if drawing isn’t your best talent).

Autodraw

→ Now you can email coworkers within Team Drives. Click the drop-down menu next to your Team Drives name and select “Email members.” Don’t worry, it’s easy to customize who gets your email and who can access what files. Learn more.


Here’s a full list of product news (PDF version). See you next month.

Source: Drive


ICYMI in February: here’s what happened in G Suite

While we all tuned in to see who would win gold at the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, our teams multitasked and brought new updates to G Suite. Here’s a look at what happened in February (and okay, a final list of Olympic winners, too.).

We announced even more intelligent, connected tools

We can’t say it enough. To stay competitive, your business can’t afford to rely on decades-old legacy systems. SaaS tools—ahem, G Suite—make it easier for you to align teams, make decisions faster and to skip repetitive, manual tasks. And even better: you can do it all from one place.

This month, we highlighted new, intelligent updates in G Suite to help teams accomplish more: Hangouts Chat is available, Calendar will use artificial intelligence (AI) to suggest the best conference room for you and Quick Access in Docs will intelligently suggest files to help you build out more useful materials like it does in Drive.

ICYMI 1
Image 1 ICYMI

Now that Chat is available, you can start using it with your team to move projects forward. First thing’s first. Set up your notifications.

Go to the cog wheel at the top right of your Chat screen (chat.google.com) and select “Notification settings” to specify when and where you receive notifications on web and mobile. Choose the down arrows and select the option that’s right for you. In that same window, you can also decide whether you want to be notified by email. Once you’ve picked your preferred settings, click “ok.”

Here are more tips on how to use Chat.

ICYMI header 2

→ It’s now possible to comment on Microsoft Office files stored in Google Drive, just like you do in Docs. Comment, assign tasks or mention coworkers on Office files, PDFs and images within the Drive preview pane. Dive straight into collaborating with clients or coworkers in real-time, no matter the file.

Bloccos - Image 1

→ We’re making it easier for developers to create more engaging email experiences for their users using Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)—stuff like RSVPing to events, scheduling appointments or filling out questionnaires directly in email. Developers can sign up here for preview access.

→ Jamboard is coming to the European Union next month. Welcome to the Jam-fam, Republic of Ireland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, France, Spain and Finland.

→ Speaking of jamming, we also added AI-powered AutoDraw to Jamboard. This new drawing tool auto-detects what you sketch in Jamboard and pairs it with suggested images. Great for creative teams or students (or if drawing isn’t your best talent).

Autodraw

→ Now you can email coworkers within Team Drives. Click the drop-down menu next to your Team Drives name and select “Email members.” Don’t worry, it’s easy to customize who gets your email and who can access what files. Learn more.


Here’s a full list of product news (PDF version). See you next month.