Author Archives: G Suite Updates

New meeting creation flow for Calendar on Android

Quick launch summary

We recently announced a new event creation flow for Calendar on the web. We’re now making similar improvements to save you time and make it easier to create or edit events on your Android device.

You’ll see several changes when creating/editing a meeting on Android such as:

  • Maintain visual access to calendar grid: Now, you can collapse or expand the creation/edit view, so you can go back and forth between this screen and the Calendar grid. This allows you to interact directly with the Calendar grid by tapping on the desired time slot, drag & dropping vertically to another time in the same day, or horizontally to another day.
  • See guest availability without leaving the create/edit view: Easily see the availability of guests directly on the Calendar grid, as their calendars will load as you add them to the event. Google Calendar may also suggest a title for the meeting. After adding guests, organizers can see schedules of their guests by clicking on "View Schedules" or by dragging down the Creation View.


Availability

Rollout details


G Suite editions
Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default?
This feature will be ON by default.

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Android phone’s built-in security key now generally available

Quick launch summary 

At Next 2019, we announced beta functionality to use an Android phone’s built-in security key for 2-step verification. We’re now making this generally available. All phones running Android 7.0+ (Nougat) have a built-in key that can be activated. This means your users can use existing phones for multi-factor authentication in G Suite to protect against phishing.

For more details, see our beta announcement or our Cloud Blog post.

Availability 

Rollout details



G Suite editions
 Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default? 
If 2-Step Verification or Security Key Enforcement is turned on for an organization, Android phone will be available as an option for security keys by default.

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Create and insert image carousels in new Sites

Quick Launch Summary: 

We’re making it easier for site editors to share a selection of images in new Sites by creating a new image carousel. You can use this new content type to highlight images on your site, like a project page where you can feature concepts and designs, or share photos from a conference on an event page.

To insert an image carousel to your Site:

  • In the right sidebar, click Insert > Image carousel 
  • Select images to upload or select from already uploaded images. 
    • Drag images to reorder as desired. 
    • Hover over the image to delete or add alt text. 


  • To set carousel settings, click the gear icon to the top right and select from the following: 
    • Auto start: images in the carousel will automatically cycle. 
    • Show dots: displays progress indicators for the carousel. 


Availability 

Rollout details 


G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default? 

  • This feature will be ON by default.


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What’s New in G Suite – April 2019



Check out the latest "What's New in G Suite" launch recap (pdf) for a roundup of all G Suite launches from April 2019. Archive and translated versions (coming soon for April issue.)

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New ways to manage language settings using the Gmail API

What’s changing

We’re extending the Gmail API by bringing developers new ways to manage the language settings your users. If you currently have applications that configure Gmail accounts during migrations or initial on-boarding, this is a great way to ensure each account has the correct display language.

Who’s impacted

Admins and developers.

Why you’d use it

With these new language settings methods, it’s possible for apps to get and update a user’s Gmail display language all within one place—the Gmail API. You may have previously used the update language settings method in the Admin SDK’s Email Settings API to handle these types of changes, but that will soon no longer be available. These new methods are good replacements.

How to get started


  • Admins and developers: To try out the new methods, check out the documentation. If you have any issues, you can also use the gmail-api tag on StackOverflow.
  • End users: No action needed.

Additional details

With this update, we’re also bringing you additional functionality, like the ability to:

  • Use these methods to manage the language settings of any user.
  • Get the current display language of a user. This is great for tailoring your application to the user’s language.

Note: If you need pointers on how to migrate from using the Email Settings API, specifically the update language settings method, here’s a detailed migration guide to help you transition.

Helpful links



Availability

Rollout details


G Suite editions

  • Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default?

  • This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the user level.

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Improvements to Gmail approved and blocked address lists in the Admin console

What’s changing

We’re adding the following improvements to help you easily view and manage your admin address lists for approved/blocked senders:

  • New search capability: You can now search your address lists. Click the magnifying glass icon to open a search bar. The search takes place as you type.
  • Sorted and deduped lists: Address lists are now sorted alphabetically, first by domains then by users. Duplicate entries are automatically removed.
  • View your entire address list at once: We’ve added a View All option at the bottom of these lists. This button takes you to a read-only summary view, displaying all entries on the address list.


Increased emphasis on sender authentication requirement for approved senders
We’ve also made some changes to emphasize sender authentication. The sender authentication requirement is meant to protect your users against spoofed messages. You can now clearly see which of your approved senders require authentication, and we strongly encourage you to enable authentication for any senders that currently have this disabled.

When you add new senders to an approved senders list, the “Require sender authentication” setting is enabled by default. Learn more about how sender authentication protects your domain in the Help Center.

Who’s impacted

Admins only

Why you’d use it

Gmail administrators use address lists in the Admin console to maintain lists of approved senders, blocked senders, or even addresses and domains for routing and compliance rules. We are improving the way you sort, search, and manage these lists to make this easier than before.

How to get started



Additional details


  • Sender authentication was, and still is, required by default, and we strongly encourage you to enable authentication for any senders that currently have this disabled. The sender authentication checkbox has changed from "Do not require sender authentication (not recommended)" to "Require sender authentication (recommended)" in order to make it easier for admins to determine if sender authentication is enabled or not for a specific address.
  • Your addresses are now sorted and deduped. Your address lists will now be sorted by domains, and then by users, and may be smaller than the previous lists due to the removal of duplicate entries.

Helpful links



Availability

Rollout details


G Suite editions
Available to all G Suite editions

On/off by default?
This feature will be ON by default.

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Six new third-party applications added to G Suite pre-integrated SAML apps catalog

What’s changing 

We’re adding SAML integration for six additional applications:
  • Comeet
  • CyberArk
  • Drift
  • Qmarkets
  • Qualtrics
  • Swrve
Use our Help Center to see the full list of SAML apps and find out how to configure SAML applications.

Who’s impacted 

Admins only

Why you’d use it 

With Single-Sign-On (SSO), users can access all of their enterprise cloud applications—including the Admin console for admins—after signing in just one time. Google supports the two most popular enterprise SSO standards, OpenID Connect and SAML, and there are already many applications with pre-integrated SSO support in our third-party apps catalog.

How to get started 

  • Admins: You can find our full list of pre-integrated applications, as well as instructions for installing them, in the Help Center.
  • End users: No action needed.

Additional details 

Note that apart from the pre-integrated SAML applications, G Suite also supports installing “Custom SAML Applications,” which means that admins can install any third-party application that supports SAML. The advantage of a pre-integrated app is that the installation is much easier. Use out Help Center to learn more about installing Custom SAML Applications.

Helpful links 

Help Center: Using SAML to set up federated SSO 
Help Center: Set up your own custom SAML applicationAvailability 

Rollout details 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default? 
This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the OU level.

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New adaptive meeting layouts in Hangouts Meet

What’s changing 

Hangouts Meet is launching adaptive layouts that automatically adjust to give you the best view of the people and presentations in your meeting:

Spotlight 
The spotlight layout keeps the focus on the presentation or a single speaker. It’s used when you’re in a meeting with just one other participant, when you pin someone, and when there’s a presentation but no active speakers with video on.


Tiled 
The tiled layout shows up to four participants on the screen to make your meetings feel more inclusive. This will be the default for smaller meetings when there is no presentation.


Side by side 
The side by side layout shows up to three speakers in a larger format next to the presentation. This allows you to continue to see the presenter as they speak. This is the default when there’s a presentation and there are active speakers with video on.


Sidebar 
The sidebar layout improves on the existing Meet layout by showing several additional participants in the same vertical space and using rectangular feeds to avoid participants on the edge being cropped out. This will be the default for larger meetings when there is no presentation.



In addition to seeing these layouts automatically used depending on the meeting needs, users can select a preferred layout from the Change layout dialog.

Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it 

These new layouts provide the user with a more inclusive and collaborative view of the meeting, allowing for easier interaction with remote participants while still maintaining focus on the content being presented.

How to get started 


  • Admins: No action required. 
  • End users: You’ll see the new layouts in your next Hangouts Meet meeting once the feature has rolled out to you. 

Additional details 

The new layouts are available on Hangouts Meet web clients and Hangouts Meet hardware.

Helpful links 

To learn more about layouts in Hangout Meets, see our Help Center. 

Availability 

Rollout details 

  • Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 30, 2019 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting no earlier than May 14, 2019. 

G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions. 

On/off by default? 

  • The new layouts are replacing the existing layout and will be enabled by default. 


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Team Drives is being renamed to shared drives

What’s changing 

The “Team Drives” feature of Google Drive will be renamed to “shared drives.” This will impact: 

  • Drive on web and mobile: Timing may vary depending on the specific platform. See below for more info.
  • Drive File Stream: Beginning on May 31, 2019, with the Drive File Stream version 31 release, “Team Drives” will be renamed to “shared drives” in the Drive File Stream navigation. This may require you to update settings on your devices (see below for more info). 

Who’s impacted 


Admins and end users

Why it’s changing 

This change will not impact Team Drives functionality; it is simply a name change. Our users have told us that they use Team Drives for a lot more than sharing within teams, so “shared drives” makes it easier to understand how you could use them.

How to get started 


  • Admins: If your organization currently relies on file paths of content linked from Drive File Stream—like shortcuts, scripts, etc.—you will need to update your file paths to “shared drives” as soon as possible after May 31, 2019 to avoid broken paths. 


  • End users: In Google Drive, in the left hand side panel, “Team Drives” will be renamed to “Shared drives.” Any desktop shortcuts that link to content inside of shared drives will need to be updated.

Additional details 

On mobile, Android users will see this change beginning on May 28, 2019. iOS users will see this change beginning on May 21, 2019. See below for rollout details for Drive for web.


Availability 

Rollout details 
  • Rapid Release domains: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) starting on June 3, 2019 for Drive on the web. 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) starting on June 3, 2019 for Drive on the web. 

G Suite editions 

  • This change will impact all G Suite editions. 

On/off by default? 

  • This feature will be ON by default. All features will stay the same, only now references to Team Drives will read as “shared drives” across Drive File Stream, and Drive for web and mobile.

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