As part of our mission to provide a top-class user experience on large screen devices, we’re adding several new features and functionality to products like Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Keep on Android devices.
We hope these updates enhance flexibility by giving you more ways to work with, display and organize your content across Google Workspace. Specifically, the new abilities include:
Drag & Drop in Docs, Sheets & Drive: Easily drag text or images from other apps, such as Chrome, and drop content into an existing document or spreadsheet cell. For Drive, quickly upload files by dragging and dropping them into the app. You can also add links to Drive files by dragging the file into an open app like Keep.
Dragging & Dropping from Sheets into Docs and vice versa
Dragging & Dropping from Keep into Drive
Dragging & Dropping from Drive into Keep
Keyboard support for Drive, Docs & Slides: When using an attached keyboard, use simple and familiar shortcuts to quickly navigate around Drive, Docs, and Slides, without needing to slow down and take your hands off of your keyboard.
Multi-instance support on Drive: Get better insight into your Drive files by having two Drive windows open side-by-side.
Getting started
Admins: There is no admin control for these features.
To access Multi-instance support on Drive, select the 3-dot menu on any Drive file > choose the "Open in new window" option > navigate through each Drive window independently. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Google Drive.
Rollout pace
Keyboard support for Drive, Drag & Drop in Drive, and Multi-instance support on Drive:
These features are available now
Keyboard support for Docs & Slides and Drag & Drop in Docs & Sheets:
Posted by Purnima Kochikar, VP of Partnerships, Google Play
This week we are celebrating ten years of Google Play. Over the past decade, your creativity combined with our investment in a global platform has created a thriving app ecosystem. 2.5 billion people in over 190 countries visit Play every month to connect with your apps and games, and Play has generated over $120 billion in earnings for developers to date. We’re so proud of this amazing milestone, and grateful for your partnership.
Looking back
I joined the team in 2012, only a few months after Google Play launched. At that time, active users on Android had just grown from 100 million to 400 million. Android was the new kid on the block, with the audacious goal of making mobile computing accessible to everyone, everywhere. You were understandably skeptical about our chances for success - we were so far behind competing platforms in most aspects, from platform features and tools to design guidelines and commercial capabilities. Our belief in the immense potential of a fair and open ecosystem - and, even more importantly, our belief in your limitless potential - made us push forward. We were and continue to be driven by our commitment to your success.
Back then, our tiny partnerships team of just six people was figuring out how we could best support you in navigating the opportunities and challenges of the mobile economy. There were so many uncertainties: would we be able to deliver the apps you were envisioning to a global audience on devices they can afford? Would people watch videos on the small smartphone screens, given the high cost of mobile data and low device capabilities? Would they be happy paying for mobile games, and feel safe doing so? Would people subscribe to in-app content in the same way that they did to physical goods like magazines and newspapers?
We were with you every step of the way, taking the time to understand your needs and find ways to help you build beautiful apps and games. We also invited our global community of users to help us evolve your apps and games together, supported by features like beta testing and staged rollouts, and the ability to reply to user reviews.
Some of my fondest memories from those early days are of working with companies who inspired us by dreaming up novel ways to harness the magic of mobile phones. They broadened our perspective of what is possible. Smule is one of those early partners who kicked off their success in the first couple of years of Play. They became one of the first of many to inspire my team, and share their story with the community:
As your apps gained traction and you aspired to convert them into sustainable global businesses, we bolstered our investments in our commerce platform to help you grow and manage your business. We added the most popular and effective forms of payment from around the world to ensure people could pay for your apps and games frictionlessly. We removed complexities associated with finding and integrating local payment, including access to 300+ local payment methods supported in 70 countries. We also evolved our platform to anticipate and support your business needs - going from premium to free-to-play and subscriptions business models - and now Google Play helps consumers transact safely and seamlessly in more than 170 markets.
We provided industry leading insights through our Play Console on the entire lifecycle of your app, from installs to Vitals and more, to help you manage your business effectively. I remember my entire team tearing up when Vincenzo Colucci, the founder of Smart Launcher, described how Play enabled him to live where he wanted to live - in Manfredonia, in the South of Italy, with his loved ones - and do what he loves to do - build apps that impact people around the world. His company also turned 10 years old this year.
At every step, you demanded more from us and inspired us to think more expansively. In response, our product and engineering teams built tools and capabilities that could support all the great things that you were doing. Your feedback has helped to shape the launch of new features, resources and programs to support your success on the platform. With your help, we have evolved:
We’ve also worked in partnership with several of you to create new features that would benefit the entire ecosystem. For example, in 2015, we worked with Supercell to help prevent fraud, leading to the launch of the Voided Purchases API, which drove industry-wide improvements to fraud and refund abuse. Similarly, our Japanese and Korean partners like GungHo Online Entertainment and NCSOFT helped us grow from a platform that supported pay-and-download games, like Rovio’s early Angry Birds, to becoming a LiveOps platform that supports games as a live service. Our media partners helped us evolve our subscriptions platform to include features such as Account Hold and Grace Period. Interestingly, we used these features to help our sports apps partners to hold on to their subscribers when the world went into lockdown.
While there are countless such examples in our decade-long partnerships, here are 10 of our most memorable launches from the last 10 years:
As your businesses matured, we invested in product capabilities such as Play Points to help you retain and re-engage your most loyal users. We are so proud that this program has over 100 million members in 28 countries, with further expansion scheduled for later this year. We also created a consulting service to provide business and technical insights to help you make more data driven decisions about your product roadmap and global expansion plans. You have told us that these insights have helped to drive millions in incremental revenues for you, and informed not only your product direction, but also your M&A strategies.
Above all, our partnership has brought meaningful apps and games to global audiences, and built successful businesses that have created new jobs and helped local economies. In the US alone, Play and Android have helped to create more than 2M jobs. We are truly proud of the economic impact we have had together on local communities and small businesses around the world.
Looking forward
As we look towards our next decade, it is useful to pause and reflect on the last two unprecedented years we have experienced together, and the overwhelmingly positive impact our partnership has had on the lives of so many people. Android and Play - powered by your businesses - have connected families and loved ones together, helped to keep people safe by supporting daily needs, sped up access to telemedicine, created employment, and enabled kids to learn and grow. Let’s take a moment to let that sink in.
These years have taught us important lessons about our joint responsibility to foster a safe and trusted ecosystem, and how much more needs to be done to make mobile accessible to everyone. As we think about the future, there are three areas which are top of mind of us:
Continuing to evolve our tools to support your business decision making, evolve our business models, and to help you safely grow your businesses and deliver the best quality experiences for your users in the evolving privacy and security landscape.
Building an ecosystem for everyone by investing in initiatives that improve representation in the apps and games industry, and by empowering more underrepresented founders to build successful businesses. Last year we moved beyond a “one size fits all” service fee model to ensure all types of businesses can be successful, and we will continue to have multiple programs designed to support our diverse app ecosystem.
The success of the founders who have gone through our Indie Game Festival and Accelerator programs, and the meaningful impact of our Change the Game initiative and of our accessibility efforts, make us optimistic about our ecosystem. We look forward to the next decade where we welcome many more founders like nine year old Alyssa and her mother who created Frobelles, a dress-up game increasing representation of African and Caribbean hair styles, to our #WeArePlay family.
Thank you for being an integral part of our audacious goal to make mobile accessible to everyone, everywhere. We have come a long way and we have a long way to go. We are inspired by and grateful for each one of you, and remain singularly committed to your success. We can’t wait to see what you will create next, and the new horizons you will drive us to explore and enable.
After a long day, I love to lounge on the couch, tablet in hand, checking my emails and adding to my to-do lists while watching TV. It’s a great way to stay productive and get things done — and it’s about to get even easier to use your tablet to stay up to date.
Earlier this year Android introduced 12L, a software update to make devices with bigger screens, like tablets, easier to use. At I/O, we shared plans to update more than 20 Google apps on tablets to take full advantage of the extra space on those bigger screens.
To get started, today we are making Google Workspace apps even better on Android’s larger screens with updates to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Keep.
Drag and drop files for better productivity
One of the best features to get things done on tablets is multitasking across two windows at once. So we’ve built out new ways to use Google Workspace apps when you have two screens open on your large-screen device.
You can now easily drag text or images from apps, such as Chrome or Sheets, and drop that content right into an existing document or spreadsheet cell.
In Google Drive, quickly upload files by dragging and dropping them into the app. You can also add links to Drive files by dragging the file into an open app like Keep.
And in Keep, you can effortlessly insert images saved in your Keep notes into other apps by dragging them out from the image carousel.
Open Drive side by side to see more information
In Drive, sometimes you need to drill down into folders to see the file you need. To get better insights into your Drive files, you can now open two Drive windows side-by-side. Simply select the three-dot menu on any Drive file and tap on the "Open in new window" option. This helps you get the information you need without losing your current view or needing to hit the back button multiple times.
Save time by using keyboard shortcuts
Tablets are often connected to keyboards and used as an alternative to laptops. If you are using an attached keyboard to help type, you can now use simple and familiar keyboard shortcuts, such as select, cut, copy, paste, undo and redo, to quickly navigate around Drive, Docs and Slides, without needing to slow down and take your hands off the keys.
These updates will roll out to Android’s large screens with Google Workspace and personal Google Accounts over the next few weeks. And stay tuned for more updates as we continue to add new features for Google apps on Android’s larger screens.
After a long day, I love to lounge on the couch, tablet in hand, checking my emails and adding to my to-do lists while watching TV. It’s a great way to stay productive and get things done — and it’s about to get even easier to use your tablet to stay up to date.
Earlier this year Android introduced 12L, a software update to make devices with bigger screens, like tablets, easier to use. At I/O, we shared plans to update more than 20 Google apps on tablets to take full advantage of the extra space on those bigger screens.
To get started, today we are making Google Workspace apps even better on Android’s larger screens with updates to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Keep.
Drag and drop files for better productivity
One of the best features to get things done on tablets is multitasking across two windows at once. So we’ve built out new ways to use Google Workspace apps when you have two screens open on your large-screen device.
You can now easily drag text or images from apps, such as Chrome or Sheets, and drop that content right into an existing document or spreadsheet cell.
In Google Drive, quickly upload files by dragging and dropping them into the app. You can also add links to Drive files by dragging the file into an open app like Keep.
And in Keep, you can effortlessly insert images saved in your Keep notes into other apps by dragging them out from the image carousel.
Open Drive side by side to see more information
In Drive, sometimes you need to drill down into folders to see the file you need. To get better insights into your Drive files, you can now open two Drive windows side-by-side. Simply select the three-dot menu on any Drive file and tap on the "Open in new window" option. This helps you get the information you need without losing your current view or needing to hit the back button multiple times.
Save time by using keyboard shortcuts
Tablets are often connected to keyboards and used as an alternative to laptops. If you are using an attached keyboard to help type, you can now use simple and familiar keyboard shortcuts, such as select, cut, copy, paste, undo and redo, to quickly navigate around Drive, Docs and Slides, without needing to slow down and take your hands off the keys.
These updates will roll out to Android’s large screens with Google Workspace and personal Google Accounts over the next few weeks. And stay tuned for more updates as we continue to add new features for Google apps on Android’s larger screens.
Think back to 2012: “Call Me Maybe” was on top of the music charts and “Venmoing” wasn’t a mainstream verb yet. Android — with its mission to make mobile computing accessible to everyone, everywhere — was just a few years old.
That year, we opened the (digital) doors of Google Play. A decade later, more than 2.5 billion people in over 190 countries use Google Play every month to discover apps, games and digital content. And more than 2 million developers work with us to build their businesses and reach people around the globe. As we celebrate 10 years of Google Play, here are 10 of our favorite milestones and features from the last decade:
New ways to enjoy apps and games: Products and features like Google Play Pass and Google Play Instant introduced new ways to discover and experience apps and games. We also launched Google Play Points so you can earn points and rewards for the ways you already use Google Play. As of today, more than 100 million people have joined the program.
Gameplay on more devices: We set a goal to make our products and services work better together. Last year, we announced the beta of Google Play Games on PC in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan — allowing for easy gameplay across your Android phone, tablet, Chromebook and Windows PC.
A celebration of your favorite apps and games: Our annual Best Of Awards celebrate the top apps, games and other content on Google Play. Over the years, we’ve expanded it to 19 countries and added new categories like "Best Hidden Gems" and “Best Apps for Good.” We also introduced the Users’ Choice Award so you can vote for your favorite titles and recognize the developers that make the apps and games you love.
A safe and trusted space:Google Play Protect, our built-in malware protection for Android, now scans and verifies over 100 billion apps every day to help keep your device, data and apps safe. And earlier this year, we launched a new Data safety section where developers are required to give people more information about how their apps collect, share and secure data.
Help for developers of all sizes: Every step of the way, we’ve invested in helping our developer community grow their businesses — including providing business and technical consulting and supporting small studios through efforts like our Indie Games programs. Visit the Android Developer Blog to read more about our journey with our developer community over the past decade.
Support for nonprofits: You can make charitable donations through Google Play and even use your Play Points to support great causes, with 100% of your contributions going directly to nonprofits.
Stronger representation in gaming: Through research, youth engagement and partnerships, Google Play’s Change The Game initiative celebrates and empowers women as players and creators. We’ve been particularly inspired by the creativity and talent of Design Challenge participants over the years.
Resources for parents: The Kids tab in Google Play helps parents easily find and pick teacher-approved apps, while Google Kids Space — a kids mode on select Android tablets — features apps, books and videos for your kids to explore. Family Link also gives parents the tools they need to stay involved and help manage their children's online experiences.
Investment in local economies: Partnering with our developer community has helped bring better apps and games to people around the world, created new jobs and supported local economies. In fact, Google Play and Android have helped create over 2 million jobs in the U.S. alone.
A fresh look
To round out this decade, we’re introducing a new logo that better reflects the magic of Google and matches the branding shared by many of our helpful products — Search, Assistant, Photos, Gmail and more.
Thank you to our Google Play community and developers for 10 years together. Play Points members can get 10x points on everything they buy by activating a points booster. The official start date varies by country — visit the “Earn” tab of Play Points Home to learn more.
Think back to 2012: “Call Me Maybe” was on top of the music charts and “Venmoing” wasn’t a mainstream verb yet. Android — with its mission to make mobile computing accessible to everyone, everywhere — was just a few years old.
That year, we opened the (digital) doors of Google Play. A decade later, more than 2.5 billion people in over 190 countries use Google Play every month to discover apps, games and digital content. And more than 2 million developers work with us to build their businesses and reach people around the globe. As we celebrate 10 years of Google Play, here are 10 of our favorite milestones and features from the last decade:
New ways to enjoy apps and games: Products and features like Google Play Pass and Google Play Instant introduced new ways to discover and experience apps and games. We also launched Google Play Points so you can earn points and rewards for the ways you already use Google Play. As of today, more than 100 million people have joined the program.
Gameplay on more devices: We set a goal to make our products and services work better together. Last year, we announced the beta of Google Play Games on PC in Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan — allowing for easy gameplay across your Android phone, tablet, Chromebook and Windows PC.
A celebration of your favorite apps and games: Our annual Best Of Awards celebrate the top apps, games and other content on Google Play. Over the years, we’ve expanded it to 19 countries and added new categories like "Best Hidden Gems" and “Best Apps for Good.” We also introduced the Users’ Choice Award so you can vote for your favorite titles and recognize the developers that make the apps and games you love.
A safe and trusted space:Google Play Protect, our built-in malware protection for Android, now scans and verifies over 100 billion apps every day to help keep your device, data and apps safe. And earlier this year, we launched a new Data safety section where developers are required to give people more information about how their apps collect, share and secure data.
Help for developers of all sizes: Every step of the way, we’ve invested in helping our developer community grow their businesses — including providing business and technical consulting and supporting small studios through efforts like our Indie Games programs. Visit the Android Developer Blog to read more about our journey with our developer community over the past decade.
Support for nonprofits: You can make charitable donations through Google Play and even use your Play Points to support great causes, with 100% of your contributions going directly to nonprofits.
Stronger representation in gaming: Through research, youth engagement and partnerships, Google Play’s Change The Game initiative celebrates and empowers women as players and creators. We’ve been particularly inspired by the creativity and talent of Design Challenge participants over the years.
Resources for parents: The Kids tab in Google Play helps parents easily find and pick teacher-approved apps, while Google Kids Space — a kids mode on select Android tablets — features apps, books and videos for your kids to explore. Family Link also gives parents the tools they need to stay involved and help manage their children's online experiences.
Investment in local economies: Partnering with our developer community has helped bring better apps and games to people around the world, created new jobs and supported local economies. In fact, Google Play and Android have helped create over 2 million jobs in the U.S. alone.
A fresh look
To round out this decade, we’re introducing a new logo that better reflects the magic of Google and matches the branding shared by many of our helpful products — Search, Assistant, Photos, Gmail and more.
Thank you to our Google Play community and developers for 10 years together. Play Points members can get 10x points on everything they buy by activating a points booster. The official start date varies by country — visit the “Earn” tab of Play Points Home to learn more.
The Bay Area is our home, and we’re helping our hometown communities solve challenging problems. In 2019, we committed $1 billion to help increase the Bay Area’s housing supply and support organizations on the front lines of homelessness. Over the last three years, we’ve been making investments and allocating land to help developers create new affordable housing units in all corners of the region.
A map of our current commitments from our $250 million affordable housing investment fund.
Investing $1 billion across the Bay Area
So far, we’ve allocated a total of $128 million of our $250 million investment fund to 18 organizations, which has supported the development of 23 affordable housing projects across the Bay Area.
A rendering of Meridian, a 90-unit affordable housing development, in Sunnyvale, California. Image credit: Steinberg Hart.
As part of our commitment to give $750 million worth of our land to housing development, we’ve worked closely with elected officials and residents to propose plans where residential units, offices, retail spaces and open space will coexist on our land. The San José City Council unanimously approved our Downtown West project in May 2021, which calls for 4,000 housing units. In addition, we’ve submitted plans for mixed-use developments in Mountain View and are working with city staff to have Middlefield Park voted on by Mountain View City Council by the end of 2022, followed by North Bayshore in 2023. Together, these plans consider a total of 8,900 housing units, which would be developed by a partner.
While we’ve made progress across the Bay Area through funding and land allocation, we know that's only part of the solution. Fighting the housing crisis requires innovation and collaboration across the community. So today, we’re also sharing how we’re using philanthropy to test new methods of intervention with trusted nonprofit leaders.
Using philanthropy to test innovative solutions
Over the next three years, we’re giving more than $10 million of our 2019 $50 million Google.org grant commitment and providing pro bono support to select Bay Area nonprofits. These organizations are starting programs to test the impact of cash transfers on housing stability for community members experiencing homelessness. With cash transfers, money is directly provided to people to spend on things like rent, medical expenses, food, or other day-to-day expenses. Our funding will go toward direct cash support, infrastructure for the nonprofits and randomized impact evaluation. This way, critical research can be used to have a systemic effect to assist in providing stable housing.
Google.org has been a longtime supporter of cash transfers, having distributed over $31 million globally, and providing over 235,000 households with cash support to improve their financial resilience and weather economic uncertainty. Research has shown that giving recipients the ability to decide how they spend their money leads to increases in economic and psychological well-being, physical health and household purchasing power. A randomized evaluation in Canada found a one-time cash transfer to individuals experiencing homelessness leads to quicker housing stability and spending fewer days unsheltered.
There is little to no research, however, of the effect of cash transfers on a demographic like Bay Area homeless communities. To better understand the impact, Google.org is supporting the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) in partnering with several leading homeless service providers in the Bay Area. Through the Bay Area Evaluation (BAE) Incubator, providers are building their capacity to design and implement randomized evaluations of cash transfer programs.
In addition to J-PAL North America’s effort, Google.org is supporting some emerging cash transfer pilots:
Bay Area Community Services (BACS), alongside UCSF, is running a longitudinal study aimed at determining the effect of cash assistance for 100 Oakland households on housing stability and homelessness prevention while also measuring potential reduction of racial disparities in those who become homeless.
Chapin Hall, in partnership with Point Source Youth and Larkin Street Youth Services, will be launching community engagement work to prepare for a Bay Area expansion of a national effort. Their program tests the effectiveness of direct cash transfers and support programs on housing stability and well-being for young adults facing housing insecurity.
Miracle Messages, in partnership with the University of Southern California, will conduct a randomized controlled trial for people experiencing homelessness. The trial adds cash assistance to social support programming to measure multiple outcomes including housing stability, food security and mental health.
As we provide funding, we’re evaluating impact to determine the most effective cash transfer delivery models and programs for reducing homelessness. It’s our hope these grants will not only help individuals and families experiencing housing insecurity, but also expand the evidence base around the effectiveness of cash transfer programs, particularly in high-income communities like the Bay Area.
With this $10 million in grant funding, we’ve granted a total of $18 million of our 2019 Google.org commitment to Bay Area nonprofits providing services like food distribution, job training and case management. Through these grants, these organizations will help provide services to more than 90,000 people and house 10,000 individuals over the span of four years. It’s a testament to the impact philanthropy can have on the housing crisis.
Looking ahead
We can’t celebrate the last three years of work without recognizing the work that lies ahead. There is still a severe housing shortage of more than 400,000 in the Bay Area, and we’ll continue to work with housing experts, developers, nonprofit leaders and elected officials to find opportunities to build units and provide services to people as quickly as possible.
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 Google Workspace and G Suite customers.
Rollout improvements for future Google Chat launches
Going forward, all major user-facing feature changes and improvements to Google Chat will follow a rollout schedule in which accounts under Rapid Release will see new features first, followed by accounts under the default setting of Scheduled Release, at least 1 week later. We hope this change makes it easier for you to plan for new Google Chat updates. As a reminder, Admins can choose which release track they want their accounts to follow. | Learn more.
Series One Desk 27 now in production
In September 2021, we announced Series One Desk 27, a premium all-in-one touchscreen Google Meet collaboration device. These devices are now in production and will be available for shipping soon. Contact Avocor for more information on ordering the Series One devices. | Learn more.
Previous announcements
The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.
Making Google Chat active user metrics more detailed in the Admin console
We’ve rolled out a new method for calculating active users in Google Chat across your organization that ensures greater accuracy for detecting a user's reading and sending actions in Chat. This will provide admins more accurate reporting. | Learn more.
Control access to experimental Google Workspace apps with a new admin setting
Admins can use the new Experimental Apps Control setting to grant or deny their users access to emerging or experimental Google applications and whether those applications can access core service data. | Learn more.
Building larger spaces in Google Chat
We've increased the amount of members you can add to a space in Google Chat from 400 to 8,000. | Learn more.
Stay on top of changes to document content with edit notifications
In Google Docs, you can now choose to receive email notifications for document changes on a per file basis. Edit notification emails detail what changes were made, when the changes were made, and who made them. | Learn more.
Allow Google Meet participants to ask questions or respond to polls anonymously
In Google Meet, meeting participants will now have the option to ask questions or participate in polls anonymously. | Q&A is available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Plus and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Polls are available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Plus and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers and Google Workspace Individual users only. | Learn more.
Delete Chat spaces and their content, now generally available
You can now delete a named space in Google Chat. With this capability, a space manager can delete a space, which completely removes all owned contents of the space, space tasks, and files and attachments not saved elsewhere. | Learn more.
Prevent spam by adding invitations from known senders only to your calendar
You can now select an option to display events on your calendar only if they come from a sender you know to help keep your Calendar free from spam. | Learn more.
Live stream Google Meet events via YouTube
Google Workspace users can live stream meetings publicly via YouTube. |Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only and Google One Premium plan members in select countries. | Learn more.
Easily access your most used emojis in Google Chat
In the Google Chat emoji picker, your most frequently used emojis can be found under the new “Frequently Used” section | Learn more.
Programmatically manage and apply Drive Labels using new API functionality
Developers can now programmatically manage labels at scale via Drive APIs. In addition to supporting the ability to read Drive Label taxonomies, new functionality in the Drive API can be used to apply labels, set fields on files, and find files by label metadata. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Education Standard, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more.
Many of our customers already take advantage of the Drive Labels capabilities to classify content and implement policies on their Drive files for governance and Data Loss Prevention.
Today, we’re happy to announce a highly requested update that will enable you to programmatically manage labels at scale via Drive APIs.
Who’s impacted
Admins and developers
Why it’s important
The new Drive Labels API supports reading Drive Label taxonomies. New functionality in the Drive API can be used to apply labels, set fields on files, and find files by label metadata. As a whole, these new API features enable numerous use cases including, bulk-classification, Apps Script driven workflows, third-party integrations, and other organizing and finding needs.
Additional details
We’re also announcing a Beta version of the Drive Labels API that supports creating and modifying labels, which was previously only supported in the label manager.
Getting started
Admins: Drive Labels must be turned ON for your organization to use this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing Drive Labels. Once labels are enabled for your organization, Developers can head over to the API Documentation to get started.
Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Education Standard, and Nonprofits customers
Not available to Business Starter, Education Fundamentals, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Frontline, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers
Not available to users with personal Google Accounts
Earlier this month, a group of Googlers traveled to New Orleans for the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture, an annual celebration that brings together Black women and allies for conversation and connection. After a two-year hiatus because of the pandemic, ESSENCE returned with over 500,000 attendees and a packed lineup of performances, workshops and panels focused on sisterhood, personal development, civic engagement and community leadership.
It was an honor to represent Google as a festival sponsor this year, and to witness thousands of Black women leaders, creators, founders, educators and entertainers gathering together. The experience proved how important and powerful it is to create a sense of belonging.
Here are some highlights from our four whirlwind days at the 2022 ESSENCE Festival:
Thursday: Building connections over brunch
We kicked off the festival on Thursday with a brunch for Googlers and their plus-ones. Over food and conversation, attendees admired photographer Deun Ivory’s work, which was specially shot with Pixel’s Real Tone technology to reflect the nuances of skin tones.
At the Google-sponsored brunch, Googlers and their guests admired Deun Ivory’s photographs, shot using Real Tone on Google Pixel. Photo by Jonathan Priester.
“Starting the ESSENCE festivities with the brunch event was a highlight for me,” says Stephanie LeBlanc, Global Lead of Community Inclusion Programs for Intersectional Communities at Google. “As a plus-one, you can sometimes feel like a tagalong, so it was important to us to welcome guests as part of an ever-growing and empowering community of Black women leaders. It was an amazing networking opportunity — many of us discovered how closely we’re all connected.”
Stephanie LeBlanc helped lead Google’s brunch at the ESSENCE Festival. Photo by Jonathan Priester.
Friday: Sharing skills and training opportunities
On Friday, we hosted a conversation with sorority organization partners, moderated by Cassandra Johnson, VP of Customer Care and Vendor Management Office and an executive sponsor for our internal Black Googler Network. The session spotlighted Black Women Lead, a Grow with Google partnership with The Links, Incorporated, Dress for Success Worldwide and four Black sororities: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Since launching in 2021, Black Women Lead has provided digital skills training to 100,000 Black women across the U.S.
Cassandra Johnson hosted a conversation with leaders from our sorority organization partners: (L to R) Elsie Cook-Holmes (Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.), Valerie Hollingsworth Baker (Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.), Nichole McCall (Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc.) and Andria Daniels (Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.). Photo by Jonathan Priester.
The Grow with Google team also sponsored a booth in the festival’s convention center, where they set up time for a sorority “takeover.” Hundreds of sorority members from across the country stopped by to learn more about training opportunities and workshops available through Black Women Lead. “It was amazing to hear firsthand from my Delta Sigma Theta sorority sisters about the success of this initiative in our communities," says Shani Waugh, Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Google.
Getting ready for the sorority takeover at Google’s ESSENCE Festival booth.
Saturday: Holding space for conversations
On Saturday, I had the pleasure of hosting a fireside chat on building career paths with Jewel Burks, Head of Google for Startups U.S. and the co-founder of Partpic Inc, which Jewel sold to Amazon at age 27. Among many topics, we talked about the important role champions play throughout a career.
Later that day, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage in conversation with Emmy Award-winning actress Keke Palmer — two of the many high-profile and inspirational speakers at ESSENCE. Kamala’s take on the importance of community and connection with others really captured the theme of the weekend.
I sat down with Jewel Burks at the ESuite stage event “Dynamic Pathways: Charting Your Career Through Reciprocity.” Photo by Jonathan Priester.
Sunday: Reflecting on the ESSENCE experience
On the final day of the festival, Googlers wrapped up their volunteer duties, said their goodbyes to new and lasting connections and reflected on the experience. Although we were one of many companies that attended and contributed to ESSENCE, it was inspiring to see how Google’s efforts helped lift up and bring so many people together. I personally reflected on the limitlessness of human potential, and how the work we do at Google can help Black women pursue successful career journeys.
Laurie Bennett, a consultant on Google’s Human Resources team, summed up the experience well: “It was really powerful to see all the different ways people showed up at ESSENCE — from companies and vendors offering support to the Black community, to celebrities and entrepreneurs sharing professional, and even personal, advice. It leaves you feeling proud and wanting to pay that work forward. ”
Rachel Spivey (L) and Laurie Bennett (R), joined a group of Googlers at this year’s ESSENCE Festival. Photo by Laurie Bennett.
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