Tag Archives: Editors

Document outline now available in the Google Docs app on your iOS devices

In March, we introduced the document outline in Google Docs on the web and Android devices. This feature simplifies and speeds up the process of navigating long, complicated documents. Today, we’re excited to announce that you can also use the document outline in the Docs app on your iPhone or iPad.

Displayed in a pane at the bottom of the page, this outline features headings for each section of your document, making it simple to quickly jump from place to place. If you haven’t manually applied headings, the feature will intelligently detect the logical divisions within your work. You can then edit or remove those headings as necessary.



This functionality, coupled with the fast scrolling feature launched for the Docs iOS app in April, will make it even easier for you to move through your work in Docs.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Edit and use document outline

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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New ways to keep data flowing between your apps and ours

(Cross-posted on Google Apps Developer Blog)

Posted by Tom Holman, Product Manager, Google Sheets

There was a time when office work used to be all about pushing physical paper. Computing and productivity tools have made things better, but workers still find themselves doing the same tasks over and over across the different apps they use: copying and pasting from a CRM app to a slide presentation, or manually exporting data from a project management app just to turn around and import it back into a spreadsheet. It’s the digital equivalent of pushing paper.

To make it easier to get the job done across multiple apps, without all the copy and paste, we’re announcing three new APIs and a new feature to help workers get to the data they need, when and where they need it.

Build seamless integrations with the new Sheets and Slides APIs

Our new APIs let developers connect their apps—and the data within them—more deeply with Google Sheets and Google Slides.

The new Sheets API gives developers programmatic access to powerful features in the Sheets web and mobile interfaces, including charts and pivot tables. For example, developers can use Sheets as part of a rich workflow that pushes data from their app into Sheets and allows users to collaborate on that data before the updated data is pulled back into the original app, removing altogether the need to copy and paste.

Teams at Anaplan, Asana, Sage, Salesforce, and SAP Anywhere are already building interesting integrations with the new Sheets API. Check out this video to see an overview of what’s possible, as well as several example integrations.


The new Sheets API is available today. Find the developer documentation as well as a codelab to help you get started at developers.google.com/sheets.

Similar to the Sheets API, the new Slides API gives developers programmatic access to create and update presentations. For example, developers can use this API to push data and charts into Slides to create a polished report from source data in other application, ready to present.

Conga, ProsperWorks, SalesforceIQ, and Trello are all building integrations with Slides using the new API. Several examples of what’s possible are in this video.


The Slides API will be launching in the coming months, and these partner integrations will be available soon after. You can sign up for early access to the Slides API at developers.google.com/slides.

Keep your data in sync with the new Classroom API

For developers building tools and workflows for schools, the Classroom API has launched new coursework endpoints to help you build stronger integrations that keep your data in sync. Read the full announcement on the Google for Education blog, here.


Say goodbye to stale data with linked charts

Finally, to make sure we can help keep all this data flowing seamlessly from app to app, users can now also embed linked charts from Sheets into Docs or Slides. The result? Once the underlying data in a spreadsheet changes, whether that change comes from an action taken in another app via the API or a collaborator, an updated chart in the corresponding presentation or document is just one click away.



For more information, see how to add a chart to a document or to a presentation.

We can't wait to see what you build.

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Embed charts from Google Sheets in Google Docs and Slides and update them with a single click

Charts help you display data in a visually compelling way. At work, the same chart may be used across multiple documents and presentations, to help you better convey your message and strengthen your argument. If that chart changes, it can be tedious and time-consuming to replace it in each and every file. To save you valuable time, we’re now making it possible to update your chart with a single click—without ever needing to leave your document or presentation.

To get started, simply go to Insert > Chart in Google Docs or Slides on the web. Insert a new chart, or select From Sheets to add an existing chart from the spreadsheet of your choice. As long as you check the Link to spreadsheet box, you’ll be given the option to update the chart with one click if its underlying data in Google Sheets changes. Should you no longer want to be notified of updates to a particular chart, you can simply unlink it. This same functionality is available if you copy and paste a chart into a document or presentation.



Please note that the ability to import or update linked charts will only be available to collaborators with edit access to the document, presentation, or underlying spreadsheet. For more information on embedding charts in your Docs and Slides files, check out the Help Center articles below.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Add a chart to a slide
Help Center: Add a chart to a document

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Opening Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files on mobile now easier when you’re offline

We know that internet connections can be spotty when you’re working on your phone on the go. And we recognize that sometimes you need access to a file you didn’t remember to make available offline. With this launch, we’ll make it easier to open Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files on your Android and iOS devices when you’re not online.

Starting today, any Docs, Sheets, or Slides files you’ve recently worked on will be automatically synced to your mobile device, so you can open them even if you don’t have an internet connection. As your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations go stale—or if your phone or tablet maxes out on storage space—we’ll remove those older files from your device. To see what documents are saved to your device and to access them later, simply select Offline from the overflow menu in your Docs, Sheets, or Slides app. This will show files synced both automatically and manually (note that manually synced files will now be labeled with a checkmark, instead of a pin icon).



Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Work on Google files offline

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Accept questions from your audience when presenting in Google Slides

Any skilled presenter knows that an interactive presentation is often an effective presentation. Starting today, you can better engage your audience by allowing them to submit questions and vote on them during Google Slides presentations.

To see the feature in action, check out this video in which Google Science Fair winner Shree Bose fields questions from a group of 200 middle school students.



A few things to note:

  • You can only use Slides Q&A if you have edit or comment access to that Slides presentation.
  • By default, any user in your domain can submit a question. If your organization permits external sharing, you can allow external users to submit questions as well.

For more information on how to accept, submit, and view audience questions in Google Slides, check out the Help Center.

Bonus! Allowing your audience to ask questions isn’t the only way we’re improving the presentation experience on Slides today. We’re also making the following possible:

  • Use your mouse as a laser pointer in Slides on the web. Just choose the laser pointer option from the toolbar and move your mouse, and a red laser-like dot will appear in the same place on screen, helping your audience know where to look and when.
  • In the Slides iOS app, present to a new Hangout or to a Hangout selected from a meeting on your Google Calendar. For more information, check out the Help Center. 

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release:

  • All mobile features
  • All audience features on mobile and desktop

Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks:

  • Ability for a presenter to enable Q&A on desktop

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Ask and present audience questions
Help Center: Present slides
Google for Work Blog: Talk with your audience — not at them — with Slides Q&A

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Enhanced support for images in the Google Sheets mobile apps

Images—for instance, business logos—can make or break a spreadsheet. With that in mind, we’re launching improved image and drawing functionality in the Google Sheets mobile apps. Starting today, you can:

  • View images and drawings in in the Sheets app on your iPhone or iPad.
  • View images and drawings—even in frozen sections!—in the Sheets app on your Android device (previously these images would not render in frozen cells on Android).


Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

Launch release calendar
Launch detail categories
Get these product update alerts by email
Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Resize the formula bar for easier reading and typing in Google Sheets

Working with long and complicated formulas is tough enough as is; you shouldn’t have to struggle to simply read them. Fortunately, this launch makes it easier to view and type those lengthy equations in Google Sheets on the web, by allowing you to drag and expand the formula bar.

Only have view or comment access to a spreadsheet? Previously, it was difficult to read the entire content of a cell containing a large amount of text. With this launch, you can simply click the bottom of the function bar and drag it up or down to make it big enough to see everything within it.



Check out the Help Center for more information on working with formulas in Sheets.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Add formulas and functions to a spreadsheet

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Launch detail categories
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Do more with charts in Google Sheets on your Android device

In the Google Sheets Android app today, you can insert charts, change their types, and move, resize, and delete them. With this launch, we’re giving you the ability to do even more, including:

  • Add or change a chart’s title.
  • Add or change the titles of a chart’s X and Y axes.
  • Change the color of a series in a chart.
  • Specify where the chart’s legend should be located.



Check out the Help Center for more information on creating and editing charts in the Sheets Android app.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Edit and format your chart

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

Launch release calendar
Launch detail categories
Get these product update alerts by email
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Choose the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files you want to access offline

An internet connection isn’t always easy to come by, but that shouldn’t stop your employees from completing their work. That’s why we give Google Apps admins the option of allowing their users to enable offline access to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files. Once an individual user has enabled offline access in Google Drive, a subset of their Docs, Sheets, and Slides files are synced to their computer or device. The specific files synced are based on certain criteria, primarily recency. 

With this launch, we’ll allow end users to choose the specific files they want to make available for offline access when they’re working in a Chrome browser on their desktop computer. This will make it easy for individuals to work anywhere, anytime, even when they don’t have an internet connection. To make a file available for offline access, a user simply needs to visit the Docs, Sheets, or Slides home screen and toggle the Available offline switch in a file’s overflow menu to ON.



Please note that this feature will only be available to users working in a Chrome browser on desktop and whose admins have allowed them to enable offline access in Drive. For more information, check out the Help Center.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

Launch release calendar
Launch detail categories
Get these product update alerts by email
Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Scroll quickly through Google Docs on your iPhone or iPad

In March, we introduced the ability to quickly and easily scroll through Google Docs files on your Android phone or tablet. We’re excited to announce that we’re now launching that same functionality for your iOS device. Starting today, when you begin scrolling in Google Docs on your iPhone or iPad, a small navigation handle will automatically appear on the side of the screen. Touching that handle will display any headers you’ve created or—if you haven’t manually applied them—headers that we’ve intelligently detected. This will allow you to quickly skip from section to section, instead of slowly swiping up and down.


Check out the Help Center for more information on using this feature.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Edit and use a document outline

NOTE: The image above uses material from this Wikipedia article, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

Launch release calendar
Launch detail categories
Get these product update alerts by email
Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates