Tag Archives: Google Calendar

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – January 27, 2023

2 New updates

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


Rollout update for the new Gmail user interface
Beginning today, the new Gmail user interface is rolling out for scheduled release domains, with anticipated completion by February 3, 2023. This will become the standard experience for Gmail, with no option to revert to the original UI. For more information, see our previous announcement.

Display space names when granting access to files 
When sharing a Google Drive file to a space in Google Chat, you will now see the space name and associated image if you are a member of the space. If you are not a member of the space, but would still like to share a file to that space, the space name will show as “Private Space.” 

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.


Check availability across multiple calendars when using appointment schedules on Google Calendar
We’ve introduced the ability to check and see a visual preview of multiple calendars when setting up your appointment schedules. Your booking page will show you as unavailable when you’re busy based on the calendars you choose. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more. 

Easily share access to presented content in Google Meet with all attendees
We’ve made two improvements which will make file sharing in Google Meet even easier. First, you can now share access to the content you’re presenting in a meeting with attendees, including everyone on the Calendar guest list, directly from Meet. Second, whenever you paste a link into the meeting chat, you’ll be prompted with the file access dialog — from here you can adjust access as needed and choose to attach the file to the calendar event. | Learn more.

Improved membership management for spaces
We’ve introduced a new fullscreen experience for managing members in a space that replaces the current "View members" and “Add people and apps” options in Google Chat. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Frontline customers only. | Learn more. 

Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:

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

Check availability across multiple calendars when using appointment schedules on Google Calendar

What’s changing

The appointment scheduling tool is a feature that allows people to share their availability via a booking page that can be used by colleagues, external stakeholders, clients, and partners to schedule a meeting. With the current appointment scheduling experience, you are unable to review multiple calendars for conflicts when exposing appointment times to others. 

As a result, we’re introducing the ability to check and see a visual preview of multiple calendars when setting up your appointment schedules. Your booking page will show you as unavailable when you’re busy based on the calendars you choose. 

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why you’d use it 

This update will ​​prevent scheduling conflicts by checking your availability across multiple calendars, enabling others to set up meeting times that best fit your schedule. 


Additional details 

In addition to your primary calendar, you can check availability from all of your calendars added to Google Calendar on the web, such as calendars you own, calendars you have edit and manage rights to, and subscribed calendars. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Frontline, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – January 13, 2023

1 New update
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.



Find apps and app commands in Chat with a new Integration Menu 
We’re making it easier to discover and use Chat apps with a new Integration Menu. Simply click the (+) button next to the compose bar in a Chat message to see installed apps. You can also browse the slash commands that the apps support and execute them. On the web, the Integration Menu includes a search functionality that allows you to browse new apps. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers only. 


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.



New option to view non-printing characters in Google Docs 
You can now choose to display non-printing characters in order to see how a document is laid out. | Learn more. 

Improvements to voice features in Google Docs and Slides 
We’ve improved the features that enable you to type and edit by speaking in Google Docs or in Google Slides speaker notes, and present slides with automatic captions to display a speaker's words in real time. | Learn more. 

Manage all Google Workspace API activity from a single location 
Within the Google Cloud Console, you can now view and manage all Google Workspace API activity. Here, you’ll find a centralized view of which APIs are currently running and their associated requests. | Learn more. 

Increasing efficiency through better meeting room management with room release 
Room release, an existing feature that releases booked meeting rooms when all but one attendee declines the invitation will now be ON by default. There will be a transition period, from January 11 - March 6, 2023, where admins can opt out structured meeting rooms or user groups from this room release setting. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more. 

New in-meeting reactions for Google Meet 
You can now use emojis to share in-meeting reactions in Google Meet on Web, Meet Hardware devices, and iOS, with Android coming soon. | Learn more. 

Introducing simpler conversation creation in Google Chat 
The process to create conversations in Chat will be much simpler by combining the flow for creating one-on-one conversations and group conversations. | Learn more. 

View speaker notes while presenting Google Slides in Google Meet
In October of 2022, we introduced the ability to present Google Slides directly in Google Meet. To build upon this, you can now view your speaker notes within Google Meet. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Education Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more. 



Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.


Scheduled Release Domains:

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:

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

Increasing efficiency through better meeting room management with room release

What’s changing

In this hybrid work environment, there’s an increased need to better optimize meeting rooms in order to foster greater collaboration. 

Room release, an existing feature that releases booked meeting rooms when all but one attendee declines the invitation will now be ON by default. This update improves upon the opportunity for admins and their colleagues to have better context for location planning, meeting room management, and attendee accommodations. 

There will be a transition period, from January 11 - March 6, 2023, where admins can opt out structured meeting rooms or user groups from this room release setting. See the “Getting started” section below for more details. 

Who’s impacted 

Admins 


Why you’d use it 

This feature makes meeting room management, especially in a hybrid work environment, more efficient by releasing rooms when most attendees are unavailable. 


Additional details 

We’re introducing a global setting to turn room release ON/OFF for all rooms in a domain, and an opt-out setting for each individual room resource. This will not be activated until the end of the transition period.  

The legacy setting that enables or disables room release will be renamed to "Legacy Calendar-based room release" and will only be available during the transition period. 

If you wish to maintain your organization’s current setup and keep only a limited number of rooms enabled for room release, the steps below can be taken to apply the legacy setting values to the new setting: 

  • In the Admin Console, go to Buildings and resources > Manage resources
  • Click “Add a filter” and select the filters “Legacy Calendar-based room release: “Off” and “Exempt from room release: Off”

  • Click on the checkbox at the top of the Resources list to select all the resources. 
  • Click the “Edit” dropdown on the right-hand side and select “Edit room release exemption: On” 
  • If you have more than 200 resources, repeat until the applied filters show no more resources. 
In order to improve the meeting room experience, we encourage you not to exempt rooms from room release when there is no need.

If you want to modify the behavior of the room release feature before the end of the transition period, you should modify the “Legacy Calendar-based room release” setting for the appropriate rooms. This can be done in the Admin Console by follow these steps: 

  • Navigate to Buildings and resources > manage resources
  • Select one or multiple resources for which you’d like to modify the room release behavior. 
  • Click the “Edit” dropdown on the right-hand side and select “Edit legacy Calendar-based room release” 

Getting started 

  • Admins: 
    • For companies with structured meeting rooms set up, admins will see the option to turn this setting ON or OFF in the Admin Console starting January 11, 2023. 
    • Starting March 6, 2023, this feature will be ON by default for companies with structured meeting rooms set up in the Admin Console. 
    • To individually exempt certain or all structured meeting rooms from this room release feature, go to Buildings and resources > Manage resources > click on the desired room. Then navigate to the room settings section > turn ON "Exempt from room release" 
      • By March 6, 2023 the rooms will no longer be released. 
    • To opt out user groups from this setting, go to Buildings and resources > room settings > click "EDIT GROUP" next to "Exempt user groups from room release" > add the desired groups. 
    • Meeting rooms are not released when the room holds 20+ people or when the meeting is longer than 4 hours. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about releasing unused Google Calendar meeting rooms. 
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about responding to event invitations. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Nonprofits, Frontline customers as well as legacy G Suite Basic customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Google Workspace Client-side encryption beta expanded to include Google Calendar

 This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘22. Visit the Cloud Blog to learn more about the latest Google Workspace innovations for the ever-changing world of work. 


What’s changing 

In 2021, we announced Google Workspace Client-side encryption to help customers strengthen the confidentiality of their data while helping to address a broad range of data sovereignty and compliance requirements. 


Since then, we’ve made this feature available for Google Meet, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, with support for multiple file types including Office files, PDFs, and more. Today, we’re happy to announce the beta for Client-side encryption for Google Calendar. When using Client-side encryption for Calendar events, your event description, attachments, and Meet data is indecipherable to Google servers. You have control over encryption keys and the identity service to access those keys. 


Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers are eligible to apply for the beta here until November 11, 2022. 

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

Google Workspace already uses the latest cryptographic standards to encrypt all data at rest and in transit between our facilities. With Client-side encryption, we’re taking this a step further by giving customers direct control of encryption keys and the identity provider used to access those keys. This can help you strengthen the confidentiality of your data while helping to address a broad range of data sovereignty and compliance needs. 


When using Client-side encryption, your event description, attachments, and Meet data is indecipherable to Google. You can create a fundamentally stronger privacy posture, whether that’s to help your organization comply with regulations like ITAR and CJIS or simply to better protect the privacy of your confidential data. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the domain, OU, and Group levels by going to the Admin console > Security > Access and data control > Client-side encryption. Visit the Help Center to learn more about client side encryption. 
  • End users: 
    • You will need to be logged in with your Identity Provider to have access to encrypted content.
    • To add encryption to any event in Calendar, click on the shield icon at the top of the event creation card. This will add encryption to event description, attachments, and Meet, while other items such as event tile, time, and guests remain on standard encryption. 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Encouraging Working Location coverage across organizations

What’s changing

Starting today, admins have access to a new tool that aims to drive Working Location usage across their organizations. This setting adds a customizable banner to users’ Calendar either encouraging or requiring them to set up their working location. 


By increasing the usage of working location, admins and colleagues will have better context for location planning, meeting room management, preparing meetings for virtual and in-room attendees, and more.


Example of a default message on a non-dismissible banner 

working location banner 2

Example of a custom message on a dismissible banner


Who’s impacted 

Admins 


Why it’s important 

This feature furthers our effort to enable better planning around in-person collaboration and meeting and event coordination, especially in a hybrid work environment. Additionally, the banner will encourage users to take advantage of the many enhancements to Working Location capabilities over the last few months: 

Additional details 

The Calendar banners are easy, flexible, and can be customized to include a message or a link to a landing page. Admins can also determine how long they want banners to appear. 


Getting started 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Nonprofits, Frontline customers as well as legacy G Suite Basic customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – September 30, 2022

New updates 


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


Previous announcements


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



New Google Calendar shortcuts improve glanceability for screen reader users 
Users of screen readers can now type a keyboard shortcut that verbalizes the content of an event, such as the title, date and time, guest list, and much more. | Learn more. 



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

New Google Calendar shortcuts improve glanceability for screen reader users

What’s changing 

In addition to the improved announcements for braille comments and highlights available in Google Docs on Web, and the recent launch of more control over accessibility preferences, we’re introducing Announce Shortcuts for Calendar event details. 

Users of screen readers can now type a keyboard shortcut that verbalizes the content of an event, such as the title, date and time, guest list, and much more. These shortcuts greatly improve glanceability because they enable Calendar details to be heard on demand instead of time consuming navigation through information. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • To view keyboard shortcuts in Calendar, type: 
      • Ctrl+/ on Windows and ChromeOS 
      • Cmd+/ on Mac 
    • Use the following keyboard combinations to access Announce Shortcuts: 
      • Alt+ for Windows 
      • Alt+Shift+ for ChromeOS 
      • Option+ for Mac 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about using a screen reader with Google Calendar. 

Rollout pace 



Availability 

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

Resources 


Roadmap 

  • This feature was listed as an upcoming release.

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – September 16, 2022

New updates 

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


Send multiple images or videos at a time in Chat 
You can now select more than one image or video at a time when sending a message in Google Chat. | This is now available across iOS devices. For Android devices, roll out to Rapid Release began September 15, 2022; launch to Scheduled Release planned for September 30, 2022. | Learn more. 

multi-image-chat

Multi-pinning and picture-in-picture improvements available for Google Meet on Android and iOS
Early this year, we made multi-pinning available for Google Meet on Chrome. With this feature, you’re able to pin up to three participants’ video tiles at once to keep them fixed on your screen. We’re happy to announce that this is now available on Android and iOS 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. 


New Google endpoint management setting to show both personal and work entries in Google Calendar on Android devices 
In 2020, we announced the ability to see your personal and work calendars together on your Android device. We’re now adding support for Google endpoint management admins to enable this feature for their users. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers, as well as G Suite Business and Cloud Identity Premium customers only. | Learn more. 

Easily share Google Meet artifacts with co-hosts 
Earlier, Google Meet features such as Meet recordings, Attendance Tracking, Polling, etc, would generate meeting artifacts which were directly shared with the meeting host only. Beginning today, these artifacts can be directly shared with the meeting co-hosts as well. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, Education Fundamentals, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. | Learn more. 

Spanish, French, and Portuguese Smart Replies in Google Chat 
Smart replies in Google Chat are now available in Spanish, French, and Portuguese. When you are typing a reply, Smart Reply will automatically detect the language and offer responses accordingly. | Learn more. 


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

New Google endpoint management setting to show both personal and work entries in Google Calendar on Android devices

Quick launch summary 

In 2020, we announced the ability to see your personal and work calendars together on your Android device. We’re now adding support for Google endpoint management admins to enable this feature for their users. 





Users with multiple accounts can easily switch accounts when using the Google Calendar app on a mobile device. This helps users manage multiple accounts more easily, and ensures consistency across Workspace apps. 


Now, admins in organizations that use endpoint management will be able to determine whether this feature makes sense for their users and turn it on/off as desired. They can also choose to delay the feature promotion for their users, depending on the change management plan. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: 
    • This feature will be ON by default and can be disabled at the domain level. To disable cross-profile calendar visibility in the Admin console, go to Apps > Web and mobile apps > Google Calendar > Connected App configuration and deselect “Allow viewing of personal calendar entries in work profile (work profile devices only).” 
    • You can turn off the promotion of this feature to end users here. If you don’t turn off the promotion of this feature, it will be shown to users starting on October 26, 2022. 
  • End users: This feature will be OFF by default. It can be enabled by the user on their device. Please note, you must use Android Work Profile on Android 11+ devices to use this feature. We strongly recommend the latest software updates for the best experience. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning cross-profile support in Calendar on or off. 

Rollout pace 

Admin Setting 
  • Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on September 12, 2022 
  • Note: If you don’t turn off the promotion of this feature, it will be shown to users starting on October 26, 2022.

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers, as well as G Suite Business and Cloud Identity Premium customers 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Education Fundamentals, Nonprofits, and Frontline customers, as well as G Suite Basic customers 

Resources