Tag Archives: Google Drawings

Improved accessibility for Google Sheets, Slides, and Drawings

We want to make sure our products work well for everyone. That’s why, as part of our ongoing accessibility initiatives, we’re launching new features for Google Sheets, Slides, and Drawings. Specifically, we’re adding Braille support in Google Sheets, and screen magnifier support in Google Slides and Drawings.

Use Google Sheets with Braille displays

You can already use Braille displays to read and edit text in Docs, Slides and Drawings. Now we’re adding Braille support to Sheets as well. You’ll be able to use a Braille display to read and edit cell contents as well as navigate between cells in a sheet. At the moment, Braille support in Sheets will only be available on Chrome OS with the ChromeVox screen reader. We’re working to add support for other platforms and screen readers.

See our Help Center to find out how to use a Braille display with Sheets.

Use screen magnifiers with Google Slides and Drawings

We recently added screen magnifier support to Docs and Sheets. Now screen magnifiers will also work with Slides and Drawings.

You can use screen magnifiers with Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings on Mac and Chrome OS devices. See our Help Center to learn how to use screen magnifiers with Google Docs editors.

Launch Details

Release track:
Launching to both Rapid Release and Scheduled Release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information


Help Center: Accessibility for Docs editors 
Help Center: Use a Braille display to read & enter text


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Insert images more easily in Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings

A picture is worth a thousand words... especially when you can add it to your document, presentation, or drawing quickly and easily. That’s why we’re making some improvements to the image insertion process in Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings.

Going forward, when you select Insert > Image or click the Image button in Docs, Slides, or Drawings on the web, you’ll see the following options:

  • Upload from computer
  • Search the web
  • Drive
  • Photos
  • By URL



If you select “Upload from computer,” you’ll be taken to your computer’s file manager, which many users are familiar with. If you select “Search the web,” “Drive,” or “Photos,” you’ll be taken to a menu on the righthand side of your screen that is easier to navigate and more intuitive to use. You can also drag and drop images directly from this menu into your document. If you select “By URL,” you’ll be given the option to input the specific URL for an image.

These options should make it easier to enhance your documents, presentations, and drawings with images.

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

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Insert or delete images or videos


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Clearer indication of ‘View’ and ‘Comment’ access in Google Docs editors

In an effort to make it more clear when people using the Google Docs editors have only ‘View’ or ‘Comment’ access to a file―and to simplify the process of requesting edit access―we’re making some minor UI tweaks.

Starting today, those with ‘View only’ access to a document, spreadsheet, slide, or drawing will see a new blue button in the toolbar:
view-only.png
Those with ‘Comment only’ access to a spreadsheet, slide, or drawing will see a similar green button (in documents, the ‘Suggesting’ mode indication will remain in the right side of the toolbar):
comment-only.png
Clicking on the button allows one to easily request edit access from the file owner:
request-edit.png
Check out the Help Center for more information on file sharing.

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

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Automated lists, backspace to undo autocorrections in Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings

In Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings, we will now automatically turn on bulleted or numbered list mode when we detect that a person wants to make a list based on what was typed as the first visible character in a paragraph.

For example, if an asterisk [*] or hyphen [-] is typed as the first visible character, followed by the space bar, it would be automatically be turned into a bulleted list without the person having to press a shortcut or toolbar/menu button. Typing ‘1)’ or ‘a.’ followed by the space bar would turn into a numbered list, as would other permutations like I., (A), etc.

The automated lists feature will be defaulted on, but users will be able to disable it in Tools -> Preferences.

Coupled with this launch, pressing the backspace button immediately after any autocorrection, including automated lists, will undo it. For example, if a person types ‘(c)’ and the autocorrect system converts it to the copyright symbol ‘©’, pressing backspace immediately after it will revert it back to ‘(c)’.

Release track:
Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:
Spell-check and automatic corrections


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

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Quickly find and insert special characters into Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings

We have launched a new version of the special character picker in Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings, making it easier for people to find characters and symbols—like arrows, shapes, or non-Latin characters—to insert into their content.

The new picker now supports keyword search as well as free form input, so editors can draw the symbol that they have in mind and the picker will return available characters that resemble the drawing.

To add special characters, click the Insert menu and select Special characters.

Release track:
Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

For more information:
Help Center


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

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Reset image in Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings

This feature provides the ability to reset the properties and formatting of an image in Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings after edits have been made to it. This is useful for restarting an image editing attempt if unhappy with the first try.

Release track:
Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

For more information:
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/4600160

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Replace image in Google Docs, Slides, and Drawings

This feature provides the ability to replace an image in a document, presentation, or drawing with a different one without changing the general size, layout, and properties applied to the original image. This is useful for replacing images in templates.

Release track:
Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

For more information:
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/97447#replace

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Increased accessibility with Braille display support for Google Docs, Slides and Drawings

If you use a Braille display, you can now enable Braille support in Google Docs, Slides and Drawings to read and enter text. This option is currently available for Google Chrome and Internet Explorer.

Release track:
Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

whatsnew.googleapps.com
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