Tag Archives: Google Drive

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – May 12, 2023

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.


Enhancing spam protection in Google Drive
There will now be a dedicated spam folder within Google Drive to host unwanted files that are shared with you containing spam or abusive content. | Learn more about the spam folder in Google Drive.

Bringing pooled storage and shared drives to Business Starter
We're updating the storage model in Business Starter from per-user storage to pooled storage. Pooled storage provides a more simple and flexible way to manage storage, as all storage is shared across the organization, removing the need to manage it on a per-user basis. | This update impacts Google Workspace Business Starter customers only. | Learn more about pooled storage and shared drives for Business Starter. 


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.


Bringing pooled storage and shared drives to Business Starter

What’s changing 

We're updating the storage model in Business Starter from per-user storage to pooled storage. Pooled storage provides a more simple and flexible way to manage storage, as all storage is shared across the organization, removing the need to manage it on a per-user basis. With pooled storage, admins also have more tools to monitor how storage is used across their organization. In the coming days, new customers signing up for Business Starter will have pooled storage; existing Business Starter customers will transition to pooled storage over the coming months. 


As an added benefit of pooled storage, organizations with Business Starter will soon gain access to shared drives. Users will be able to create shared drives and add members, files, and folders. Please note that certain admin-level and security controls—like the ability to control access to the items in a shared drive—will not be included in shared drives for Business Starter. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

Pooled storage 
Pooled storage is a simple and flexible model for sharing storage across an organization, and it enables admins to more easily manage storage across their organization. 


Shared drives 
Part of empowering our customers to do their best work means reducing the friction around file sharing and collaboration. Shared drives are a key tool for collaboration—users can store, search, and access their team's files instantly. Additionally, they offer benefits such as:
  • Easy discoverability: Less time spent requesting access to files and searching for relevant documents with all of your team’s files in one place.
  • Files are forever: All content stays put — even when collaborators or team members leave, your content won’t.
  • Easy collaboration: Every member of a shared drive can explore and collaborate in the same files. You can also add users outside your team or organization.
  • Accessible anywhere: Regardless of location or device, you can always access the files you need most.
Visit our Help Center to learn more about pooled storage and shared drives for Business Starter.


Getting started

  • Admins: 
  • End users: There is no end user impact or action required at this time.

Rollout pace

  • Beginning May 15, 2023, new Business Starter customers will have pooled storage by default.

  • Pooled storage will start rolling out to existing Business Starter customers on May 22, 2023 and continue over the coming months. 

  • Shared drives will become available after pooled storage rolls out to all existing Business Starter customers.

Availability

  • This update impacts Google Workspace Business Starter customers.

Resources


Enhancing spam protection in Google Drive

This announcement was made at Google I/O ‘23. Visit the Keyword Blog to learn more about new features and updates to improve online safety.

What’s changing

There will now be a dedicated spam folder within Google Drive to host unwanted files that are shared with you containing spam or abusive content. When an unsolicited file is moved to the spam folder, you will be unsubscribed, preventing all comment, sharing, and mobile push notifications for the file. Once unsubscribed, you will not be able to find the file anywhere in Drive outside of your spam folder. 

Similar to how the spam folder works in Gmail, automatic classifiers will redirect files that Drive strongly suspects to be unwanted to the spam folder. You will also be able to manually move Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites, and Forms files in and out of the spam folder. After a file has resided within the spam folder for over 30 days, it will be permanently removed from Drive. 
Google Drive Spam View

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it’s important 

This feature improves the security of Google Drive by giving users a new way to suppress potentially malicious content to stay safe and distraction free. We’ve offered best-in-class Gmail and Drive spam, phishing, and malware prevention for years, but Drive has lacked a spam folder, similar to the Gmail spam folder, to place unwanted content. By introducing a spam view, we’re simultaneously giving users more control over their content while blocking harmful files without risking impact to our users. 


Additional details 

You will see the new spam folder on the Drive homepage on Web, Android, iOS and Drive for Desktop. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • To move a folder to Spam, you can select “report spam” from the context menu or drag the file into the spam folder in the left hand navigation menu. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about marking or unmarking spam in Drive. 

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 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – April 21, 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.


Improving multi-instance support for the Google Drive Android app
Last year, we announced multi-instance support on Google Drive, a feature that gives you better insight into your files by allowing you to have two Drive app windows open side-by-side on large screen Android devices. Now, we’re improving this experience by adding multi-account support, which lets a single user have two instances of the Drive app open side-by-side on a single device, showing content from two different Google Accounts. With this update, you can preview a file from one account in one instance, while navigating through the folders of your secondary account in the other instance. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 28th, 2023. | Learn more about using Google Drive.
Improving multi-instance support for the Google Drive Android app

Autofill using a mouse on the Google Sheets Android app
Following the recent announcement of full mouse support for the Google Sheets app on Android, we’re introducing mouse autofill capabilities. With this update, you can autofill by dragging or double clicking a selection handle using a mouse in Google Sheets. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 25th, 2023.
Autofill using a mouse on the Google Sheets Android app



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.


Assign admin roles to specific groups
Scale and secure your role-based access controls (RBAC) practice on Workspace by leveraging a new capability for role assignments to groups. You can now assign admin roles to groups in addition to or instead of individual users. | Learn more about assigning admin roles to specific groups. 


Expanding admin privileges for Google Meet hardware devices
We’re increasing the number of admin privileges for Google Meet hardware devices from three to twelve. This gives admins more ways to delegate admin roles and access as it pertains to device data and management within the Admin console. | Learn more about expanding admin privileges for Google Meet hardware devices. 


Turn off the video feed for select tiles in Meet
You can now turn off the video feed from other participants during a Google Meet call. This can be helpful in situations where you want to focus your meeting view to just the presenter or hide participants with distracting video feeds. | Learn more about turning off the video feed for select tiles in Meet. 


Better location context for events and RSVPs in Gmail
Earlier this year, we made it even easier to use RSVPs in Google Calendar to let others know how you’re planning to join a meeting. Now, you can do the same thing directly from an invite in Gmail. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, Teaching & Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more about better location context for events and RSVPs in Gmail. 


Co-present Google Slides in Google Meet
We’re adding a new feature that allows multiple people to present together in Meet. As the primary presenter, you can assign participants to co-present Slides with you. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers  only. | Learn more about co-presenting Google Slides in Google Meet. 


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.


Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – April 21, 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.


Improving multi-instance support for the Google Drive Android app
Last year, we announced multi-instance support on Google Drive, a feature that gives you better insight into your files by allowing you to have two Drive app windows open side-by-side on large screen Android devices. Now, we’re improving this experience by adding multi-account support, which lets a single user have two instances of the Drive app open side-by-side on a single device, showing content from two different Google Accounts. With this update, you can preview a file from one account in one instance, while navigating through the folders of your secondary account in the other instance. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 28th, 2023. | Learn more about using Google Drive.
Improving multi-instance support for the Google Drive Android app

Autofill using a mouse on the Google Sheets Android app
Following the recent announcement of full mouse support for the Google Sheets app on Android, we’re introducing mouse autofill capabilities. With this update, you can autofill by dragging or double clicking a selection handle using a mouse in Google Sheets. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 25th, 2023.
Autofill using a mouse on the Google Sheets Android app



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.


Assign admin roles to specific groups
Scale and secure your role-based access controls (RBAC) practice on Workspace by leveraging a new capability for role assignments to groups. You can now assign admin roles to groups in addition to or instead of individual users. | Learn more about assigning admin roles to specific groups. 


Expanding admin privileges for Google Meet hardware devices
We’re increasing the number of admin privileges for Google Meet hardware devices from three to twelve. This gives admins more ways to delegate admin roles and access as it pertains to device data and management within the Admin console. | Learn more about expanding admin privileges for Google Meet hardware devices. 


Turn off the video feed for select tiles in Meet
You can now turn off the video feed from other participants during a Google Meet call. This can be helpful in situations where you want to focus your meeting view to just the presenter or hide participants with distracting video feeds. | Learn more about turning off the video feed for select tiles in Meet. 


Better location context for events and RSVPs in Gmail
Earlier this year, we made it even easier to use RSVPs in Google Calendar to let others know how you’re planning to join a meeting. Now, you can do the same thing directly from an invite in Gmail. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, Teaching & Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more about better location context for events and RSVPs in Gmail. 


Co-present Google Slides in Google Meet
We’re adding a new feature that allows multiple people to present together in Meet. As the primary presenter, you can assign participants to co-present Slides with you. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers  only. | Learn more about co-presenting Google Slides in Google Meet. 


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.


Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – April 14, 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.





Reminder: Google Calendar and Assistant Reminders will migrate to Google Tasks soon
In February 2023, we shared plans for the next phase of migrating Google Calendar and Assistant Reminders to Google Tasks. As a reminder, if you use a Google account for work and school, you’ll start to see a prompt in Assistant and Calendar to move reminders created in these apps to Tasks. For more information on this migration, please refer to our original announcement.

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.


Improve search results with Personalization Boost and Click Boost for Cloud Search 
To help you find relevant documents faster, we’re introducing user personalization boost and click boost for the Cloud Search API. | Available to Google Cloud Search Customers only. | Learn more. 


Enabling organizational communication with announcements in Google Chat 
We're giving Space Managers the ability to configure spaces for sharing organizational announcements. Using the new announcement-only configuration, message posting and other capabilities are limited to designated Space Managers. | Learn more. 


Fine tune access to data with additional options for Access Approvals 
In 2022, we introduced Access Approvals, which enables customers to control when Google support personnel can access specific data during support and general maintenance. Beginning this week, we’re introducing additional options that provide customers even more control over these data interactions. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers only. | Learn more. 


Introducing new collaboration and flexibility features for Google Sites 
We've announced even more enhancements that improve upon collaboration within Sites and give you even more control over the layout of your Site’s content. | Learn more. 


Practice sets in Google Classroom are now generally available 
We’re excited to announce that practice sets are now generally available in English in Google Classroom to Google Workspace for Education Plus and Google Workspace for Education Teaching and Learning customers. | Learn more. 


Streamlined file organization with the new Google Drive location picker 
We've added improvements to the web Google Drive location picker that enable you to quickly and efficiently select a location to organize files and folders. The updates include a new visual experience and helpful suggestions when moving files and folders or adding shortcuts to items in Drive. | Learn more. 


New community features for Google Chat and an update on Currents
Last year, we announced plans to wind down Currents, to focus efforts on community experiences that are better integrated with the rest of Google Workspace. To help our customers manage this transition, we published detailed guidance for Workspace administrators and enabled customers to opt-in for automated migration of Currents data to spaces in Google Chat. | Learn more. 


Set default label values for files in Google Drive
This week, we’re expanding the automated classification capabilities of Drive labels to support setting default label values in addition to the current admin ability to apply labels by default. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus 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 Release Domains:
Scheduled Release Domains:
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:

Set default label values for files in Google Drive

What’s changing

Currently, admins can create, publish, and utilize Google Drive labels to apply file level classifications. This helps users organize, find, and comply with company policies as it relates to Drive items. 

This week, we’re expanding the automated classification capabilities of Drive labels to support setting default label values in addition to the current admin ability to apply labels by default. With automated classification, label admins can construct rules that add labels when files are created or when file ownership is transferred.

This update helps organizations ensure critical labels are applied to files at file creation. Using labels can serve as a condition for enforcing certain policies, such as Data Loss Prevention.


Who’s impacted 

Admins 


Why it matters 

With default field values, admins can now be more specific with their label configuration. In addition, this feature provides more flexibility with policy controls while creating a default policy standard within an organization. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Streamlined file organization with the new Google Drive location picker

What’s changing

We’re introducing improvements to the web Google Drive location picker that enable you to quickly and efficiently select a location to organize files and folders. The updates include a new visual experience and helpful suggestions when moving files and folders or adding shortcuts to items in Drive. Specifically you’ll notice: 
  • “Suggested”, “Starred”, and “All locations” tabs. Upon navigating into a folder location, the tabs are replaced by a back button and the name of the location 
  • Details for the selected folder paths, an option to create a new folder, and an image notification if you’re moving something into an empty folder 
  • Suggested locations and the option to reject the suggestion, which immediately removes it from the list 
  • Streamlined navigation that adds an inline button to complete the action of moving a file in one click 
  • A label if a folder is “view only” and explanations for why you might face an error when moving a file, such as not being the owner of a file 

Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it’s important 

This update improves upon the current Drive picker experience, allowing you to organize files, folders, and shortcuts in Drive in a more effective manner. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to use Google Drive. 

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 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – March 31, 2023

3 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.


Full mouse support now available for Google Sheets and Slides on Android 
Last year, we announced full mouse support while using Google Docs on Android devices that mirrors mouse behavior on the web. This week, we’ve expanded this to Sheets and Slides, enabling you to resize unselected rows and columns, click, drag, hover, and more with your mouse. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 12, 2023.
Move folders from My Drive to shared drives
Earlier this year, we introduced a beta that allows end users to move folders from My Drive into shared drives. We’re happy to announce this is now generally available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits, and legacy G Suite Business customers. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 11, 2023. | Learn more. 




Multi-instance support now available for Google Keep on large screen Android devices 
Following the recent update to view Google Keep notes on the home screen of Android devices, we’re introducing the ability to open a second instance of the Keep app on the same device. Having two windows open side-by-side enables better insight into your notes and gives you more ways to work with, display, and organize your content across Google Workspace. 

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.


Connected Sheets for Looker now available for all Looker-hosted instances
We’re making Connected Sheets available for Looker instances hosted on non-Google Cloud providers like AWS and Azure. | 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 Nonprofits only. | Learn more.


Launching in beta: manage working locations with the Calendar API
Available now in beta through our Developer Preview Program, you can read working location data using the Calendar API and get notified when those working locations change. |Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Nonprofits customers, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more. 


Admins can install Chat apps for use in direct messages
Starting this week, admins can install Chat apps for direct messages on behalf of users within their domain from the Workspace Marketplace. | 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. | Learn more.


Find files quicker with search chips in Google Drive
Last month, we pre-announced numerous features that offer new experiences in smart canvas, including enhancing Google Drive to help you complete your most frequent tasks more quickly. This week, we introduced search chips in Drive that enable you to filter by criteria like file type, owner, and last modified date. | 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 Release Domains:

Scheduled Release Domains:

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:

Find files quicker with search chips in Google Drive

What’s changing

Last month, we pre-announced numerous features that offer new experiences in smart canvas, including enhancing Google Drive to help you complete your most frequent tasks more quickly. 

Today, we’re introducing search chips in Drive that enable you to filter by criteria like file type, owner, and last modified date. Filtering by these criteria helps you narrow down and find relevant files faster in any view throughout Drive. 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 

  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 30, 2023 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting in Q2, 2023. (We will provide an update once the date approaches.)

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