Tag Archives: Google Sheets

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – July 23, 2021

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.

Gmail now displays the latest emojis
Now you can see all the latest emojis in Gmail, with emojis now rendered in the latest Unicode standard 13.1.

Improved Tabular Data Handling for Gmail DLP
We are improving the way we handle Tabular data files like .csv or .xlsx to best account for the structure of these files. This will result in more accurate content scans. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise, Education Fundamentals, Standard, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Plus customers. | 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.

Updates to Google Workspace Public Status Dashboard and service status alerts
We're introducing a new Public Status Dashboard experience for Google Workspace. As part of this update, we’re enhancing the functionality of the existing Apps outage alert system-defined rule, which provides email notifications regarding service disruptions or outages via the Public Status Dashboard. | Learn more.


Hangouts to Google Chat upgrade beginning August 16th, with option to opt-out
Beginning August 16, 2021, we will start upgrading users who have the “Chat and classic Hangouts” setting selected to “Chat preferred,” unless you explicitly opt out. Additionally, the “Chat and classic Hangouts'' setting will also be removed for all users in your domain unless you opt out of the upgrade. | Learn more.


Fundamental data regions now available to more Google Workspace customers
Data regions give you the ability to choose where covered data for select Google Workspace apps is stored at rest. We’re introducing a more limited version of data regions, known as Fundamental data regions, which will be available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Business Plus, Business Standard and Frontline customers. | Learn more.


Bulk convert Classic Sites to new Sites using the Classic Sites Manager
Beginning today, you can now bulk convert Classic Sites to new Sites using the Classic Sites Manager. | Learn more.


Block shares from another user in Google Drive
We’re adding the ability to block another user in Google Drive. If blocked, the user will not be able to share any Drive items with you, and items owned by the user will not be able to be shared with you or be shown when you’re browsing Google Drive. In addition, your files will not be available to the user you’ve blocked, even if you’ve previously shared items with them.  | Learn more.



Select multiple tabs in Google Sheets and perform basic actions on the selection
Now you can select multiple tabs in Google Sheets and perform basic actions on the selection (such as moving the tabs together, deleting, duplicating, copying, coloring, or hiding). | Learn more.



Image placeholders make it easy to work as a team with images in Slides themes and layouts
Now when you create a theme in Slides, you can add image placeholders to your layouts. | Learn more. 



Easily collaborate and share Slide presentations with side-by-side viewing in Google Chat
In Google Chat, you can now open and edit a Slide presentation in a side-by-side view. | Learn more. 



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

Select multiple tabs in Google Sheets and perform basic actions on the selection

Quick launch summary

Now you can select multiple tabs in Google Sheets and perform basic actions on the selection (such as moving the tabs together, deleting, duplicating, copying, coloring, or hiding). Work in Google Sheets with confidence and make workflows faster as you perform basic actions on more than one sheet at a time.


GIF show how multiple tabs are selected in Sheets to be deleted together.



Getting started


Rollout pace


Availability

  • Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Frontline, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Nonprofits, Cloud Identity Free, Cloud Identity Premium 

Resources

Google Workspace Business Starter and Frontline customers can now collaborate with people who are not using a Google account in Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Sites

Quick launch summary 

We’re making visitor sharing available to Google Workspace Business Starter and Frontline customers, with a limit of five visitor shares per month, per user. 

With visitor sharing, you can share items with non-Google accounts, enabling them to view, comment on, or edit content in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Sites using a secure pincode. 



Getting started 

  • Admins: 
    • Sharing outside of your organization to users with non-Google accounts will be ON by default if you currently allow users in your organization to send sharing invitations to people outside your organization who are not using a Google account. 
    • Sharing outside of your organization to users with non-Google accounts will be OFF by default if you currently do not allow sharing outside your organization. Use our Help Center to learn more about sharing to non-Google accounts. 
    • Visitor sharing will be controlled by new settings at Admin console > Apps > G Suite > Drive and Docs > Sharing Settings (pictured below). These settings can be controlled at the domain or OU level. 



Rollout pace 


Availability 

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

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – July 9, 2021

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.

Add a background image to Google Keep notes on mobile
You can now customize your Google Keep notes on Android and iOS by choosing a background from a set of designer-created images — simply open a note, select the palette icon, and select a background. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more.

Allow Users to receive shared calendars on mobile
Users can now share their calendar with another user on their mobile device without fear of spam attacks. Once a user shares a calendar with a recipient, the recipient receives an email notification with a link “Add this calendar.” The recipient must explicitly click on the link to add the calendar to their account. 


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.

Indicate whether you’ll join a meeting virtually or in person on Google Calendar
To make Google Calendar more flexible in the hybrid workplace, we're introducing new RSVP options for Calendar invitations. With this update, you can indicate how you plan to join a meeting - in the meeting room, or virtually. | Learn more.


Scheduled refresh improvements for Connected Sheets now generally available
Today, several improvements for scheduled refresh are now available: hourly refreshes, specific start dates, and frequency options such as every five days, every two months, etc. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers. | Learn more.


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


Scheduled refresh improvements for Connected Sheets now generally available

Quick launch summary

Earlier this year, we announced several new features that give you more ways to work with, display, and organize BigQuery data using Connected Sheets. 

Today, several improvements for scheduled refresh are now available:

  • Hourly refreshes 
  • Specific start dates 
  • Frequency options such as every five days, every two months, etc.

We hope these additional options make it easier to automate data refreshing at a specified frequency with more granular scheduling options, giving you more flexibility when working with your data.

Getting started


Rollout pace

  • This feature is available now.

Availability

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

Resources


Roadmap

New ways to discover and navigate comments in Google Sheets

What’s changing

Now in Google Sheets, you can:
  • Review comments and conversation threads in a sidebar.
  • Apply filters to find the most relevant comments for getting your work done when a document is highly collaborative.
  • Page through comment threads in a document in the comment overlay.


Use the new comments sidebar to see all the conversations happening in a spreadsheet. Quickly reply, resolve, or create new conversations in collaboration with your colleagues.



In highly collaborative spreadsheets, apply filters in the sidebar to find the most relevant feedback (for example, comment threads that need your response).


Take action directly in the sidebar when tasks are complete, or conversations have been resolved.


Use the new navigator to progress through comments in the spreadsheet.



Who’s impacted

End users


Why you’d use it

Collaborating with teammates is more important than ever, and comments are a powerful way to discuss and collaborate wherever you and your colleagues are, and whenever you’re working. By making it easier to review, respond to, and resolve comments in Sheets, it’s easier to collaborate to create more impactful data and analysis.


Additional details

With these new changes, you now have easy ways to see and navigate all comments in a spreadsheet by clicking:
  • The comment icon in the Appbar.
  • The "open all comments" item in the sheet tab.
  • The "open" from any comment anchored to a cell.
  • A new button in the comment overlay that allows you to page between comment threads in a document.

Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: This feature will be ON for everyone.

Rollout pace

  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 16, 2021

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers.

Resources

New iOS Data Protection setting protects data sharing between Google Workspace and personal Google accounts

What’s changing 

We’re adding a new admin setting which restricts data and content sharing between Google Workspace accounts and personal Google accounts in Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides on iOS. 

When the data protection setting is enabled, users can only share or save content–such as files, emails, or copied & pasted content—within Workspace accounts. This will protect users from sharing a file with their personal Google accounts or saving a file to their personal Google Drive. 



Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 

Google applications on iOS support multi-user logins, allowing users to access Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides with their personal and Google Workspace accounts. Giving admins the ability to control how data is shared across user accounts helps minimize accidental data sharing. Together with the previously released copy and paste and drag and drop restrictions, these security measures help increase the security of your corporate data on iOS. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the OU and domain level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about applying settings for iOS devices. 

  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. When enabled by your admin, you will be able to securely share enterprise Google Workspace content between your Google Workspace apps. 

Rollout pace 

  • Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: This feature is available now for all users. 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Present from Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly to Google Meet

What’s changing 

As part of our mission to build the future of work, today we announced smart canvas — a new product experience that will make it easier for people to stay connected, focus their time and attention, and transform their ideas into impact. 


In the coming months, we’ll be announcing new features that will make collaboration a more flexible, interactive, and intelligent experience. Specifically for more collaboration flexibility, you can now present content from Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides directly to an active Google Meet call. 


As a result, you can present with fewer clicks, and then once you’re presenting, you can see your audience and your content at the same time back in the Meet tab. 



Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why it’s important 

We hope this feature makes collaboration easier by bringing your team together in the places you’re already working, eliminating the need to switch between apps. By helping the conversation stay on track, people can more easily pull content into conversations, share ideas and solve problems together. 

Getting started 


Rollout pace 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Insert smart chips for files and meetings, create checklists in Google Docs

What’s changing 

As part of our mission to build the future of work, today we announced smart canvas — a new product experience that will make it easier for people to stay connected, focus their time and attention, and transform their ideas into impact. 


In the coming months, we’ll be announcing new features and functionality to products like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. These new features will create a more flexible, interactive, and intelligent experience, enhancing the content and connections that fuel collaboration across Google Workspace. 


Beginning today, in Google Docs you can: 
  • Insert smart chips for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides files, other Google Drive files, and Calendar events 
  • Create checklists 
  • Insert links more easily with intelligent suggestions in the insert link dialog 

See below for more information. 

Who’s impacted 

End users 

Why it’s important 

In Google Docs, we’re adding new interactive building blocks to connect people, content, and events into one seamless experience: 


Smart chips are already available when you mention a person in a document, displaying additional information such as the person’s location, job title, and contact information. We’ve expanded this functionality to include the ability to insert smart chips for files and events. This makes it easy for your collaborators to quickly scan associated meetings and people, and preview linked documents all without context switching. 



Additionally, we’ve improved the insert link experience. You’ll now see intelligent suggestions for Drive files or headings and bookmarks within your document based on your highlighted text. 



You can also create checklists in Docs, making it easier to keep projects moving forward and track progress. 




Smart chips and Checklists are currently rolling out. Table templates, topic-voting tables, and the additional Checklist capabilities are coming soon.


Coming soon, you’ll be able to assign checklist action items to other people. Additionally, these checklists will appear in Google Tasks, making it easier for everyone to manage their part on a project’s To-Do list. We’ll provide an update on the Workspace Updates Blog when this becomes available. 

Additional details 

In the coming months, we plan to introduce more features like: 
  • Table templates to quickly insert various tables in Docs, such as topic-voting tables, where feedback can be seamlessly gathered in one place. 
  • Meeting note templates which will automatically import any relevant information from a Calendar meeting invite, including smart chips for attendees and files. 
  • Pageless format in Docs will allow you to remove the boundaries of a page to create an infinite surface to work on. 
  • Timeline view in Sheets that makes it easier and faster to track tasks by allowing you to organize your data by owner, category, campaign, or whichever attribute fits best. 

You can read more about these features on the Google Cloud Blog. Stay tuned to the Workspace Updates Blog, as we’ll provide updates here when these features become available. 

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin action required. 
  • End users: This feature will be available for all users. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using smart chips and checklists in Google Docs. 

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers 

Resources 

More options for customizing a charts line and fill styling in Google Sheets

Quick Summary 

We’ve added more for line and fill customization options for series and series items. You can now modify: 
  •  Color 
  • Opacity 
  • Line dash styles 
  • Line thickness 
For column-shaped series, we’ve added the ability to add and style borders, a highly requested feature. 



Note: these new options are not available for pie charts, however the ability to change pie slice colors and add borders is already available. 

We hope these new options help you best display important data and create more impactful reports with Sheets. 

Getting started 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers

Resources