Tag Archives: Google Slides

Update all linked content with one click in Docs and Slides

What’s changing 

We’re adding a new “Linked objects” sidebar where users can see all linked content in their documents, such as embedded charts, tables, slides, and drawings.

Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it 

The Linked objects sidebar gives users the ability to quickly access all linked content to see if anything is outdated and update all the content with a single click.


How to get started 

Admins: No action required.
End users: To update the data in a multiple charts or tables:

  • In Docs or Slides, at the top click Tools > Linked objects. 
  • A sidebar will open on the right, at the bottom click Update all. 
    • Note: Click Update next to specific objects to update them individually. 

Additional details 

If you don’t see Update or Update All, your charts, tables, or slides may not be linked. To learn how to link charts, tables, or slides see this article in our Help Center.

Helpful links 

Update charts, tables, slides or drawings in a document or presentation. 
Link a chart, table, or slide to Google Docs or Slides. 

Availability 

Rollout details 

  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 20, 2019. 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on June 17, 2019. 

G Suite editions

  • Available to all G Suite editions. 

On/off by default? 

  • This feature will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Work anywhere with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in new offline mode

What’s changing 

It’s now possible for users to work on Docs, Sheets, and Slides files when your device is offline or have a bad internet connection within Google Drive. You can also preview which files are available offline with a new offline preview mode.

Right click on Docs, Sheets, and Slides files from within Google Drive to make those files available offline.

You can preview which files are available offline using the Offline preview mode

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users.

Why you’d use it 

We know it’s important for users to access and work on their files while traveling or when there’s low connectivity. With offline mode, it’s now possible to create, edit, and comment on Docs, Sheets, or Slides files. Any changes made to files while offline will then sync in Drive once the user is connected again.

How to get started 

  • Admins: Admins can enable this feature for all or some users:
    • To let users enable offline access (recommended), go to Apps > G Suite > Drive and Docs.
    • To enable offline access for specific devices, see this article in our Help Center.
    • Note: The default for this feature is that all users can enable offline access on any device they sign into, but it is not enabled automatically except on Chromebooks 
  • End users: To work with your files while offline, you’ll need to enable offline access in your Drive settings:
    • From Google Drive, click the gear icon at the top right corner, select Settings > General and select Sync Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings files to this computer so that you can edit offline.
    • Once offline access is enabled, a checkmark icon will appear in the top right next to Settings (gear icon) and Support (question mark). When you click this icon, you can find the offline preview toggle. 



Additional details 

To make files available offline in Google Drive, right click on any file and toggle Available offline from the menu while connected.

When offline access is enabled, Google Drive also automatically and intelligently makes a certain number of Google Docs/Sheets/Slides files available offline based on how recently you accessed them. You can preview which files are already available offline automatically using the offline preview mode. You can also mark a file available offline -- so that it always remains available offline -- while in offline preview mode, as long as you are connected.

Helpful links 

Availability 

Rollout details 
  • Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 24, 2019 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 21, 2019. 
G Suite editions 
  • Available to all G Suite editions.
On/off by default? 
  • This feature will be ON by default for users who already have offline enabled.
Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Work with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides in Dropbox with a new beta

What’s changing 

This Dropbox beta will allow Dropbox users to work with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly in Dropbox.

G Suite admins with a Dropbox Business subscription for their organization can find more details and apply for the beta here.

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users.

Why you’d use it 

When users are signed in to both their Google and Dropbox accounts, they can create and store Docs, Sheets, and Slides files in any Dropbox folder, alongside traditional files. You’ll be able to:

  • Create and edit web-based files: 
    • You can start a shared Docs, Sheets, or Slides file right from dropbox.com or from apps on Windows and Mac, and have it stored in Dropbox. When you open files, you’ll be taken straight to familiar Google editors within Dropbox.
    • You can also open .docx, .xlsx, or .pptx files from Dropbox in Docs, Sheets, or Slides, and save them back to Dropbox in their original format. 


Create Docs, Sheets, and Slides from within Dropbox Web UI

  • Share Files and manage access: 
    • Adding a Docs, Sheets, or Slides file to a shared Dropbox folder will automatically grant members access. You can also share files on a one-off basis without adding it to a shared folder by inviting people from Dropbox or creating a shareable link. 


    • Whether sharing files directly from Dropbox or with a link, you can set edit or view-only access. You’ll also have the option to set permissions to team only when sharing within your organization or anyone when sharing files outside your organization.


Dropbox sharing modal overlaid on Slides presentation 



  • Search your files: Docs, Sheets, and Slides files will show up when searching in Dropbox, including results from the content within your Docs, Sheets, and Slides in addition to file names. 


  • Collaborate: You’ll be notified of any comments or edits made on your Docs, Sheets, and Slides files in your Dropbox notifications, so you can easily stay on top of what’s happening with your files. 

We hope this feature will streamline workflows by reducing the time spent switching between multiple tools helping you use data more effectively.

How to get started 



Additional details 

Dropbox users on desktop, web, and mobile can view, comment, search, move, copy, and delete files. Note that mobile users will not be able to edit files.

Helpful links 

For more details and how to apply for the beta, see here.

Availability 

G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Easily customize theme colors in Slides

Quick launch summary 

You can now edit the theme colors for your presentations in Slides, making it easier to set up a new theme, or apply bulk color changes to existing presentations. Previously, we only supported custom colors that were not linked to the presentation theme.

Now, users can easily customize the color palette associated with a theme. In any color picker dropdown, click the edit button for your Theme color palette. In the Theme color sidebar, select a color from the dropdown to begin editing.



Note: These changes will only apply to the current theme and will not create a new theme.

We hope this new feature will help you customize your presentations in Slides, especially when it comes to incorporating your company’s brand colors.

Availability 

Rollout details 


G Suite editions 

  • Available to all G Suite editions. 


On/off by default? 

  • This feature will be ON by default.


Stay up to date with G Suite launches

More collaboration insights in the Activity dashboard

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

Quick Launch Summary 

We’re introducing two new features to the Activity dashboard in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides:

Sharing history
Sharing history provides users with granular visibility into how your document is being shared with others across your organization and elsewhere. You’ll now see who shared access with who and what level editing access they’ve been granted.



Comment trend 
Comment trend will help users visualize the conversations in a particular document, showing the number of comments, suggestions, and replies created per day. A graph will display the number of new comment threads, replies, and unresolved comments over the lifetime of a document.



These updates add more context to the Activity dashboard, a feature we launched last year to help users see who’s viewed a particular document and viewer trends. These additions will further flesh out the Activity dashboard, making it a centralized hub where document owners and editors can see how other collaborators are engaging with their content.


Availability 

Rollout details 

G Suite editions 
  • Available to all G Suite editions. 
On/off by default? 
  • This feature will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Office editing makes it easier to work with Office files in Docs, Sheets, and Slides

This announcement was made at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco. Check out Next OnAir to tune into the livestream or watch session recordings following the event.

What’s changing 

With Office editing, you can now edit, comment, and collaborate on Microsoft Office files using Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. This feature brings the collaboration benefits of G Suite to Office files while streamlining workflows by eliminating the need to convert file types.


Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it 

Office editing will make it easy for G Suite users to open and edit Microsoft Office files that have been shared by partners, vendors or other teams. In cases where some members of your organization use Office while others use G Suite, this ensures seamless collaboration and eliminates the need to consider or convert file types.

Office editing brings everyone the benefits of G Suite’s real time collaboration tools and intelligence features to Office files.

How to get started 

Admins: If your organization uses the Office compatibility app in Chrome, you may experience issues using this feature. To learn more about disabling this app for your domain or having users remove it, see here.
End users:
  • In Google Drive, double-click your Office file. This will open a preview of the file. 
  • At the top, click Open in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides. 
  • From here, you can edit, share, view version history, collaborate in real-time with others, and more. 
  • All changes you make will be saved to the original Office file. 

Additional details 

The following Office file types are supported: 
  • Word files: .doc, .docx, .dot 
  • Excel files: .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm (macro enabled Excel files), .xlt 
  • Powerpoint files: .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .pot 
Note: If you edit Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents older than Office 2007, files will be saved to a newer format when editing using Office editing. 

Helpful links 

To learn more about removing the Office compatibility app, see here. 

Availability 

Rollout details
  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 17, 2019. 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting no earlier than May 6th, 2019. 
G Suite editions 
  • Available to all G Suite editions 

On/off by default? 
  • This feature will be ON by default. 

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Enhance presentations in Slides with audio

What’s changing

We’re adding the ability for users to embed MP3 and WAV audio files from Drive into Slides.



Who’s impacted 

End users

Why you’d use it 

We have listened to your requests and are adding audio files as additional media types in Slides. We know that adding audio clips can bring your presentations to the next level. Short audio clips can grab attention, while longer ones can set the tone for the entire presentation.

How to get started 

  • Admins: No action required. 
  • End users: To insert an audio file into Slides:
    • Insert > Audio and select from your audio files in Drive 
    • Hover over the icon to see playback controls
Once the audio file is inserted, you can find more audio settings by clicking “Format options” in the toolbar. From there, you can set playback options, volume, and looping. You can also hide the audio icon, or replace it with an image of your choice.



Additional details 

The ability to add an audio file into Slides is currently only available on desktop, though audio will play on all platforms.


Helpful links 

Availability 

Rollout details 
G Suite editions
  • Available to all G Suite editions. 

On/off by default? 
  • This feature will be ON by default.


Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Minor updates related to the Activity Dashboard in Editors and the Admin console

Quick launch summary 

We’re making two minor updates to verbiage found in the Activity Dashboard in Editors and related settings within the Admin console. As we launch more features to the Activity Dashboard, these updates will help keep things clear for both admins and end users.

In the Admin console: 
In the Activity dashboard settings, where it previously read “Access to activity dashboard” on the left hand navigation, it will now read “Access to view history.”



From here, Admins can set the ability for users to access Viewers and Viewer trend activity in the dashboard to ON/OFF. To learn more about file activity visibility, see this article in the Help Center.

In Editors: 
Within the Activity dashboard, the “View time” tab has been renamed to “Viewers.” From this tab, document owners can see the last time users with Edit access viewed the file and take action to follow-up. To learn more about view history in Docs, Sheets, and Slides, see this Help Center article. 

We’re also changing the icon for the Viewers tab — previously it was a clock, now it will be a person. This change is to better indicate the purpose of this tab, which is viewer history, not time viewers spent in the document.



Availability 

Rollout details
G Suite editions 
  • Available to all G Suite Editions.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Accessibility settings are now easier to access on Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Quick launch summary

It’s now easier to discover accessibility features like screen reader support, braille support, and screen magnifier support in Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

While these accessibility features were previously available, they required additional steps to access the accessibility menu. This change will make these settings more readily available by placing the Accessibility settings in the Tools menu.

Access the Accessibility menu by selecting Tools > Accessibility settings.

The accessibility settings dialog showing screen reader, braille, and screen magnifier support options.
If the screen reader option is selected from the accessibility settings dialog, an Accessibility menu will be displayed at the top of Docs, Sheets, and Slides for easy access.

Availability 

Rollout details 

G Suite editions 
Available to all G Suite editions.

On/off by default? 
This feature will be ON by default.

Stay up to date with G Suite launches

Additional Thai fonts available in Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Quick launch summary

We’ve expanded our font offerings for Thai users in Docs, Sheets, and Slides by adding several fonts that are part of the Thai “National Fonts” collection. This collection of fonts has been distributed and used by the Government of Thailand as public and official fonts since 2007. We updated the collection so that it could be part of Google Fonts in 2019.

The complete list of new fonts is below:
  • Bai Jamjuree 
  • Chakra Petch 
  • Charm 
  • Charmonman 
  • Fah Kwang 
  • K2D 
  • KoHo 
  • Kodchasan 
  • Krub 
  • Mali 
  • Niramit 
  • Sarabun 
  • Srisakdi 
These updated fonts are now available in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides with modern OpenType technology, expanded weights and more harmonious designs between Latin and Thai scripts.

These fonts will be made default in the drop down menu for users who have their Google language preference set as Thai.

G Suite editions
Available to all G Suite Editions.
    Stay up to date with G Suite launches