Tag Archives: Google Slides

Adding multi-monitor support to Google Slides

What’s changing 

Starting today, we’re making it easier to view your Google Slides presentation controls on your computer while presenting to an audience using a connected external monitor or projector. 

Multi-monitor support enables presenters to see Presentation View components, such as speaker notes and the timer, on one display, while displaying the slides presentation on an external monitor. 

presenting on Slides using a connected external monitor


Who’s impacted

End users 


Why it matters

This updated experience helps you present with greater confidence and gives you more control when managing multiple presentation displays. 


Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: You can enable this feature by using “Presentation display options”. Visit the Help Center to learn more about presenting slides with other monitors.

Rollout pace 


Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 

Resources 

Available in beta: Policy Visualization across Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive

What’s changing 

Currently, when there are security policies applied to documents, spreadsheets, presentations or files, users are given no central explanation of which actions, like downloading, making a copy, or external sharing are restricted. 

To improve upon this experience, users who are interacting with policy-protected content, such as those with data loss prevention (DLP) rules or trust rules, will now be proactively informed about what actions are prevented by those policies. 

For example, if a user is interacting with a document affected by DLP-enforced information rights management (IRM) and a Trust Rule, they will see a shield icon, banner, and side panel that informs them of the restricted actions.
Policy Visualization across Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drive


Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it matters 

With this update, users will be made aware of which actions they are taking that are disabled on a document, spreadsheet, slide or file due to data protection controls.

Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • Any user will be able to see policy visualization if it's active on a document, but the owner of the document is used to determine if it's turned ON. 
    • A shield icon, banner, and side panel will automatically appear when security controls are present. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about the policies that enable Policy Visualization: 

Rollout pace 

During the Open Beta period, this feature will be opt-in only. Customers who fill out this form will see the feature enabled in their specified domains within 7 days of sign-up. Customers may submit feedback here or email it to [email protected]. 


Availability

Policy visualization is enabled when the document, spreadsheet, slides or file owner belongs to the following Google Workspace editions: 
  • Business Starter, Standard, Plus 
  • Enterprise Starter, Standard, Plus 
  • Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Essentials Enterprise Plus 
  • Frontline Starter, Standard 
  • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, the Teaching & Learning Upgrade 
  • Workspace Individual Subscribers 

Resources 

Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, and Google Drive is rolling out now

What’s changing

We’re pleased to announce the general availability of Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. Through the side panel, Gemini can assist you with summarizing, analyzing, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more—all without switching applications or tabs. The updated interface automatically summarizes the content you're working on and provides contextually relevant prompts to help you get started. 


Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why you’d use it 

The side panel will use Google’s most capable models including the Gemini 1.5 Pro model with a longer context window and more advanced reasoning, allowing you to harness the power of Gemini directly from your most used Google Workspace apps. Here are a few examples of when you’d use it:
  • Docs: Gemini in Docs side panel can help you write and refine your content, summarize information, help you brainstorm, create content based off of other files, and more.
Gemini in Docs side panel

  • Slides: Gemini in Slides side panel can help you generate new slides, generate custom images, summarize presentations and more. 

Using Gemini in Slides side panel

  • Sheets: Gemini in Sheets side panel can help you track and organize data. In the side panel, you can quickly create tables, generate formulas and ask how to accomplish certain tasks in Sheets.

Using Gemini in Sheets side panel


  • Drive: Gemini in Drive side panel can summarize one or multiple documents,  get quick facts about a project, or deep dive on a topic without needing to find and click through numerous documents.



    Using Gemini in Drive side panel


Additional details

We’re also introducing Gemini in the Gmail side panel, which you can leverage to summarize email threads, draft an email, suggest responses to an email thread, and more. For more information, see our announcement on the Workspace Updates blog.


Getting started

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: You can access the Gemini in the side panel by clicking on “Ask Gemini” (spark button) in the top right corner of Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive on the web. Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in Google Drive, as well as Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Rollout pace


External users can now securely collaborate on client-side encrypted files

What’s changing

We’re expanding visitor sharing, a feature that provides secure, pincode-based collaboration over sensitive data with people, to include client-side encrypted files. This allows users to securely collaborate with external partners on sensitive Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides files, while maintaining the confidentiality of the information with the granular control of encryption keys, identity verification and user permissions. 
External users can now securely collaborate on client-side encrypted files


Getting started 


Rollout pace 


Availability 

Available for Google Workspace: 
  • Enterprise Plus Education Standard and Plus 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – June 7, 2024

2 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if 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.


Switch between edit, view and comment mode in Google Slides 
We’re making it easier for you to switch between different modes in Google Slides. For example, if you’d like to hide comments within a presentation or avoid accidental edits, you can switch to view mode. Choosing commenting mode hides all options associated with editing, but still allows you to read and add comments. To change your mode, navigate to the View > Mode > select a mode. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for June 20, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about switching view mode on Google Slides. 
Switch between edit, view and comment mode in Google Slides


Scroll and zoom while presenting in Google Meet 
When you’re presenting in Google Meet, you can now scroll and zoom in or out on your content directly from Meet. This eliminates the need to switch between tabs, helping you focus more on delivering your presentation. | This feature is available now for all Google Workspace customers. | Learn more about presenting during a meeting.
Scroll and zoom while presenting in Google Meet


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.


Stay up to date on important changes in your Google Sheets 
In order to provide greater visibility into spreadsheet changes most relevant to your workflow and help enable more efficient team communication, we’re introducing conditional notifications. | Learn more about conditional notifications. 

Request to join spaces in Google Chat 
To make it even easier to more broadly share information, build communities and foster discussion across your organization, we’re introducing the ability for users to request to join a space upon receiving a link to that space. | Learn more about joining spaces. 

Rollout Update: framing support for Series One Desk 27 and Board 65 devices and remote controlled devices 
We recently announced several updates related to framing options on Google Hardware devices and have provided update rollout information. | Learn more about the rollout update.


Completed rollouts

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


Rapid Release Domains: 
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).   




Expanding voice typing and automatic captions to additional browsers

What’s changing

Currently users can edit their documents in Google Docs or edit speaker notes in Google Slides by using their voice. Users can also turn on automatic captions to display the speakers’ words in real time while presenting in Slides. These features have previously been available using the latest version of Google Chrome only. 

Starting today, we’re expanding support for voice typing and captions features to additional browsers, such as Edge and Safari. When a user turns on voice typing or captions, the web browser controls the speech-to-text service, determines how speech is processed, and then sends text data to Google Docs and Google Slides. 


Who’s impacted 

End users 


Why it’s important 

This launch leads to more inclusive and accessible user interactions within Docs and Slides for more users. 


Additional details 

These features are available only on desktop. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: Admins can control which web browsers are supported in their domain. Certain browsers may offer browser level controls for disabling the Web Speech API. 
  • End users: 
    • When enabling this feature for the first time, you may see the following notice: Expanding voice typing and automatic captions to additional browsers

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – May 10, 2024

1 New update

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if 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.


Expanding Slides recordings to Microsoft Edge 
Last year, we introduced slides recordings, a Google Slides feature that lets you easily record yourself presenting, and then share the presentation with others to view when it works for them. This week, we’re excited to announce you can now create recordings in Microsoft Edge, in addition to Google Chrome on your desktop. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for May 22, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus and Education Plus. | Learn more about using slides recording in Google Slides.




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.


A simplified experience for Workspace users to add 2-Step Verification (2SV) methods 
We’re simplifying how users turn on 2-Step Verification (2SV), which will streamline the process, and make it easier for admins to enforce 2SV policies in their organizations. | Learn more about adding 2-Step Verification (2SV) methods. 

Block compromised mobile devices using context-aware access 
Using context-aware access, you now have the option to automatically block access to Google Workspace data from compromised Android and iOS devices. A device may be counted as compromised if certain unusual events are detected, including devices that are jailbroken, bypassing of security controls, modification of restricted settings, and more. | Learn more about compromised mobile devices. 

Improving suspension alerting for Google Meet hardware devices 
To ensure customers with Google Meet hardware devices have sufficient notice about canceled or expired device subscriptions, we’re adding notifications in the Admin console. | Learn more about suspension alerts in Meet hardware. 

Easily convert data to dropdown chips in Google Sheets 
We’re adding a new feature that helps you quickly convert ranges of data into dropdown chips in bulk. If you have a column of data that includes a variety of data values (e.g., different project statuses like on track, paused, completed), Sheets will show a “Convert to dropdown chips” suggestion when you click into your data range. | Learn more about dropdown chips in Sheets. 

New ways to quickly format and organize data with tables in Google Sheets 
We’re excited to announce tables in Google Sheets, which helps you simplify and accelerate spreadsheet building by bringing format and structure to unorganized ranges. | Learn more about tables in sheets. 

Breakout room information is now included in Google Meet attendance reports 
We’re now including breakout room attendance as part of attendance reporting in Google Meet. Attendance reports help meeting organizers keep track of who attended their meetings and for how long, which can be challenging during larger meetings or while presenting. | Learn more about breakout room information. 

Set the default camera framing option for Google Meet hardware devices, and other framing updates 
We’re introducing several updates around framing controls for Google Meet hardware devices: 1) an admin setting which will allow admins to choose a default framing option for their meeting spaces, 2) framing support on whiteboards (Series One Desk 27 and Board 65) and remote controlled only Google Meet hardware devices, 3) a few small adjustments to how camera framing settings appear on hardware devices. | Learn more about framing updates for Meet hardware devices. 

Get notifications for all messages in a Google Chat space 
For conversations that require a higher level of attention, we’re introducing a new “notify all” functionality for in-line threaded spaces. If this option is selected, you will be notified of all new messages in the space. This includes receiving notifications for all @ mentions, threads followed, and even threads that you do not follow, allowing you to stay on top of everything happening in a conversation. | Learn more about notifications in Google Chat.


Completed rollouts

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


Rapid Release Domains: 
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).   

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – March 15, 2024

4 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if 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.



Banner alerts for Google Drive item capacity limits in shared drives 

To give users more visibility when shared drives in their domain are approaching the item capacity limit (400,000 items), we’re introducing banner alerts that identify current shared drive capacity. These banners will be visible when less than 20% capacity is left and will appear only for users who have edit access to add content to the specific shared drive. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 3, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits. | Learn more about item capacity limits in shared drives.


Input numbers into slider controls across Google Docs, Slides and Drawings
We’ve added a number input next to all slider controls used for image and shape adjustments in Google Docs, Slides and Drawings. With this update, we hope it is easier for you to make adjustments more precisely. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 2, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about cropping and adjusting images.

Updated version history limits for Apps Script projects
Earlier this year, we announced that you can create and save up to 200 versions for newly created scripts. We’ve expanded this limit to all scripts. If needed, you can permanently delete multiple script versions at the same time from the project history page using the new “Bulk delete” feature. | This is available now to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more using our developer documentation on working with Apps Script versions.


Google Meet-certified Logitech Rally Bar Huddle room kits are now available
Logitech Rally Bar Huddle room kits for Google Meet are now available for purchase. These kits are optimized for small spaces that can accommodate 3 to 5 people. The device can be used as a meeting room appliance, in USB mode connected to a meeting room PC, or connected via laptop. | This is available now to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet hardware devices. | Visit Logitech’s website for more information on purchasing a room kit.

Google Meet-certified Logitech Rally Bar Huddle room kits are now available



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.


Application load failures are now captured for the Google Meet hardware devices 
Admins can now see when the Google Meet app fails to load for a device. | Learn more about application load failures.


Create fully customized email campaigns using new layout editor tool 
Starting this week, even more users across Google Workspace editions can now create customized email layouts using a new email layout editor that is accessible from the compose screen in Gmail or Google Drive. In the layout editor, you can create a new email layout from scratch or select from a predefined set of email templates, which include images, text elements and buttons. | Available to Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus and Workspace Individual subscribers only. | Learn more about customizable email campaigns.


Select App Access Controls can now be applied at the organizational unit 
Google Workspace Admins can now configure a number of App Access Control (AAC) policies at the Organizational Unit (OU) level. | Learn more about App Access Controls.


Import data from other messaging platforms using the Google Chat API is now generally available
Google Workspace developers registered in our Workspace Developer Preview program have been able to import user data from other messaging platforms into Google Chat using the Google Chat APIs. This functionality is now generally available to all Workspace developers and admins. | Learn more about importing data using the Chat API.


Subtly enhance your appearance with portrait touch-up when using Google Meet on the web
In October 2023, we introduced portrait touch-up for Google Meet on mobile devices. We’re extending this functionality to Google Meet on the web. Portrait touch-up can be used to lightly touch up your appearance before or during a meeting, helping you feel more comfortable and confident in your appearance during video calls. | Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Teaching & Learning Upgrade, Google One and Google Workspace Individual subscribers only. | Learn more about subtly enhancing your appearance with portrait touch-up. 


Completed rollouts

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


Rapid Release Domains: 
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).  

 




Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – March 8, 2024

3 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if 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.


Hovercards for group messages and spaces are now available in Google Chat 
When hovering over a space or group chat within the left navigation in Google Chat, you will now see a hovercard that displays an abridged list of members and their avatars. This is especially useful when you need to distinguish one chat from another. In addition, you can include space hovercards across Chat apps using the shared hovercard library. | Available now to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. 
hovercards in Chat


New Google Calendar lock screen widgets on iOS mobile devices 
We’re excited to announce the launch of Google Calendar lock screen widgets on iOS mobile devices (iOS16+) and iPads (iOS17). These will surface an upcoming event or task, giving you a quick glance right from your lock screen. 
| Available now to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about how to add widgets to your Lock Screen. 

widgets


Remove the background from your images in Google Slides 
You can now easily remove the background from images added to your Google Slides presentations. To do so, simply select an image on your slide > right-click and select "Remove background" or select the “Remove background” button in the toolbar. | Available now to Gemini Enterprise and Gemini Business add-ons, and to users on personal accounts through Google One AI Premium. | Learn more about removing an image background.
Remove the background from your images in Google Slides



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.



Smooth scrolling in Google Sheets now available on desktop 
With smooth scrolling, you can scroll to a specific part of a row or column and stop wherever you’d like within the spreadsheet. | Learn more about scrolling in Sheets. 


New enhancements in the Space Management Tool For admins: add multiple members or groups, review settings and details 
We’re introducing several updates for the Space Management Tool in the Admin console, including an improved user interface and additional management capabilities. | Learn more about Space Management Tool For admins. 


Migrate email data from one Google Workspace account to another, available in open beta 
Beginning today, a new data migration experience is available: you can migrate your users’ email data from one Google Workspace account to another in a more reliable and efficient manner. You can configure your data migration for up to 100 users at a time and also run delta migrations, which smartly brings over any newly generated data from the source without duplicating previously migrated content. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus; Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus; Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus; Essentials Starter, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about migrating email data. 


Set up dropdown chips more easily in Google Sheets 
Instead of manually creating values for your dropdown chips, you can now insert preset dropdown chips that are configured for common use cases like priority or review statuses. | Learn more about preset dropdown chips. 


Google Meet co-host support added for client-side encrypted meetings 
Client-side encrypted meetings are now getting support for using the co-hosts feature. This means that an organizer can plan and book client-side encrypted video meetings on behalf of other users and assign those as co-hosts to allow them to join and open the meetings independently from the organizer. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers only. | Learn more about client-side encrypted meetings. 


User enrollment for managed iOS devices is now generally available 
In late 2023, we introduced user enrollment in beta, an additional option for iOS mobile management. User enrollment separates work and personal data on iOS devices, giving admins control over Workspace data on the device while users retain privacy over their personal data. Beginning today, user enrollment is now generally available. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Frontline Standard, Frontline Starter, Business Plus, Cloud Identity Premium, Education Standard, Education Plus and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about user enrollment.


Completed rollouts

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


Rapid Release Domains: 
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).  

 


Set client-side encryption as the default mode for new emails, events, and files on mobile

What’s changing 

Admins can now set client-side encryption (CSE) to be on by default on Android and iOS for: 
  • Newly drafted Gmail messages and replies 
  • Newly created Google Calendar events 
  • Newly uploaded Google Drive files

Client-side encryption in Gmail


Admins can now set client-side encryption as the default mode for users on both web and mobile that regularly handle sensitive data. This allows organizations the flexibility to meet their compliance and regulatory requirements and reduce the burden on change management programs. Each new email, event and uploaded file on mobile is automatically client-side encrypted with customer managed keys meaning the user is compliant with their org’s policy from the outset. For organizations with strict regulatory or sovereignty requirements, this can help them close compliance gaps by defaulting users to the preferred mode for handling sensitive data while on the go. 

For more information, check out our original announcement.

Getting started


Rollout pace


Availability

  • Google Workspace Assured Controls is available as an add-on to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers only. For more information, contact your Google account representative.

Resources