Tag Archives: Other

Reminder: Switch to the new desktop Google Chat app before March 30 2021

What's changing

As previously announced, we plan to switch users from the old electron-based Google Chat app to the new Chat standalone app in March 2021. If you or your users are still using the old version of desktop Google Chat, you should upgrade to the new desktop Chat app before March 30 to minimize any potential disruption. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it matters 

Last year, we introduced a new Google Chat standalone app. The app is a Progressive Web Application (PWA), which provides a fast, reliable, and engaging way to use Chat on any desktop device with the Google Chrome web browser. 

In February, users of the old app started seeing banners prompting them to install the new desktop Chat. Clicking on the banner takes them to chat.google.com, where they see a pop-up nudge asking them to install the new Chat app. 

Regardless of whether the new Chat app is installed, users will be able to use Chat on the web at chat.google.com or within Gmail, if permitted by their admin. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

  • The new Google Chat app is available now to all users. 

Availability 

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

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – March 5, 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.


Admin control for AppSheet now fully available
In December 2020, we announced the availability of an admin control for AppSheet in the Additional services section of the Admin console. The rollout of this control is now complete. | Learn more.


Anchor image backgrounds in Google Sites
You'll now see an anchor icon in Google Sites when editing a section that includes a background image. When selected, you can choose what point to anchor the image on or if the image should be centered. | Rolling out to Rapid Release now; launch to Scheduled Release planned for March 17, 2021.


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.


Adding Google Chat, Google Calendar, and Jamboard to Google Workspace Essentials
We’re giving teams and organizations more ways to connect and collaborate by adding Google Chat, Google Calendar, and Jamboard to Google Workspace Essentials, all included at no additional cost. | Learn more.


Access to Google Workspace core services from Google Assistant
Over the next few weeks, we’ll begin making access to Google Workspace services from Google Assistant generally available to any customers with the “Search and Assistant” additional service enabled. This was previously available in beta. | Learn more.


Expanding data regions coverage to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides user indices
Data regions for Google Workspace allows customers to choose a specific geographic location—in the U.S., in Europe, or globally distributed—for their covered data at rest to help meet organizational or compliance needs. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more.


New Assured Controls help support your information governance goals
Assured Controls for Google Workspace Enterprise Plus is an add-on that helps customers control cloud service provider access and attain their information governance goals. | Available as an add-on to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers only. | Learn more.


Join Google Meet calls from third-party video conferencing systems more easily
We’re making it easier to join Google Meet calls from third-party video conferencing systems. | Learn more.


Enhanced admin controls for Gmail IMAP
You can now enable Gmail IMAP and Gmail POP separately and enable access via IMAP on a per-app basis in the Admin console. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Nonprofits, Education, and Enterprise for Education customers only. | Learn more.


New Google Vault interface will become the only experience starting on May 24, 2021
While the new interface is the primary interface at vault.google.com, it is still possible to access the classic interface at ediscovery.google.com. Starting on May 24, 2021, the classic interface will redirect to the new interface, with no option to revert back. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus, as well as G Suite Business customers and customers with the Vault add-on license only. | Learn more.


Add files owned by suspended accounts to shared drives
Until now, it was often not possible to move files originally created by users whose accounts are suspended, as suspended accounts can’t be added as members of a shared drive. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus, as well as G Suite Business and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more.


Sign in to RSVP via hyperlinks in Google Calendar email invitations
In order to prevent unauthorized users from responding on your behalf to Google Calendar event invitations, you’ll now be required to be logged in to use any of the RSVP hyperlinks in invite emails. | Learn more.


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 5, 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.


Admin control for AppSheet now fully available
In December 2020, we announced the availability of an admin control for AppSheet in the Additional services section of the Admin console. The rollout of this control is now complete. | Learn more.


Anchor image backgrounds in Google Sites
You'll now see an anchor icon in Google Sites when editing a section that includes a background image. When selected, you can choose what point to anchor the image on or if the image should be centered. | Rolling out to Rapid Release now; launch to Scheduled Release planned for March 17, 2021.


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.


Adding Google Chat, Google Calendar, and Jamboard to Google Workspace Essentials
We’re giving teams and organizations more ways to connect and collaborate by adding Google Chat, Google Calendar, and Jamboard to Google Workspace Essentials, all included at no additional cost. | Learn more.


Access to Google Workspace core services from Google Assistant
Over the next few weeks, we’ll begin making access to Google Workspace services from Google Assistant generally available to any customers with the “Search and Assistant” additional service enabled. This was previously available in beta. | Learn more.


Expanding data regions coverage to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides user indices
Data regions for Google Workspace allows customers to choose a specific geographic location—in the U.S., in Europe, or globally distributed—for their covered data at rest to help meet organizational or compliance needs. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more.


New Assured Controls help support your information governance goals
Assured Controls for Google Workspace Enterprise Plus is an add-on that helps customers control cloud service provider access and attain their information governance goals. | Available as an add-on to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers only. | Learn more.


Join Google Meet calls from third-party video conferencing systems more easily
We’re making it easier to join Google Meet calls from third-party video conferencing systems. | Learn more.


Enhanced admin controls for Gmail IMAP
You can now enable Gmail IMAP and Gmail POP separately and enable access via IMAP on a per-app basis in the Admin console. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Nonprofits, Education, and Enterprise for Education customers only. | Learn more.


New Google Vault interface will become the only experience starting on May 24, 2021
While the new interface is the primary interface at vault.google.com, it is still possible to access the classic interface at ediscovery.google.com. Starting on May 24, 2021, the classic interface will redirect to the new interface, with no option to revert back. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus, as well as G Suite Business customers and customers with the Vault add-on license only. | Learn more.


Add files owned by suspended accounts to shared drives
Until now, it was often not possible to move files originally created by users whose accounts are suspended, as suspended accounts can’t be added as members of a shared drive. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus, as well as G Suite Business and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more.


Sign in to RSVP via hyperlinks in Google Calendar email invitations
In order to prevent unauthorized users from responding on your behalf to Google Calendar event invitations, you’ll now be required to be logged in to use any of the RSVP hyperlinks in invite emails. | Learn more.


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

New Google Vault interface will become the only experience starting on May 24, 2021

Quick launch summary 

Last year, we announced a new interface for Google Vault. The new interface makes it easier to navigate Vault and includes new productivity features for faster task completion. See our beta blog post for more information on the improvements in the new interface. 


While the new interface is the primary interface at vault.google.com, it is still possible to access the classic interface at ediscovery.google.com. Starting on May 24, 2021, the classic interface will redirect to the new interface, with no option to revert back. The new interface includes all the core functionality from the classic interface, and there will be no impact on your existing Google Vault setup. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 

  • Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus, as well as G Suite Business customers and customers with the Vault add-on license 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, and Business Standard customers, or G Suite Basic customers 

Resources 

New Assured Controls help support your information governance goals

What’s changing 

Today we’re introducing Assured Controls for Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, an add-on that helps customers control cloud service provider access and attain their information governance goals. 


As part of the Assured Controls feature set, we’ll first roll out Access Management. Access Management enables customers to geographically limit Google staff support actions to U.S. Persons within our Support teams. At launch, Access Management will be limited to accesses that are covered by Access Transparency in Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Sheets, and Google Slides, and will only be supported in the U.S. region. To learn more, contact Google Support or your account representative.


Note that we do not access customer data for any reason other than those necessary to provide support services and fulfill our contractual and legal obligations. When Support access is warranted, Access Management helps customers geographically limit that access. 


For more information on this and other Google Workspace Security launches, see our Cloud Blog post and register for our upcoming Google Cloud Security Talk. 


Who’s impacted 

Admins only 


Why you’d use it 

Some customers in regulated industries, particularly the public sector, have specific requirements related to cloud service provider access to data in the course of customer support interactions. Access Management provides customers with the ability to geographically limit those Google staff support actions. 

As Assured Controls is available on Google Workspace’s native platform, you don’t need to move to a separate environment for access to these restriction capabilities. This can help reduce costs and complexity, while allowing your organization to benefit from the full set of advanced features that Google Workspace offers. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: Once you’ve purchased the Assured Controls add-on, you can assign licenses and manage the feature at Admin Console > Access Management. Users assigned the policy will have any data owned by them restricted to designated U.S. Persons within our support teams. Access Management is surfaced for logging in the Access Transparency logs. To learn more contact Google Support or your account representative 
  • End users: No end user impact. 



Rollout pace 

  • Contact your Google account representative to learn more about availability and timing. 

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

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – February 26, 2021

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.

Improvements for locating new comments and important conversations in Google Docs
We’ve added two new ways that make it easier to find comments that require your attention and action in Google Docs on the web. New comment activity since the last time you viewed a document will be “badged” with a blue dot. Additionally, when you hover over the blue dot, you’ll see a “New” banner. | Learn more.


More options for sharing your availability in Google Calendar
We’re adding two new options in Calendar, which will help you better communicate your work availability to your colleagues. Specifically, you can create repeating out of office entries and split your working hours into multiple segments each day. | Learn more.


End a Google Meet video call for everyone at once
When a Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals or Education Plus host leaves their meeting, they can now choose to keep others on the call or to end the call instead, ejecting everyone else. | Available to Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more.


Easily locate the source file for embedded Drive video and audio files in Google Slides
It’s now easier to find the original source file for Google Drive-stored video or audio files embedded in a Google Slides presentation. | Learn more.


Reminder: Ending support for IE11 for all Google Workspace apps on March 15
Last year, we announced that Google Workspace will officially stop supporting Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) on March 15, 2021. To avoid any possible disruptions in service, such as degraded performance or security vulnerabilities, please be sure to switch to a different browser before that date. | Learn more.


Let Google Calendar automatically book a replacement room for your events
If a room declines your event, Google Calendar can now find a similar room to replace it, automatically. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, and Education Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more.


Admin control for AppSheet now fully available
In December 2020, we announced the availability of an admin control for AppSheet in the Additional services section of the Admin console. This rollout of this control is now complete. | Learn more.

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

 

Reminder: Ending support for IE11 for all Google Workspace apps on March 15

Last year, we announced that Google Workspace will officially stop supporting Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) on March 15, 2021. To avoid any possible disruptions in service, such as degraded performance or security vulnerabilities, please be sure to switch to a different browser before that date.

Getting started

  • Admins: We recommend you encourage IE11 users in your organization to switch to a supported browser as soon as possible.
  • End users: To prepare for this change, we recommend using a supported browser with Google Workspace.

Availability

  • Impacts Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers

Resources

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – February 19, 2021

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.


Limit Google Drive sharing to specific groups with target audiences, now generally available
Admins can now define specific audiences with whom their users can link-share Google Drive files. | Learn more.


Mute all Google Meet participants at once
Meeting hosts in Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals and Education Plus domains can now mute everyone all at once in Google Meet. | Available to Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more.


Introducing Google Workspace for Education
We’re excited to announce that G Suite for Education is now Google Workspace for Education. | Learn more.


Automatic group membership management with dynamic groups, now generally available
Dynamic groups are now generally available. Dynamic groups work the same as other Google Groups, but with the added benefit that their memberships are automatically kept up to date with a membership query. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, and Education Plus, and Cloud Identity Premium customers only. | Learn more.


More notifications added to the alert center in Google Workspace
We’re adding new alerts to the alert center. Specifically, you can now see alerts for reporting rules and 11 other new alerts related to changes to app settings and user accounts. | Learn more.


New Calendar admin privilege hierarchy in the Admin console
You can now grant admin privileges for Calendar-related settings and resource management separately. | Learn more.


Changes to information visibility in Meet quality tool, Meet audit log, and Reports API
We’re updating how information is displayed in the Meet quality tool, Meet audit log, and Reports API. This makes it easier for admins to follow up on calls hosted within their domains, as all three tools will use the same identifiers for external participants. | Learn more.


New option to download third-party apps and domain-wide delegation to CSV
With this launch, we’re adding new options to download third-party API apps and domain-wide delegated apps to a CSV file. | Learn more.


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

Introducing Google Workspace for Education

What’s changing 

We’re excited to announce that G Suite for Education is now Google Workspace for Education. We hope that this change will provide you greater choice and flexibility in selecting the best tools to empower your institution. As part of this change, Google Workspace for Education will now be available in four distinct editions instead of just two: 
  • Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals is the new name for G Suite for Education. It will continue to be free to qualifying schools and universities. If you’re currently using this edition, you won't see any changes besides a new name and new features. Learn more. 
  • Google Workspace for Education Standard is a new option that builds on Education Fundamentals to provide institutions with enhanced security. Learn more. 
  • Teaching and Learning Upgrade is a new option that builds on Education Fundamentals or Education Standard to offer advanced video communication capabilities, enriched class experiences in Classroom, and tools that guide critical thinking and academic integrity. Learn more. 
  • Google Workspace for Education Plus is the new name for G Suite Enterprise for Education. This includes all features from Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning upgrade, and more. Learn more. 

In addition to these changes, we’re updating our storage policies. See more details below. 



Who’s impacted 

Admins 


Why it’s important 

More than 170 million students and educators worldwide rely on our suite of tools. With the launch of Google Workspace for Education, everything you need to teach, learn, connect, and share will remain all in one place, accessible from anywhere on any device. It will also include all the products you already use, like Google Classroom, Meet, Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and many more. 

We hope the new offerings help us meet the diverse needs of institutions around the globe, from Pre-K to PhD. 


Additional details 

Introducing a new storage policy 
Google has traditionally offered unlimited storage to qualifying schools and universities for free. In July 2022, we'll implement a new pooled storage model for all Google Workspace for Education editions. 

We remain committed to providing all institutions around the world with a best-in-class experience, including ample free storage to support quality educational experiences. The new storage model will provide schools and universities with a baseline of 100TB of pooled cloud storage shared across all of their users—more than enough storage for over 100 million docs, 8 million presentations or 400,000 hours of video. To empower admins to adapt to this model and optimize their storage, we will provide tools to identify and manage how storage is used and allocated far in advance of the policy going into effect. 

You don't need to do anything today, and this updated storage model will impact less than 1% of institutions. We will contact impacted institutions by email in the coming weeks to discuss a range of options for getting the storage they need. For details on how to prepare for this upcoming change or to learn more about how you’ll be able to increase the storage pool for your institution, please visit our Help Center. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: 
  • End users: Users will automatically get the features in their new edition. 

Rollout pace 

  • Google Workspace Education Fundamentals and Education Plus are available today. Institutions will be able to purchase Education Standard and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade starting April 14, 2021. 
  • The new storage policy will go into effect for existing customers on all Google Workspace for Education editions in July 2022. 

Availability 

  • Applicable to Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals (formerly known as G Suite for Education) and Google Workspace for Education Plus (formerly known as G Suite Enterprise for Education) customers 
  • Not applicable to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, and Nonprofits customers 

Resources 

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap – February 12, 2021

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.


Group membership expiration now generally available
The Cloud Identity Groups API feature that enables you to set expirations for group memberships is now generally available. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Enterprise for Education and Cloud Identity Premium customers only. | Learn more.


Security groups now generally available
We’re making security groups generally available. Security groups help you easily regulate, audit, and monitor groups used for permission and access control purposes by simply adding the security label. | Learn more.


Email aliases now included in Gmail search results
When you search for an email address in Gmail, we'll now show all emails associated with that specific address and any aliases it's part of. | Learn more.


Dedicated Google Meet IP addresses for non-Google Workspace users traffic
In addition to the fixed IP range dedicated for Google Meet in Google Workspace domains, we’re now introducing a range of official, fixed IP addresses for non-Google Workspace users (users joining with personal Google Accounts or anonymously). | Learn more.