WorryFree Computers   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

What’s changing 
We’re adding a feature into Gmail that helps you find convenient 1:1 meeting times with others much quicker. This is especially useful when scheduling time with customers, partners or people in your organization whose Google Calendars are not visible to you. 
Negotiate time directly in Gmail to schedule meetings faster

While composing an email, you will see a new Calendar icon with all Calendar-related actions consolidated and easily discoverable. You can: 
  • Offer times you’re free: This option opens up your calendar on the right. You can select and insert proposed meeting times directly from your calendar into the email without leaving Gmail. The recipient of the email can then review the proposed times and select one directly from the email to automatically get an email with a calendar invite. 
  • Create an event: This is a quick way to schedule a meeting and share the event information back in the email. Starting the flow opens up a calendar event creation on the right with the recipients and title pre-filled from the email. An event summary will automatically be inserted into the email body for easy sharing. Previously, this feature was available in the three dot menu on top of the email conversation view. 
    Offer times you’re free or create an event
Who’s impacted 
End users 

Why you’d use it 
This feature makes scheduling much easier by reducing the back-and-forth in lengthy email threads when negotiating or scheduling meeting times. 

Additional details 
  • Offer times you’re free: Time suggestions can only be made for your primary calendar at this time and only work for 1:1 meetings. If multiple people are included in the recipient list, only the first person to book an appointment will be added to the event automatically. 
  • Create an event: If you are creating events from Gmail, you can create them on any of the primary or secondary calendars you have manage access to. 
Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for these features. 
  • End users: These features will be ON by default. 
    • To add proposed meeting times in an email, start composing or replying to an email > click “Set up a time to meet” in the menu bar > “Offer times you’re free” > follow the instructions in the right side panel to add times you’re available and other meeting details. 
    • To accept a meeting time, simply click on a time in the email and confirm your name and email. 
    • To create a new event, start composing or replying to an email > click “Setup a time to meet” in the menu bar > “Create an event” and follow the instructions in the right side panel. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about scheduling events in Gmail. 
Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
Resources 

[Update] July 17, 2023: We've adjusted the end user rollout by several days — please see below for updated information.

What’s changing
To improve upon the current capabilities of appointment scheduling, the Google Calendar feature that allows users to share their availability via a booking page, we're now integrating paid appointment bookings into Google Calendar. As a result: 
  • Appointment providers can connect their Stripe account to Calendar when creating an appointment schedule and set a price. You can also create a new Stripe account from Calendar.
set price for appt in Google Calendar
  •  The person booking the appointment will visit the booking page, choose their preferred time, and enter their credit card information. visit the booking page, choose their preferred time, and enter their credit card information

Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why you’d use it 
Requiring payment upfront can help small business owners reduce no shows and grow their business further. Additionally, this feature enables you to manage your time and payments in a simple and seamless manner. 


Additional details 
Google Calendar will redirect bookers to Stripe, does not process or store any payment info (such as credit card numbers), and will not charge any platform fees. Google cannot assist with any payment or refund issues. Canceling and refunding needs to be handled by providers and bookers via the Stripe dashboard. 

Getting started 
  • Admins: 
    • For users on Business Standard, this feature will be ON by default and can be disabled in the Admin console. 
    • For all other SKUs, the feature is OFF by default and needs to be enabled by the admin. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about allowing paid appointment schedules in Calendar
  • End users: 
    • For users on Workspace Individual, as the appointment schedule provider, turn payments on by setting it up in the “Payments and cancellation policy” section of the appointment schedule editor. 
    • For all other SKUs, if enabled by your admin, as the appointment schedule provider, turn payments on by setting it up in the “Payments and cancellation policy” section of the appointment schedule editor. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about requiring payments for appointments
Rollout pace 
Admin setting: 
End user setting: 
Availability 
  • Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Nonprofits and Workspace Individual 
Resources 

What’s changing
Since 2021, users have been able to indicate where they’re working from directly in Google Calendar. Subsequently, we’ve made numerous enhancements to the working location feature to ensure users have better context for in-person collaboration, location planning, meeting room management, preparing meetings for virtual and in-room attendees, and more. 

To improve upon this further, we’re introducing the option to set working locations in Calendar that indicate where you’re working for specific portions of the day. This will help you more accurately reflect your availability based on the physical location you set, which can change throughout the day. 
Adding more flexibility to working locations in Google Calendar
Who’s impacted 
End users 

Why you’d use it 
Working from multiple locations is especially prevalent in a hybrid work environment where employees may work from home, an office, a specific building, or a combination. 

Additional details 
In addition, for those who have delegate access to someone’s Google Calendar, you can now fully edit the working locations for the entire day or for specific portions of the day for that calendar. This update is especially useful for people, such as executive assistants, that manage the calendars of others. 

Getting started 
  • Admins: Working location is ON by default and can be disabled at the domain or OU level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning working location on or off for users
  • End users: 
    • Unless disabled by your admin, the working location feature will be ON by default. To set a sub-day working location, select Working Location as an event type in Calendar > choose a location > Optional: Modify time, date, or recurrence by clicking on the time element > click Save. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting your working location and adding your working location for part of a day

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits 

Resources 

What’s changing
Earlier this year, we expanded the client-side encryption beta to Google Calendar on mobile to help customers strengthen the confidentiality of their data while helping address a broad range of data sovereignty and compliance requirements. Today, we’re happy to announce that client-side encryption for Google Calendar is now generally available on Android and iOS devices for eligible Workspace editions. 

When using client-side encryption for Calendar events, your event description, attachments, and Meet data is encrypted before it reaches Google servers. You have control over encryption keys and the identity service to access those keys. 
mobile Client-side encryption for Google Calendar

Who’s impacted 
Admins and end users 


Why it’s important 
Google Calendar uses strong cryptographic standards to encrypt all data at rest and in transit between its facilities. With client-side encryption, your organization has control of encryption keys and the identity provider (IdP) used to access those keys to further strengthen the security of your events data.

Client-side encryption helps you to create a stronger privacy posture, whether that’s to help your organization comply with regulations like ITAR and CJIS or simply to better protect the privacy of your confidential data. 

Getting started 
  • Admins: 
    • This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled at the domain, OU, and Group levels. Go to the Admin console > Security > Access and data control > Client-side encryption. Visit the Help Center to learn more about client-side encryption
    • If you have already configured CSE for Web, you will still need to add client IDs and redirect URLs for your Android and iOS clients in order for end users to access this feature on their mobile devices. 
  • End users: 
    • You will need to be logged in with your Identity Provider to have access to encrypted content. 
    • To add encryption to any event in Calendar, click on the shield icon at the top of the event creation card. This will add encryption to the event description and the Meet video conference, and enforce encryption on event attachments. Other items such as event title, time, and guests remain on standard encryption. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about client-side encryption in Calendar

Rollout pace 
Android:
  • This feature is available now.
iOS:

Availability 
  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers 

Resources 

What’s changing
In 2021, we introduced the option to reflect time set aside for focus in Google Calendar with the focus time entry type. When coupled with the do not disturb setting in Google Chat, users are able to protect their time for heads-down individual work without distractions. 

To increase concentration and bridge the gap between do not disturb and focus time, you can now mute notifications for the duration of your focus time directly in Calendar. 
Calendar Focus time integration with Chat DnD
Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: To mute Chat notifications when adding a Focus time Calendar entry, check the "Do not disturb" box. Visit the Help Center to learn more about using focus time in Google Calendar

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Business Standard, Business Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Nonprofits 

Resources 

What’s changing 
Available now in beta through our Developer Preview Program, you can write a user’s working location using the Calendar API. 


Using the API to write a Calendar user’s working location values can help you synchronize users' working location with third-party tools. You can easily update users’ working location based on: 
  • When they book a hot desk via a hot desk booking tool 
  • Schedule a trip via a travel booking tool 


Reading of working locations is already available through the Developer Preview Program. 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 
  • This feature is available now for all eligible Google Workspace editions. 

Availability 
All developers can use the API, however the working location feature is only available for eligible Workspace editions: 
  • 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

Resources 

What’s changing
In September 2022, we announced that we would be migrating Reminders from Google Calendar and Google Assistant to Google Tasks in order to create a single experience for managing to-dos across Google. Over the last several weeks, Google Workspace users had the opportunity to voluntarily migrate their reminders to Tasks. 


For Google Workspace users: If you have not already migrated your Reminders to Tasks, they will be migrated starting today. 


To help ensure a smooth transition, we’d like to remind admins and end users to: 


Admins: 
If you use a Google account for work or school: 
  • If you want a copy of your reminders data and Takeout is enabled for your organization, export your Reminders data before June 22, 2023. 
If you use a personal Google Account: 
  • If you haven’t already migrated, Assistant and Calendar reminders will begin to automatically migrate in June 2023. We’ll share more information on this timeline in a future update on the Workspace Updates blog. 
Availability 
  • This update impacts all Google Workspace Customers 
Resources 

What’s changing
When working across locations and time zones, calendar functionality is vital for you to connect effectively and meaningfully with others. Calendar Interoperability is the critical component to help ensure events created in one calendar system are accurately propagated for guests using different calendar systems. This allows you to productively schedule time and manage your schedule collaboratively, regardless of your calendaring platform. 

Today, we’re excited to announce recent improvements to Calendar Interoperability: 
  • Microsoft Outlook users who also have a Google Calendar with the same email address can receive Google Calendar invitations and RSVPs in Outlook. 
  • A default meeting reminder will be generated in Microsoft Outlook if the invitation was created in Google Calendar to help make sure guests using Outlook do not miss events. 
  • Non-Google Calendar recurring events will be more systematically and accurately updated in Google Calendar. 

Getting started 
  • Admins and end users: No action required. You’ll automatically see these updates. If you want to view availability of users in Microsoft Outlook and book rooms, visit the Help Center to learn more about Calendar Interop

Rollout pace 
  • This feature is available now for all users. 

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

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.


Providing greater visibility with additional Google Calendar statuses in Google Chat
Chat statuses now include even more information, such as: how much longer someone is in a meeting or focus time, if someone has an upcoming commitment within the next 10 minutes, and if someone has an upcoming out of office event within the next business day. Learn more about additional Google Calendar statuses in Google Chat.


Expanding upon Gmail security with BIMI
Users will now see a checkmark icon for senders who adopted Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) in Gmail. This will help users identify messages from legitimate senders versus impersonators. | Learn more about Gmail security with BIMI.


Manage all spaces in your organization through the Admin console
We've introduced a new section in the Admin console dedicated to managing spaces in Google Chat. Here, admins can see a list of all spaces in their domain, the members of those spaces, and take actions, such as adding members or changing a member role. | Learn more about managing all spaces in your organization through the Admin console.


Quote a previous message in Google Chat
We've introduced a new feature that allows you to quote a previous message when sending a reply in a direct message, group message, or space (if configured with in-line threading). | Learn more about quoting a previous message in Google Chat.

Turn access to Bard on or off for your users
Earlier this year, we announced Bard, an early experiment by Google that lets you collaborate with generative AI. In the coming days, Google Workspace admins will be able to turn access to Bard on for their users, in the Admin console under Apps > Additional Google services > Early Access Apps. | Learn more about turning access to Bard on or off for your users.

Completed rollouts

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


Rapid Release Domains:

Scheduled Release Domains:

What’s changing
Last year, we introduced the ability to see additional Google Calendar statuses like “In a meeting” or “In focus time” in Google Chat. Starting today, Chat statuses will include even more information, such as: 
  • How much longer someone is in a meeting or focus time 
  • If someone has an upcoming commitment within the next 10 minutes 
  • If someone has an upcoming out of office event within the next business day 
The Chat status will automatically disappear once you send a message to someone or you can manually dismiss it. However, if their status changes, an updated status will reappear. 


Additionally, you can see the current working location and local time zone set by your colleagues when sending a new message to them in Chat. 
Providing greater visibility with additional Google Calendar statuses in Google Chat
Who’s impacted 
Admins and end users 


Why you’d use it 
This feature gives you a better understanding of others’ availability, helping you plan when to reach out and collaborate. If someone is currently unavailable, you now have a more accurate picture of their response time. 


Additional details 
This feature will be rolling out to mobile devices in the coming months. 


Getting started 

Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

4 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.


Updates to image insertion in Google Sheets on Android 
You can now drag and drop or copy/paste an image into Google Sheets on Android as an over-grid image rather than an in-cell image. You’re also now able to convert over-grid images into in-cell images via the context menu. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for May 8, 2023. | Learn more about adding an image to a spreadsheet.
Updates to image insertion in Google Sheets on Android
Replace images quicker in Google Slides with new drag and drop feature
Previously, to replace an image in Google Slides, you could either use the menu toolbar or right-click on the image you wanted to replace and select “Replace image.” Starting this week, you’ll have the additional option to easily drag and drop images from anywhere to replace images in your Slides presentations. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for May 9, 2023. | Learn more about inserting or deleting images and videos
Replace images quicker in Google Slides with new drag and drop feature
Attach a document, spreadsheet, or presentation to a Google Calendar event directly from Meet in Docs, Sheets, and Slides
You can already share a file in a Google Meet chat when using Meet in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. With this launch, you can easily attach that file to the associated Google Calendar event, allowing meeting attendees to access the file more easily. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about using Google Meet with Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, & Jamboard


Add emoji reactions to existing comments in Google Docs
Last year, we introduced an emoji reaction feature that provides a less formal alternative to comments in Google Docs. We’re building upon this by giving you the ability to add emoji reactions to existing comments in Docs. This new feature increases collaboration by enabling you to quickly and creatively express your opinions about document content. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for May 3, 2023. | Learn more about using comments, action items, & emoji reactions
Add emoji reactions to existing comments in Google Docs



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 tool discovery in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
We’ve rolled out an enhanced tool finder at the top of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides to make it easier for users to discover commonly used tools and features. These refined tool-finding capabilities aim to help you quickly locate relevant features or functionality using your own words. | Learn more about enhanced tool discovery in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides


Full HD in Google Meet video calls
For select Google Workspace editions, you can set your Google Meet video resolution to 1080p. This resolution is available on the web when using a computer with a 1080p camera and enough computing power in meetings with two participants. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Plus, Enterprise Essentials and Frontline customers only. Also available to Google One subscribers with 2TB or more storage space with eligible devices. | Learn more about full HD in Google Meet video calls


Introducing additional smart chip functionality in Google Sheets
We’re expanding YouTube chips to Sheets to help you more easily manage YouTube content. You can also now insert multiple smart chips and text into a single cell using the @ menu. | Learn more about additional smart chip functionality in Google Sheets.


New Alert Center notifications for Apple push certificates
The Apple Push Notification Service (APNS) certificate is a critical component for advanced mobile management for iOS devices. This certificate expires yearly and requires manual renewal. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, The Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Education Fundamentals, Frontline, and Cloud Identity Premium customers only. | Learn more about new Alert Center notifications for Apple push certificates.


Set a custom time period for messages to automatically be deleted in Google Chat
For select Google Workspace editions, admins can now define a duration after which their users' messages in Google Chat will be deleted automatically. | Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about setting a custom time period for messages to automatically be deleted in Google Chat


Set Full HD in Google Meet live streams
For select Google Workspace editions, we’re adding 1080p as a resolution option for live streaming video, an increase from 720p. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Standard, Education Plus, and Teaching and Learning Upgrade customers only. | Learn more about full HD in Google Meet live streams.


Completed rollouts

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


What’s changing
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. If you've set your physical or virtual working location, there will be a default join method for your RSVP. 
Better location context for events and RSVPs in Gmail
Who’s impacted 
End users 


Why it’s important 
This feature aims to improve the way you and your colleagues utilize your planned working location for meetings and events, especially in a hybrid work environment. 


Getting started 
Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • 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 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Frontline, and legacy G Suite Basic customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources 

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 domainsScheduled 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:

What’s changing

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. Previously, we said this functionality would be available through a separate API. However, in order to provide a more streamlined experience, this functionality will be instead available in the Calendar API. 

Using the API to read a Calendar user’s working location values can help you:

  • Analyze the flow and volume of people through physical campuses, helping you adapt on-site resources to the needs of your employees.
  • Share whereabouts across other internal or third-party surfaces, making it easier to enable tasks such as hot desk booking or schedule in-office or remote working days.

We anticipate write support for the API to become available in Q3 2023 — we’ll share an update here on the Workspace Updates Blog at that time.

Getting started

Admins and Developers: 

Admins: 

Availability
While all developers will be able to use the API, the working location feature is only available for eligible Workspace editions:

  • 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 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Frontline, G Suite Basic customers 

Resources

What’s changing 
Since announcing the ability to share where you’re working from directly on Google Calendar, we’ve introduced features that enable better planning around in-person collaboration and meeting coordination, especially in a hybrid work environment. A few include: 

Today, we’re adding an update that helps you easily define your work location much quicker with suggested working locations based on your recent locations. 
Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • 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 
  • Not available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Frontline, and legacy G Suite Basic customers 
  • Not available to users with personal Google Accounts 

Resources