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What’s changing

Admins can now set client-side encryption (CSE) to be on by default for:

  • Newly created Gmail messages, Google Calendar events. 
  • Newly created Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files.
  • Newly uploaded Google Drive files.

Admins can set client-side encryption as default on for users in Organizational Units (OUs) that regularly handle sensitive data requiring additional encryption. This allows organizations the flexibility to meet their compliance and regulatory requirements and reduce the burden on change management programs. Users are prompted to create a CSE object natively in each app meaning their emails, events and files are encrypted by default with customer-managed keys and are private from Google. For organizations with strict regulatory or sovereignty needs, this can help them close compliance gaps by defaulting users to the preferred mode for handling sensitive data.  

Drive:


Gmail:

This is available on the web initially, with support coming for mobile apps in the future. 

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users


Why it matters

This feature is important for Google Workspace admins as it improves users compliance behavior without sacrificing productivity and increases control for admins implementing data control policies. It also includes improved audit logs, providing more detail for admins compiling regulatory compliance reports.

Workspace already uses the latest cryptographic standards to encrypt data by default, at rest and in transit between our facilities. Client-side encryption goes beyond this, giving organizations authoritative control and privacy as the sole owner of private encryption keys and the identity provider of the encryption keys. It gives organizations higher confidence that any third party, including Google and foreign governments, cannot access their confidential data. Users can continue to collaborate across their preferred apps in Workspace while IT and compliance teams can ensure that sensitive data stays compliant with regulations. 


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

What’s changing 
Starting December 8, 2023, admins can export Drive files hyperlinked in Gmail messages directly in Google Vault. When admins select “export linked Drive files”, Vault will look for Drive hyperlinks in the body of the emails being exported from Gmail. If Drive hyperlinks are found, a separate export of Drive files will also be created.


Toggle “Export linked Drive files” on or off



In the “Exports” tab, Drive exports will be grouped with their corresponding Gmail export — you can select the arrow icon to open the collapsible menu.






Admins will be able to find their exported hyperlinked Drive content nested under the corresponding Gmail export in the “Export” tab. Vault admins can find the association between the Gmail export and Drive link export in the export file names and metadata


Who’s impacted 
Admins 


Why it matters 
Vault is critical for retaining, holding, searching, and exporting users’ Google Workspace data. This update reduces the need for admins to manually find and extract Drive files hyperlinked in Gmail messages. 

Getting started 

Rollout pace 
Vault user interface updates 
API updates 

Availability 
  • Available to Google Workspace Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus customers or customers with the Vault add-on license

Resources 

What’s changing
Over the years, we’ve added features to Google Drive that help you more efficiently find files and folders. In October, we launched a new view in Google Drive that shows all pending access requests, recent comments, and approvals for files to help you quickly see recent activity and take action, all in one place. 

Today, we’re excited to introduce the latest series of changes that accelerate user productivity across new views in Drive. A new streamlined homepage for Drive called Home makes it easier and faster for you to find files that matter most. Specifically, you’ll notice: 

  • Personalized file and folder suggestions with machine learning algorithms that can help you get started quickly. These suggestions utilize a variety of signals, such as what files or folders you’ve recently opened, shared or edited, or what documents are attached to upcoming Calendar events. 
  • Filter chips to narrow down your search and find relevant files faster across Drive, making it easy to find suggested files by type, people, modified date or the location. 
  • A more modern design inline with Google Material Design 3 guidelines that helps you navigate across Drive much more efficiently.

Google Drive Home

Who’s impacted
End users 


Why you’d use it 
The new Google Drive Home page will make it easier and faster for you to find the files you need and collaborate with others. 


Additional details 
When you go to drive.google.com, instead of landing in ‘My Drive’ you will now be directed to ‘Home.’ If you would like to set your default to ‘My Drive,’ click on the “Change to My Drive” option in the banner on Home: 
“Change to My Drive”


Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: This feature will be ON by default and can be opted-out by the user. If a user chooses to opt-out, their default page will be My Drive. To opt-out, go to My Drive and click on the “Change to My Drive” option in the banner. 
Rollout pace 
  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on November 28, 2023 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on January 11, 2024 
Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
    • Note: The Drive Activity view is available to Google Workspace customers only
Resources 

What’s changing
For years, users have had the ability to scan physical documents, such as a receipt or passport, using the Google Drive app on Android devices. And earlier this year, we added additional functionality to recommend relevant title suggestions for scanned documents by leveraging machine learning. 

Today, we’re introducing additional enhancements to the Drive scanner on Android devices, which now powers the Google Pixel camera and includes improvements to the scanner experience when capturing content. Specifically, you’ll notice: 
  • Automatic capture to help you get the best scan quickly 
  • Camera viewfinder that helps you position your document for the highest quality scan 
  • The option to import from your camera roll 
  • A faster way to initialize a scan with a new scanner button 
Android Scanner

We’re also expanding the Google Drive scanner and title suggestion feature to iOS devices. Now, when using your iOS phone or tablet, you can easily scan and digitally organize physical documents, crop them if needed, and receive relevant title suggestions based on machine learning. 
iOS Scanner


Getting started
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • Open the Drive app on your Android device > scan a document via the camera icon or scan a document via the Scan button under the “+” icon > assess/adjust the automatic cropping > scan multiple pages in a session (if needed) > apply filters > save to Drive. 
    • Open the Drive app on your iOS device > scan a document via the camera icon or scan a document via the Scan button under the “+” icon > > scan multiple pages in a session (if needed) > click on scan to apply filters or crop as needed > save to Drive. 
    • Note: Title suggestions are only available in the US. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about scanning documents with Google Drive. 

Rollout pace
iOS: 
Android: 
  •  This feature is now available 
Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
Resources 

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.


Enhancing Google Drive usability on large screen Android devices 
Building upon improvements to the Google Workspace experience on large screen Android devices, we’re excited to announce additional enhancements that bring our tablet experience more inline with our web experience. Specifically, you'll notice: 
  • Above the main doclist, users will now see a tappable folder hierarchy for their current view. This allows a user to keep track of where they are in Drive and easily navigate out of nested folders. 
  • Per-file data columns to show when a file was last modified and how much storage is used by each file. 
  • A color palette that matches the Google Material Design 3 guidelines. 
Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for November 27th, 2023. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more about using Google Drive
Enhancing Google Drive usability on large screen Android devices
Expanding Google Drive log events to additional Google Workspace editions 
Drive log events, a feature that enables admins to access an audit and investigation page to run searches related to Drive log events, is now available for Google Workspace Cloud Identity Free and Cloud Identity Premium editions. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at an extended pace (potentially longer than 30 days for feature visibility). | Learn more about Drive log events


Easily convert hyperlinked text to smart chips using the tab key in Google Sheets 
Building upon the tab to convert feature in Google Sheets, when your hyperlinked text matches the text of a smart chip in Sheets, you will now be prompted to convert an inserted file, people, calendar event, Youtube or place link into a smart chip. For example, if the hyperlinked text is a file name, Sheets will automatically recommend converting it to a file chip. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at a gradual pace (up to 15 days for feature visibility). | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more about inserting smart chips in Google Sheets
Easily convert hyperlinked text to smart chips using the tab key in Google Sheets
More languages available for Google Meet captions 
You can now use captions in Google Meet in Finnish & Hebrew. You can use captions to view subtitles as everyone speaks during a meeting — captions are only visible to you. Note that because this is a newly supported language, it will be denoted with a “beta” tag as we continue to optimize performance. See our Help Center for a complete list of supported languages for captions in Meet. We’ve also removed the “beta” tag from the following languages, as they have been validated and are out of beta: 
  • English (UK) 
  • French (Canada) 
  • Thai 
  • Vietnamese 
  • Polish 
  • Romanian 
  • Turkish 
Available now to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about using captions 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.



Take action on Google Drive requests and comments directly in Google Chat 
You can now collaborate more easily on Docs, Sheets and Slides comments without ever leaving Chat. | Learn more about Drive comments and requests in Chat.

AppSheet smart chips for Google Docs 
You can now insert smart chips for AppSheet content into documents, allowing you to access AppSheet data directly into Docs. | Learn more about AppSheet smart chips

View full screen tasks lists on Google Calendar 
You will now be able to see all your tasks and task lists in a single full screen view on Calendar web. | Learn more about full screen tasks lists in Calendar

Star important messages in Google Chat 
Following the recent announcement of home and mentions in Google Chat, we’re excited to introduce starred on web, an additional shortcut in the redesigned navigation panel that helps you stay on top of your most important messages in Chat. | Learn more about starring messages in Chat.

Read and write out of office and focus time events using the Calendar API
In addition to reading and writing working location data, we’re expanding the Calendar API functionality to encompass out of office and focus time data. | Learn more about using the Calendar API.

Improved search query suggestions in Google Chat web
In conjunction with recent updates to search in Google Chat, we’re introducing enhanced search query suggestions, a feature already available on mobile, that helps you find the right message, person, file, or space in Chat on the web. | Learn more about searching in 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).



  

What’s changingCurrently, you can use the Google Drive Chat app to get read-only notifications in Chat about activity in Drive, such as comments and share requests. Starting today, we’re adding the following improvements:
  • Reply to and resolve comments in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides directly from Chat 
  • Show more of the comment thread so you can have more context while replying 
  • @mention your colleagues easily while replying to comments 
With these updates, you can collaborate more easily on Docs, Sheets and Slides without ever leaving Chat.
Take action on Google Drive requests and comments directly in Google Chat


Getting started 

Rollout pace 

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

Resources 

What’s changing
We’re updating the homepage of the Google Drive mobile app on Android and iOS mobile devices to help you more easily find the right file much faster. 

An updated suggested view will allow you to see even more recommended files at once, such as those that have been recently opened, shared or edited. 

The Suggested view
Suggested view

In addition, we’re replacing the notifications view with activity view, which recently launched on web. Here you can see items that need your attention such as pending access requests, recent comments, and awaiting approvals, all in one place. 

The Activity view

activity view


Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. If you do not want to use the home tab, the app will simply open up on whatever tab you last used, such as Shared or Files. 

Rollout pace 
Android: 
iOS: 

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

What’s changing
We’re adding a new filter to Google Drive that lets you see which files or folders have been shared with specific people or groups. 

Whether you’re trying to share a file with more audiences or reduce oversharing, this feature will give you greater visibility into who has access to files within and outside of your organization. 
Filter by people or groups in Google Drive

Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. The groups that appear in the People filter are based on the target audiences set up at the domain level by admins.  
  • End users: 
    • To find files shared with a person or group in drive.google.com: 
      • Navigate to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent
      • Click on “People” filter
      • Search for a person or group who the files are shared with in the filter
      • Select “Shared with”
      • View the filtered list of files
    • To find files shared outside of your organization: 
      • Navigate to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent
      • Click on “People” filter
      • Select “External users”
      • View the filtered list of files
    • To find files you own that are shared with a specific person or group: 
      • Navigate to My Drive, Shared drives, Shared with me, or Recent
      • Click on “People” filter
      • Search for yourself and select “Owner”
      • Click on “People” filter
      • Search for a person or group who the files are shared with in the filter
      • View the filtered list of files
Rollout pace 

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

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.


Adding a two-page view for PDFs in the Google Drive app on large screen Android devices 
You can now flip between a single page width view or a newly added two-page width view when scrolling through a PDF using the Google Drive app on your Android tablet or foldable device. This side by side view of the PDF will resemble a book, providing a better viewing experience on large screen Android devices. | Available now to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.
Adding a two-page view for PDFs in the Google Drive app on large screen Android devices


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.



Changes to YouTube player embedded within Google Workspace for Education services 
We are removing a previous feature while we evaluate performance and quality. As an immediate next step, if you updated your allowlist or blocklist to include "www.youtube.com", you’ll need to revert your allowlist/blocklist to include "www.youtube.com" as soon as possible to preserve the way your organization uses YouTube videos within Google Workspace for Education services. | This impacts Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade | Learn more about changes to YouTube player embedded within Google Workspace for Education services


Introducing an updated and more inclusive emoji picker in Gmail 
You can now access a more complete emoji selection and set emoji skin tone and gender preferences with the modernized emoji picker in the web version of Gmail. | Learn more about emojis in Gmail


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: 

What’s changing 
Google Chrome and other browsers have begun phasing out third-party cookies in order to better protect user privacy. Starting January 2, 2024, Drive will start serving downloads without requiring third-party cookies that are embedded on third-party websites. This is separate from downloading files from Drive.

If you have specific workflows in place that rely on Drive’s download URLs or use an app which relies on Drive’s download URLs, you’ll need to switch to the Drive and Docs publishing flows by January 2, 2024. Specific instructions are below. 


Who’s impacted
Admins, end users and developers 


Why it’s important 
Serving downloads without requiring third-party cookies will work to improve usability, security, and privacy for Drive users. 


Additional details
Learn more about how to audit your code to look for third-party cookies and what action you can take to ensure you're all set for the end of third-party cookies here


Getting started
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users and developers: 
    • Use an iframe (HTML element that loads another HTML page within the document) on your website to load the content. You can do this by going to the file in Drive and taking the next relevant step: 
      • For Workspace files (Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms file types) use the Google Docs publishing URL of the file. 
      • For other files, once opened in Drive, select “Open in new window” from the overflow menu, and then open the overflow menu and select “Embed item…”, which provides the iframe HTML tag. 
Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • This impacts all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts 
 
Resources 

What’s changing
We’re rolling out a new view in Google Drive that shows all pending access requests, recent comments, and approvals for files to help you quickly see recent activity and take action, all in one place. 


This new view will become a standalone page that’s accessible from the left hand navigation panel within Drive. 
New view in Google Drive shows recent activity in one place
Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users
    • Navigate to drive.google.com > click on “Activity” in the left-hand navigation: 
      • Click on “Manage access” to take action on your pending access requests. This will not appear if pending access requests do not exist. 
      • If you have pending approvals assigned to you, they will appear in the “Approvals” section. 
        • Click on “Review” to take action on your pending approvals. 
      • If you have comment-related activity in the last 30 days, you will see them in the “Comments” section. Click on “Open comment” to take action on your pending comments. 
        • Comments notifications appear if you are 1) subscribed to notifications, 2) participating in the specific comment thread, or 3) mentioned in a comment within that file. 

Rollout pace 
  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on October 5, 2023 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on October 30, 2023 

Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers 

Resources 

What’s changing
We’re adding the option to lock Drive files by right-clicking the file, selecting “File information”, and clicking “Lock”. Locking a file makes sure reviewers can’t change a file. Edits, comments and suggestions can't be added to locked documents. 

This update simplifies and streamlines the process of restricting files in Drive, which was previously only available through the Google Drive API or through file approvals
Lock files more easily in Google Drive
Getting started
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
  • End users: 
    • In order to lock a Drive file, you must have edit-access to the Drive file. 
    • When hovering over a file in Drive, right-click into the context menu and choose “File information” > “Lock”> confirm that you actually want to lock the document by selecting “Lock”. 
      • Once locked, no one can make edits to the Doc until it is unlocked. 
      • You can unlock a file through the context menu as well. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about getting approvals on files in Google Drive

Rollout pace 
Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers 
Resources 

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.


Adding bulk conversion for place chips in Google Sheets
Earlier this year, we introduced a smart canvas feature that enables you to open a location directly in Google Maps and see a preview of the location or find directions when a Google Maps place chip is added to your Sheet. Starting this week, users can now convert links to place chips in bulk from the insert menu or cell menu. This time-saving update is especially helpful when formatting data in bulk for event schedules, vendor lists, trip itineraries, etc. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains at an extended pace (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility). | Learn more about inserting smart chips in your Google Sheets
Adding bulk conversion for place chips in Google Sheets
Easily set up dropdown chips in Google Sheets with a new pre-fill feature 
If you select a range of cells then insert a dropdown chip, manually entered cell data will convert to pre-fill the dropdown values. You can then use the dropdown sidebar to easily adjust the options or add styles to the dropdowns before accepting. | Learn more about creating a dropdown list with existing data
Easily set up dropdown chips in Google Sheets with a new pre-fill feature
Reorganizing the file and folder menu in Google Drive
Earlier this year, we introduced a refreshed interface for Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, and Google Slides. Building upon this, when right-clicking a file or folder in Drive, you will now see a new menu format. While the menu functionality remains the same, we’ve reordered and renamed menu items, and also added new sub-menus. 
Reorganizing the right-click menu format in Google Drive

Updated timeline for upgrading to the in-line threaded experience in Google Chat 
Earlier this year, we announced that existing spaces organized by conversation topic will be upgraded to the new in-line threaded experience by Q4 2023. We’d like to provide an update on that timing: 
  • The upgrade will start in September 2023 and is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2024. 
Ahead of the upgrade, Google Workspace admins, partners, and resellers will receive an email with more information about what to expect before any changes are made to their experience. For more information, please refer to our previous 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.


Simplify lesson planning with shareable class templates and classwork with new Google Classroom beta 
We’re excited to announce a Google Classroom beta that will simplify lesson planning with others and make classroom materials more accessible. | Available to Education Plus only. | Learn more about the new Google Classroom beta

Updates for exporting your organization’s data 
Google Workspace customers can choose to export the data of a specific user, rather than a customer’s full set of user generated content. Additionally, you’ll notice an improved user interface for the data export tool, which provides more detailed information about exports, records a longer history of exports, and offers more features (filtered takeout). | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and Assured Controls customers only. | Learn more about exporting your organization’s data

Review suggested hints, add your own resources, and more for practice sets in Google Classroom We’ve announced an update that gives teachers more control over the resources for students in practice sets. | Available to Google Workspace for Education Plus and Google Workspace for Education Teaching and Learning Upgrade only. | Learn more about practice sets in Google Classroom

Expanding branding and customization capabilities in Google Slides and Google Forms 
Users now have access to a domain template with a variety of branded slides, layouts, images, colors and fonts that will appear when creating a new presentation in Slides. They also have access to a domain theme including fonts, branded colors and a header image that you can use when creating a new form or editing an existing form in Forms. | Available to Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus only. | Learn more about default templates & themes

Adding Gmail translation to mobile devices 
There is now a native translation integration within the Gmail mobile app that will enable you to seamlessly communicate in a wide range of languages. | Learn more about translating on mobile devices in Gmail

Google Keep integration with Assistant available to all Google Workspace users 
If you’re using the Google Assistant with your Google Workspace device, you can set Google Keep as the default provider for your notes and lists. You can ask Assistant to create a new list, add or delete items for an existing list, or read back all the list items to you. | Learn more about the Google Keep integration with Assistant

Introducing eSignature for Google Docs and Google Drive: launching to open beta for Workspace Individual subscribers, launching to beta for Google Workspace customers 
eSignature is now available as an open beta for Google Workspace Individual subscribers — no additional sign-up is required to use the feature. eSignature will be available in beta for select Google Workspace customers — see the “Additional details” section below for more information. | Eligible for beta: Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Education Plus, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about eSignatures in Google Docs

Gallery view for Zoom interoperability on Google Meet hardware 
We’re now introducing support for Zoom’s Gallery view, which makes much better use of screen real estate and allows more participants to be seen on screen at the same time. | Available for all Google Meet hardware customers. | Learn more about Zoom interoperability for Google Meet hardware devices

Add annotations to your presentations in Google Slides 
There is a feature that lets you highlight or emphasize key content while you present in Google Slides. With the new pen tool, you can circle, underline, draw connections or make quick notes directly on your presentation. | Learn more about annotations in Google Slides

Set Context Aware Access policies for 1P & 3P applications to access Workspace APIs
Admins can now use context-aware access to block users' access to Workspace Applications via other Google (1st party) & non Google (3rd party) applications. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Cloud Identity Premium customers. | Learn more about Context Aware Access policies.


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: 

What’s changing 
In June 2022, we began alpha testing the ability to request and capture eSignatures in Google Docs. Based on the feedback we received, we’re ready to move this feature to the next level: 
  • eSignature is now available as an open beta for Google Workspace Individual subscribers — no additional sign-up is required to use the feature. 
  • eSignature will be available in beta for select Google Workspace customers — see the “Additional details” section below for more information.
eSignature in Google Drive

eSignature in Google Docs





Who’s impacted
Admins and end users


Why you’d use it
For solopreneurs and small businesses, keeping track of contracts, customer agreements, and other binding documents can be challenging. To help streamline this workflow, we’re natively integrating eSignature in Google Docs, allowing you to request and add Signatures to official contracts, directly in Google Docs. 

eSignature makes it easier to:
  • Quickly request signatures, see the status of pending signatures, and find completed contracts.
  • Sign an official contract right from Google Drive without having to switch apps or tabs.
  • Create a new copy of the contract for each request so that you can use your document as a template and initiate multiple eSignatures requests. 

Additional details
Later this year, we will introduce support for the following new eSignature capabilities:
  • Audit trail: all completed contracts will automatically contain an audit trail report.
  • Multi-signer: the ability to request a signature from more than one user.
  • Non-Gmail users: the ability to request an eSignature from non-Gmail users
  • Initiating eSignature on PDF: the ability to initiate an eSignature on PDF files stored in Drive

Beta availability for Google Workspace customers
Select Google Workspace editions (see the “Availability” section below) can apply to beta test eSignature using this form. This feature will be available as part of a larger beta, which includes access to new custom email layouts in Gmail. These new email layouts allow users to customize existing templates, reuse a custom layout in multiple email campaigns, or create a brand new layout from scratch. Once you sign up for the beta you will see the eSignature and new Gmail features in the coming weeks.


Getting started

Rollout pace
  • eSignature for Workspace Individual users
    • Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 8, 2023
  • eSignature beta for Workspace customers:
    • We will be accepting beta applications and allowlisting customers over the next several weeks.

Availability
  • Available to Google Workspace individual subscribers
  • Eligible for beta: Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus and Education Plus


Resources

6 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.

Empty the entire trash folder of shared drives in Google Drive
In order to make it easier to manage shared drive files and eliminate the manual effort of removing items in the trash folder, we’ve added the ability to empty the entire trash folder of a shared drive. As a reminder, files and folders in Trash are deleted forever after 30 days. You can also delete files in Trash by selecting “Delete Forever”.

Linkable headings now available in Google Docs
To improve shareability of documents, especially longer ones, we’re adding the ability to copy links to headings in Google Docs. Simply, open a Google Doc on web > add a heading (type some content and set to “Heading 1”) > right-click the heading > click the “Copy heading link” button > paste the contents. 
Linkable headings now available in Google Docs
People chips in Google Sheets now available on mobile devices 
In 2021, we introduced people chips in Google Sheets. These chips allow you to quickly view more information about colleagues or contacts, including their location, job title, and contact information. We’re excited to announce that these smart chips are now available on iOS and Android devices. | Learn more about inserting smart chips in your Google Sheets
People chips in Google Sheets now available on mobile devices
Adding drag & drop to Google Drive multi-instance support on large screen Android devices
Earlier this year, we added the option for a single user to have two instances of the Google Drive app open side-by-side on a single device, which shows content from two different Google Accounts. Starting this week, you can now drag and drop between two instances of the Drive app, enabling you to quickly share files and folders between two different accounts. | Learn more about using Google Drive
Adding drag & drop to multi-instance support on the Google Drive Android app

Insert emojis into Google Sites 
You can now create more engaging content on Google Sites with the new option to insert emojis directly into text boxes and headings. Simply, create or open a Site > click any textbox and the emoji button will be visible in the toolbar > select the emoji button > choose an emoji. 
Insert emojis into Google Sites

Paste HTML into document on iOS 
Last month, we announced the ability to paste copied HTML elements into a document on Android. We’re excited to announce that this functionality is now available on iOS devices.

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.

Bringing Collaborations in Canvas to Google Assignments 
We’re introducing a new feature exclusively for Canvas that allows users to create a Drive item and collaborate on it with other users in the course. | Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade only. | Learn more about the collaborative power of Google Workspace for Education to Canvas. 

Import and convert sensitive Excel files into client-side encrypted Google Sheets 
Launching in open beta, you can now import and convert sensitive Excel files into Google Sheets with client-side encryption. Your encrypted Excel file won’t be changed, even as you change the encrypted Sheets file. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about client-side encrypted Google Sheets

Google Classroom now supports grade export to Skyward Qmlativ 
Google Classroom teachers can now export their grades to Skyward Qmlativ, a third-party Student Information System (SIS) that helps education teams simplify student and business data management, and complete administrative tasks faster. | Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, and the Teaching and Learning Upgrade only. | Learn more about grade export to Skyward Qmlativ

Q&A moderation now available for Google Meet 
Meeting hosts can now enable Q&A moderation, which will allow hosts to review and approve questions before they’re shared with meeting attendees. Question moderation can be used for meetings and in-domain live streams, on web and mobile devices. | Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about Q&A moderation for Google Meet

More granular control for Google Forms 
We’re introducing a new toggle in the Admin console that adds controls for who can access Google Forms features and services. When disabled, end users cannot create, edit or respond to Google Forms. | Learn more about Google Forms controls.


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: