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What’s changing 
Last year, we announced that developers could use the Google Chat API to programmatically create new spaces and add members to those spaces through the Google Workspace Developer Preview Program. 

Today, those features are generally available for all Google Workspace developers, along with the ability to use Chat API to: 


Who’s impacted

Admins and developers


Why you’d use it 
These features enable developers to build solutions that integrate into workflows and pull contextual data right into the conversation. Using the new API functionalities, you can set up new spaces that focus on a specific topic, team, or project. You can also use the new APIs to encourage collaboration and outreach with users in your organization. For example, LumApps, a leading intranet platform, enables you to start a direct message in Google Chat from its user directory. Those who are trying to find others based on job titles, roles, departments, and other attributes, can quickly start messaging each other.




Additional details

To ensure you are aware that a Chat application has performed an action on behalf of a user, Chat web and mobile apps will display the app name for system messages and Chat messages. 




Getting started

  • Admins: Admins can use the API controls in Admin Console if they want to restrict access to Google Chat data.
  • Developers: Access the new Chat APIs through the Google Chat API. 


Rollout pace


  • This feature is now available.

Availability

  • Available to all Google Workspace customers.
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5 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. 


Improved media viewing on Android devices in Google Chat 
We’re introducing a new media viewer in Google Chat on Android devices that significantly improves the media browsing experience. Now, media thumbnails open faster in full screen, repeat playback is quicker, and you can swipe between all of the media in the conversation. We've also added a shared media option that allows users to quickly browse through all media shared in a Chat conversation, which is accessible from the conversation as well as from the full-screen view of every media item. | Learn more about sending & sharing files in Google Chat messages.




Extending long running queries within Connected Sheets
Currently, we timeout any queries that take longer than 5 minutes for Connected Sheets. This week, we extended the timeout time from 5 minutes to 10 minutes for BigQuery and Looker. This means Connected Sheets users will be able to analyze data from queries that scan even larger data sets in Sheets.  


Filter by measures and value in a pivot table with Connected Sheets for Looker
Previously, Connected Sheets users could filter by dimensions in pivot tables, but not measures. Now, Looker users are able to filter by measures in a pivot table, which allows for even more targeted analysis on Connected Sheets. Additionally, Looker users will be able to filter by value in a pivot table on Connected Sheets. | Learn more about measure types on Looker and creating & using pivot tables. 


Add emojis in Google Sheets
Emojis are a great way for people to express themselves across Google Workspace. We’re excited to announce that you can now insert emojis into a Google Sheet by:
  • Typing “@” > “Emoji” > select the desired emoji
  • Going to “Insert” > “Emoji” > select the desired emoji



Scale meetings to 1,000 attendees, with 500 attendees being viewers, now available for Google Workspace Education Plus
In June 2023, we announced viewer mode for Google Meet. For certain Google Workspace editions, viewer mode can be used to scale their meetings to 1,000 attendees, with 500 attendees being viewers. We’re now expanding this functionality to Google Workspace Education Plus customers. | Learn more about scaling meetings with viewer mode.


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.


Add hyperlinks to text in Google Chat
You can now hyperlink text on web and Android when composing or editing a message in Google Chat. This update also includes the ability to copy over hyperlinks from other places like Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides. | Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts. | Learn more about adding hyperlinks to text in Chat.


Paid appointment bookings now available in Google Calendar
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. | 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 only. | Learn more about paid appointment bookings in Google Calendar.


Negotiate time directly in Gmail to schedule meetings faster
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. | Learn more about scheduling meetings 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:
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What’s changing 
You can now hyperlink text on web and Android when composing or editing a message in Google Chat. This update also includes the ability to copy over hyperlinks from other places like Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Slides. We hope this highly requested feature helps your messages look cleaner, more compact and easier to read. 




Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • To hyperlink your text, click on the link icon in the rich text formatting toolbar and enter the URL. 
    • Tip: Users on web can use the familiar keyboard shortcut (⌘+K on MacOS and Ctrl+K on ChromeOS & Windows) to hyperlink text. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about adding formatting to your Google Chat messages.


Rollout pace 

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



Easily convert email addresses and links into smart chips using the tab key in Google Sheets 
You will now have the option to insert a link and press the tab key to convert the link into a smart chip in Google Sheets. Access this feature when you copy and paste email addresses or links to Google Drive files, Google Maps places, or Youtube videos into a Sheet. | Learn more about inserting smart chips in your Google Sheets. 
Easily convert email addresses and links into smart chips using the tab key in Google Sheets

Revamping the "First Open Experience" in Docs on Android foldable and tablet devices
Last week, we announced  a more creation-focused experience when first opening the Sheets and Slides apps on Android devices. We’re extending this to the Docs app, which will now start in edit mode for foldable and tablet devices. Additionally, the formatting toolbar will be more visible, you will see an I-beam cursor, and tapping once exposes an on-screen keyboard unless a physical keyboard is attached.
Revamping the "First Open Experience" in Docs on 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.


Pin links to the top of the navigation bar in the Admin console 
Admins can now pin up to five links to the top of the left-hand navigation menu. This is particularly helpful if there are areas of the admin console you navigate to more than others, helping to save clicks and navigate to relevant pages faster. | Learn more about the top of the navigation bar in the Admin console. 

Customize error messages for Google Chat data loss prevention rules, available in open beta 
For new and existing data protection rules for Google Chat, you can now customize the message shown to users when a message is blocked or intercepted. Previously, the message would be a standard warning, shared for all cases. Now, you can provide more context for users, including what they can do to unblock themselves or links to additional resources. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching & Learning Upgrade, and Frontline Standard customers only. | Learn more about customized error messages for Google Chat data loss prevention rules.

Client-side encryption for Google Calendar is now generally available on mobile 
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. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about client-side encryption for Google Calendar on mobile. 

Adding more flexibility to working locations in Google Calendar 
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. | 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 only. | Learn more about adding your working location for part of a day.

Completed rollouts

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


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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 
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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 
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What’s changing 
For new and existing data protection rules for Google Chat, you can now customize the message shown to users when a message is blocked or intercepted. Previously, the message would be a standard warning, shared for all cases. Now, you can provide more context for users, including what they can do to unblock themselves or links to additional resources. 


This feature is available as an open beta, which means admins can use it without enrolling in a specific beta program. Note that this feature is only available on the web, mobile users will continue to see the standard warning. 


Who’s impacted 
Admins and end users 



Why it’s important 
Data loss prevention rules are built into the Workspace platform, performing checks in real time to help keep employees and their data safe as they go about their work. Beyond enforcement of these rules, creating user awareness is critical in the overall understanding and adoption of safety best practices. 


Providing a more detailed explanation for why their message has been intercepted or blocked helps users understand how to unblock themselves and more safely accomplish their task. More detailed explanations might include sharing links for more info on safety best practices, how to re-work their messages to be more secure, and more. Additionally, if you’re using data loss prevention rules to warn users against sharing certain information across Chat, you can customize the message to inform your users of the risks before they proceed. 


For more information on data loss prevention for Google Chat, refer to the Help Center, our original announcement, as well as the announcement made at Google Cloud Next 2022.


Getting started 
  • Admins: This feature will be OFF by default and can be customized per rule at the domain, Organizational Unit (OU), or group level. When creating a rule, in Step 4: Actions, under “User Message”, select “customize message”.




Visit the Help Center to learn more about preventing data leaks from Chat messages & attachments.

  • End users: There is no end user action required. Depending on your admin settings, you’ll see more detailed information if you’re trying to send a Google Chat message that meets conditions defined in a data loss prevention rule.


Rollout pace


Availability

  • Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching & Learning Upgrade, and Frontline Standard customers. 
  • DLP for Chat is also available to Cloud Identity Premium users who are also licensed for Workspace editions that include Google Chat and Audit and investigation. Visit the Help Center for more information. 

Resources


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What’s changing 
The left-hand navigation column in the Admin console gives admins the ability to quickly browse through and navigate to key pages within the admin console. To further improve this experience, admins can now pin up to five links to the top of the left-hand navigation menu. This is particularly helpful if there are areas of the admin console you navigate to more than others, helping to save clicks and navigate to relevant pages faster. 



Getting started 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers 

Resources 

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