Google Workspace Updates: October 2014

Deprecated Google Calendar APIs (v1, v2) shutting down on November 17th, 2014

Friday, October 31, 2014

As initially announced in November 2011, and reiterated in June of this year, the older versions (v1, v2) of the Google Calendar API will be shut down on November 17, 2014.

Any service dependent on v1 or v2 of the Google Calendar API will no longer work as intended. Developers should ensure any relevant services are utilizing v3 of the Google Calendar API prior to the shut down.

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Notification re: Google Talk app for Windows replacement

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Late last year, we announced that the Google Talk app for Windows was being retired. Soon, people using the Google Talk client for Windows will start seeing the following notification within the application: Google Talk app for Windows is no longer supported. It is being replaced by the new Hangouts Chrome app. Install the Hangouts app from http://goo.gl/yglfk6.

Please note, the Hangouts chat service must be enabled in the Admin console.

The Google Talk app for Windows will continue to work for approximately two months before being turned off completely. We will post a follow up notification within the application prior to the shut down. The Google Talk service is still available through Gmail.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Help Center

Download the Hangouts Chrome app

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Enhanced Google Admin app for Android

Thursday, October 30, 2014

The Google Admin app for Android allows super admins to manage their Google for Work products on the go with their Android phones and tablets. The app can be used to manage users and groups, contact support, view audit logs, check notifications and do other common administrative tasks. We’ve launched an update to the app, including the following new features:

Optional 4-digit PIN that works across devices: We’ve added an optional and convenient 4-digit PIN to secure access to the app. You can use the same PIN while logging into the app from any device.
Ability to switch between multiple accounts: Admins who manage multiple domains can now do so from the app without logging out and logging in
Accessibility compliance: The app is now accessibility compliant on all primary flows and use cases
New icons and other fixes: The app now features new sharper icons; several bugs have been fixed

Note that this app works for super admins only and requires API access to be enabled. Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release For more information:

Get the Google Admin app for Android

Help Center

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Notification in older spreadsheets of upcoming migration to new Google Sheets

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Starting next week, people using older spreadsheets (those created prior to Dec 2013, including any subsequent copies) in Google Apps domains on the Rapid release track will see a notification about an upcoming auto-migration to the new version of Google Sheets. They will be directed to the Help Center to learn more.

The actual migration won’t start for another 2-3 weeks, and no action is required as a result of the migration. No data should be affected; however, in rare cases the results of some formulas and some other features may be slightly different. See "What's different in the new Sheets?" in the Help Center article for more detailed information.

You can tell what version your spreadsheet is in by checking to see if there is a green checkmark at the bottom right of your spreadsheet (the checkmark is found on new Sheets only).

Release track:

Rapid release; the notification will be shown to Scheduled release domains closer to the actual migration date

For more information:

New version of the Google Drive app for Android

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

A new version of the Google Drive Android app is coming to Google Play. The launch includes:

New Design: The new interface, leveraging some of the Material Design principles recently announced, puts your content front and center and makes creating, uploading and accessing it easier than ever.
Improved Search: The search tool makes it easy to find the content you’re looking for by updating results as you type each letter into the search box.
Better Sharing: Add a custom message when you share a file so your collaborators know why you sent it. You can also turn on link sharing to make the file “public” and set access to view, comment, or edit. This automatically copies the link to the clipboard and allows you to paste it wherever you want.
Enhanced PDF Viewer: A new PDF viewer lets you find, select and copy text in PDFs, and it’s built right into Drive so you don’t need to launch another app.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release (gradual rollout)

For more information:

Google for Work Blog post

Get the Google Drive App on Google Play

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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New features added to the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Android apps

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Several new features are now available in the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Android apps, including:

Incoming items view

Similar to the one in Drive today, and recently added for iOS, a new Incoming view has been added to the navigation panel, granting quick access to files that have been shared

Make a copy of Google documents, spreadsheets, and presentations

Extending the functionality available on the web, it’s now possible to make copies of Google file types on the go

Usability and accessibility improvements

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

G+ Post

Get the Docs, Sheets, and Slides Android apps on Google Play

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Unlimited Drive storage for Google Apps for Education

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

As initially announced last month, this week we’ll be rolling out unlimited Drive storage to all Google Apps for Education schools at no charge.

Stay tuned for future updates on Google Apps Vault and enhanced auditing tools coming later this year to Google Apps for Education.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Google for Education Blog post

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Add-ons for Google Forms

Thursday, October 23, 2014

In the spirit of giving you even more flexibility and customization, we’re launching add-ons for Google Forms--new tools, created by developer partners, that bring even more features to your surveys (just like add-ons for Docs and Sheets).

Check out the growing list of available add-ons, several of which are particularly relevant for education, from the “Add-ons” menu in Forms, or by directly visiting the Forms add-ons store.

If you have already disabled add-ons for your ___domain in the Admin console, Forms add-ons will be defaulted off. To change this setting, click on Google Apps -> Drive > General Settings and check/un-check the “Allow users to install Google Docs add-ons” box.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Google for Education blog post

Forms add-on store

Manage revisions for non-Google files in the new Google Drive

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

As available with the classic version of Google Drive, we’ve now incorporated the option to view and manage versions for non-Google file formats in the new Google Drive.

Simply right-click on a non-Google file (or click on it and use the ‘More Actions’ menu in the toolbar), and select ‘Manage versions.’

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Incoming items view added to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on iOS

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

People using the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps for iPhone and iPad will now see a new Incoming view added to the navigation panel, similar to the one in Drive today, granting quick access to files that have been shared with them. As with other available views, by touching the menu button next to a file in Incoming they can perform a number of actions, including:

Share
Download
Move to a folder in Drive
Print
Remove

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Help Center

G+ Post

Get the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides iOS apps

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Aggregate reports added to Admin console reporting

Monday, October 20, 2014

We have added a new feature to Admin console reporting called aggregate reports. The aggregate reports are designed to provide ___domain-level trends across multiple apps and allows admins to select their favorite reports for regular tracking.

The first version contains a series of charts displaying Google+ Hangouts usage, account status, admin status, storage quota, document visibility, email count, and Drive file count for all people within your Google Apps ___domain.

These new reports are best used for seeing overview trends. The user-level reports should be used for detailed user-level data. Admins can easily export the report directly to a Google Sheet or download it as CSV.

We will soon be adding many more reports to this section like usage trends for mobile, mail spam reports and many others so stay tuned.

To access the aggregate reports, sign in to the Admin console and click Reports > Aggregate Reports.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Time-based triggers now in add-ons

Friday, October 17, 2014

Building on the recent launch of installable triggers for add-ons, time-based triggers can now be used as well. Time-based triggers let scripts execute at a particular time or on a recurring interval, as frequently as once per hour in add-ons.

Take a look at our trigger documentation for more information.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

G+ post

Developer documentation

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Improvements to email log search in Admin console

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Email log search gives admins the ability to sift through the delivery logs for their domains and evaluate message transit. This is useful for tracking down a sender or recipient's missing messages, such as those that have been quarantined as spam or otherwise routed incorrectly. Admins also use this tool to determine the IP addresses sending and receiving mail or troubleshoot how policies affect mail flow.

Today we’re launching several improvements to email log search, including:

Displaying compliance rule executions
Allowing export of log search results to Google Sheets

Note: the export/download button has moved from above and below the search results to the upper right of the screen (see screenshot below)

Correct list expansion when the sender or recipient changes

Note: Admins should anticipate seeing more details appear in messages where information changes during the lifecycle of a message

Improving visibility of message transit time

Time is now shown per recipient on the message details page

To access email log search, click on Reports -> Audit -> Email Log Search from Admin console.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Feature enhancements to Google Classroom

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Google Classroom launched this summer to make Google Apps for Education even simpler — saving teachers time and making it easier to collaborate with students. Today, we’re launching five improvements to Classroom, focusing on things educators and students around the world told us were most important to them:

Groups integration: Ability to pre-populate classes using existing Google Groups. If your school uses tools like School Directory Sync, admins can sync class rosters from the student information system (SIS) into Groups.
Mark assignments as “done”: Students can mark assignments as complete even if there's nothing to turn in (e.g. watch a video, read a chapter, bring something to class)
Export all grades: Teachers will now have the ability to download grades for all assignments at once, making it easier to export assignments to any gradebook
Sorting: Teachers can now choose to sort students by first or last name, depending on their needs
Greater teacher controls: Teachers can now set permissions for whether or not their class can post or comment in the stream, they can mute individual students from posting or commenting and can even view previously deleted items in the stream

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Google for Education Blog Post

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Auto-upgrade to the new Google Forms

Monday, October 13, 2014

In the coming weeks, we’ll begin auto-upgrading all legacy forms created in the old version of Google Forms (those created prior to February 2013) to the new version. The new version of Forms supports higher response rates and advanced features like custom themes, randomizing questions, and one response per person.

All responses from the old Forms will migrate seamlessly to the new version. Legacy form themes and stylings will migrate as well with potential visual differences. After the upgrade is complete, a notification will appear when an editor opens any upgraded form, indicating that the upgrade has occurred. At that point, we recommend choosing a newer theme (or customizing one) to ensure a smooth user experience with your form.

In the future, we’ll be auto-converting legacy themes to comparable versions in the new system, which will allow for theme customization and a better mobile experience (additional communication to follow in advance of this change).

Release track:
Upgrade for Rapid release domains to start on Oct 20, with Scheduled release starting two weeks later (gradual rollout)

For more information:

Admin SDK Reports API limit extended to 15 months

Friday, October 10, 2014

In an effort to provide more historical App usage reporting data for admins, we recently extended the time limit for application usage activity reporting data provided by the Admin SDK Reports API from 6 months to 15 months.

Note that this change does not apply to the application usage activity reports in the Admin console Reports UI, nor does it apply to the Audit reports API or Admin console Audit UI, which will remain at the current 6 month limit.

The limit extension began when this feature was officially implemented on September 2, 2014, so the full 15 month (450 day) history will be available on May 30, 2015, with an earliest available record date of March 6, 2014. For example, if you attempted to pull an Apps usage activity report today via the API, you would get a little over 7 months worth of data.

Release track:

Rapid release and Scheduled release

For more information:

Reports API Revision History

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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On the “What’s new in Google Workspace?” Help Center page, learn about new products and features launching in Google Workspace, including smaller changes that haven’t been announced on the Google Workspace Updates blog.

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Updates

Deprecated Google Calendar APIs (v1, v2) shutting down on November 17th, 2014

Notification re: Google Talk app for Windows replacement

Enhanced Google Admin app for Android

Notification in older spreadsheets of upcoming migration to new Google Sheets

New version of the Google Drive app for Android

New features added to the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides Android apps

Unlimited Drive storage for Google Apps for Education

Add-ons for Google Forms

Manage revisions for non-Google files in the new Google Drive

Incoming items view added to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on iOS

Aggregate reports added to Admin console reporting

Time-based triggers now in add-ons

Improvements to email log search in Admin console

Feature enhancements to Google Classroom

Auto-upgrade to the new Google Forms

Admin SDK Reports API limit extended to 15 months

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