Google Workspace Updates: March 2024

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - March 29, 2024

Friday, March 29, 2024

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.

Send voice messages in Google Chat In continuing our efforts to improve the Google Chat experience and help ensure it’s a useful tool for seamless communication, especially when on the go, we’ve introduced voice messages on Chat mobile (with web support coming soon). | Learn more about voice messages in Chat.
Workspace audit log exports in BigQuery now enriched with Drive label metadata For admins who analyze audit logs in BigQuery, these events are now enriched with Drive labels metadata. Admins leverage Drive labels to apply descriptive metadata, such as file sensitivity, to Drive items. With the enrichment of label metadata on log events, admins can now focus their analysis on activity occurring on their most important files by filtering on label conditions. | Available to Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about Drive label metadata.
Access and sort shared files within a space in Google Chat more easily We’re enhancing the Files tab in Google Chat spaces to improve upon the file management experience and create a central place to manage all conversation-related artifacts. The updated tab will now be called Shared. | Learn more about Shared in Chat.
Launch Miro directly from Google Meet Series One Board 65 and Desk 27 devices Users now have the ability to launch Miro from a Series One Board 65 or Desk 27, either in an active Meet call or directly from the device home screen. | Learn more about launching Miro from Google Meet.

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:

Set up dropdown chips more easily in Google Sheets

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:

New guide to help screen reader users transition from Gmail HTML view to Gmail Standard view (Basic HTML view is now fully disabled)
Securely migrate existing encrypted messages to Gmail client-side encryption (CSE) (Web & Android)
Workspace audit log exports in BigQuery now enriched with Drive label metadata

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

Launch Miro directly from Google Meet Series One Board 65 and Desk 27 devices

Thursday, March 28, 2024

What’s changingFor more than a year, Workspace users have enjoyed the convenience of launching Miro’s visual collaboration tools that can be directly installed in Google Meet.We’re building upon this by giving users the ability to launch Miro from a Series One Board 65 or Desk 27, either in an active Meet call or directly from the device home screen.

Who’s impacted

Admins and end users

Why you’d use it

Previously, you could access Miro’s rich tools and templates on the Board 65 and Desk 27, such as brainstorming with digital sticky notes and planning agile workflows, during a Meet call. With this update, you can access these tools directly from the Board 65 and Desk 27 whenever collaboration strikes, outside of a Meet call. Visit the Google Workspace Blog for more information on the Google Meet and Miro integration.

Additional details

In late 2024, we will wind down the Jamboard whiteboarding app and continue with the previously planned end of support for Google Jamboard devices. Leveraging our partner ecosystem, including Miro, FigJam and LucidSpark, is part of our effort to continue providing the best whiteboard experiences in Workspace. Please use the following article in the Miro Help Center for more information about migrating your Jamboard files to Miro.

Getting started

Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about using add ons with Google Meet on Desk 27 and Board 65 devices.
End users: If enabled by your admin, visit the Help Center to learn more about using add-ons with Google Meet on Desk 27 and Board 65 device. Use this article in the Miro Help Center to learn more about migrating your Google Jamboard files to Miro.

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 28, 2024

Availability

The Miro import tool is available to all Workspace customers.
The ability to open Miro on Board 65 and Desk 27 is available to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet Board 65 and Desk 27 devices.

Resources

Google Meet hardware Help: Use Add Ons with Google Meet on Desk 27 and Board 65
Miro Help Center: Import Jamboards to Miro
Miro Help Center: Migrating from Google Jamboard to Miro
Google Workspace Updates Blog: The next phase of digital whiteboarding for Google Workspace

Access and sort shared files within a space in Google Chat more easily

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

What’s changingWe’re enhancing the Files tab in Google Chat spaces to improve upon the file management experience and create a central place to manage all conversation-related artifacts. The updated tab will now be called Shared.
In addition to the new tab name, you will also notice a refreshed user interface and features like a sort drop-down menu, support for shared links and media files, and more.
This update reflects our continued effort to make Google Chat the central hub for project and team collaboration in Google Workspace.

Shared tab now stores files, links, and media

Who’s impacted End users

Why you’d use it The new Shared tab improves team collaboration by providing a centralized and visible method to access shared content shared within a space.

Additional details Using the new sort drop-down, you can narrow down the list of documents displayed based on category (file, link, media) or date shared.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: At the top of a space in Google Chat, you will see the following tabs: Chat, Shared and Tasks. Upon clicking Shared, you will see three sections: Files, Links and Media. Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending & sharing files in Google Chat messages.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts

Resources

Google Help: Send & share files in Google Chat messages

Workspace audit log exports in BigQuery now enriched with Drive label metadata

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

What’s changingGoogle Workspace audit logsGoogle Drive audit events
Today, we’re excited to announce that for admins who analyze these logs in BigQuery, these events are now enriched with Drive labels metadata. Admins leverage Drive labels to apply descriptive metadata, such as file sensitivity, to Drive items. With the enrichment of label metadata on log events, admins can now focus their analysis on activity occurring on their most important files by filtering on label conditions.

Getting started

Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn how to set up service log exports to BigQuery.
End users: There is no end user setting for this feature.

Rollout pace

This feature is available now.

Availability

Available to Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus

Resources

Send voice messages in Google Chat

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

What’s changing In continuing our efforts to improve the Google Chat experience and help ensure it’s a useful tool for seamless communication, especially when on the go, we’re excited to introduce voice messages on Chat mobile (with web support coming soon).
Sending a voice message instead of typing enables you to save time, convey more information, and emphasize the most important information for the message receiver. We hope this highly requested feature helps you communicate with others more effectively.

Additional details We will be enabling transcription for voice messages in the coming months.

Getting started

Admins:

This feature will be ON by default and can be disabled at the ___domain or OU level by disabling all attachments. Visit the Help Center to learn more about controlling file sharing in Chat.
For purposes of Google Vault, Google Takeout, and Security Investigation Tool (SIT) moderation tools, voice messages are treated as attachments (like any other message in Chat).

End users:

You can send voice messages on mobile (to direct messages, group chats and spaces) and receive them on all platforms, including web. However, you cannot send voice messages on web at this time.
To record on your Android or iOS device, tap the microphone icon > start speaking > watch a live waveform visualize your voice. A timer counts up so you know exactly how long you've been recording.
You can preview and then send your voice message or delete it and try again if needed.
Voice messages can be interacted with (quoted, reacted to, replied to in thread, etc.) just like any other Chat message.
Visit the Help Center to learn more about sending voice messages in Google Chat.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 26, 2024
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 15, 2024

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Control file sharing in Chat
Google Help: Send a voice message in Google Chat

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - March 22, 2024

Friday, March 22, 2024

2 New updatesUnless 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.

Search for files directly using new search bar in Google Drive

Last year, we introduced a new homepage view in Google Drive that makes it easier and faster for you to find files that matter most. Starting this week, you’ll notice an expanded search bar and enhanced search chip capabilities that enable you to filter files across your entire Drive. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 15, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about how to use Google Drive

Search for files directly from the new homepage view in Google Drive

Improving filtering for merged cells in Google Sheets

We’re excited to announce that users can now filter ranges with merged cells in Google Sheets.

For ranges with vertical merges, users can create a filter and apply various filter types (condition, values, and color).
For ranges with horizontal merges, users can create a filter, apply various filter types (condition, values, and color), and sort by values or color.

Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 3, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about sorting & filtering your data.

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.

The current appointment slots feature in Google Calendar will be replaced by appointment schedules in July 2024

To create a cohesive user experience in Calendar, as of July 18, 2024, the appointment slots feature will be replaced by appointment schedules. | Appointment schedules are available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Nonprofits, Google Workspace Individual customers and Google One Premium users only. | Learn more about appointment scheduling.

Securely migrate existing encrypted messages to Gmail client-side encryption (CSE)

Beginning this week, admins can migrate encrypted emails from other services like Microsoft 365, Microsoft Exchange, or Virtu, to Gmail client-side encryption in the S/MIME format. This enables Google Workspace customers to simplify the migration process by bulk importing sensitive emails as S/MIME messages without compromising their privacy or compliance posture. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers. | Learn more about securely migrating existing encrypted messages to Gmail CSE.

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:

Set up dropdown chips more easily in Google Sheets

Scheduled Release Domains:

Extending Trusted Types to Gmail

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:

Google Classroom now supports roster import from SIS partners
Updated user interface for signing in to or signing up for your Google Account
New enhancements in the Space Management Tool For admins: add multiple members or groups, review settings and details
Smooth scrolling in Google Sheets now available on desktop
Updated version history limits for Apps Script projects
Logitech Rally Bar Huddle room kits are now available

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

Securely migrate existing encrypted messages to Gmail client-side encryption (CSE)

Thursday, March 21, 2024

What’s changing Beginning today, admins can migrate encrypted emails from other services like Microsoft 365, Microsoft Exchange, or Virtu, to Gmail client-side encryption in the S/MIME format. This enables Google Workspace customers to simplify the migration process by bulk importing sensitive emails as S/MIME messages without compromising their privacy or compliance posture.

Specifically:

S/MIME messages imported from other mail providers are now supported by Gmail CSE
Virtru customers can use our migration utility to encrypt their plain-text archives from Vault or Takeout, and import them as S/MIME messages
Customers can bulk-import any plain-text email archives into Gmail as S/MIME messages

Additional detailsThe Gmail CSE Migration Utility is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux and supports PST & Mbox file formats.
Getting started

Admins:

You need to set up the Gmail API and Gmail CSE for your users using the same certificates present in the Microsoft service.
After the Gmail accounts are configured with the S/MIME certificates, you can migrate messages from the Microsoft service into Gmail.

End users: There is no end user action required.

Rollout pace

Web & Android:

This feature is available now.

iOS:

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 21, 2024

Availability

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

Resources

The current appointment slots feature in Google Calendar will be replaced by appointment schedules in July 2024

Monday, March 18, 2024

What’s changingCurrently, we offer two tools with similar functionality for users in Google Calendar: appointment slots and appointment schedules. In the last several years, appointment schedules have become the more advanced tool, offering a smoother booking experience and more powerful features.

To create a cohesive user experience in Calendar, as of July 18, 2024, the appointment slots feature will be replaced by appointment schedules.

Between now and July 18, 2024, we encourage users to explore and familiarize themselves with appointment schedules. All existing appointment slots will remain active until August 8, 2024, however we recommend creating new appointments using appointment schedules moving forward. Starting on August 8, 2024, the appointment slots booking pages will no longer be available, and all new appointments will need to be booked through appointment schedules. Visit this comprehensive Help Center resource for detailed information about appointment schedules.
Who’s impacted Admins and end users

Why it matters The current appointment slots feature in Google Calendar will be replaced by appointment schedules, a feature-rich appointment booking system that offers a smoother booking experience and more powerful features.

Additional detailsIn conjunction with this transition, Google Workspace Business Starter customers now have access to appointment scheduling, allowing each user to create one booking page.

The ability to create multiple schedules, and use additional premium features are available to the following editions: Google Workspace Individual, Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Nonprofits and Google One Premium.

Visit the Help Center to learn more about features and how to set up appointment schedules.
Getting started

Admins:

We have shared the current usage of appointment slots for each organization with admins. Refer to this Help Center resource to ensure that your admin email address is set correctly to receive notifications.

Communication was sent to admins of domains where users have used appointment slots over the last 90 days.
If you do not receive a reminder by April 29, 2024, it means users in your ___domain aren’t actively using appointment slots.

We strongly encourage you to review the usage in your organization and help users transition to appointment schedules. Existing appointment slots will not be automatically migrated, so users need to recreate their setup with appointment schedules.

End users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about creating an appointment schedule and customizing your appointment availability. Users that are organizers or editors of appointment slots will soon see in-product banners guiding them to transition to use appointment schedules.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) beginning July 18, 2024 and August 8, 2024 respectively

Availability

Appointment schedules are available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Nonprofits, Google Workspace Individual customers and Google One Premium users

Resources

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - March 15, 2024

Friday, March 15, 2024

4 New updatesUnless 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.
Banner alerts for Google Drive item capacity limits in shared drives
To give users more visibility when shared drives in their ___domain are approaching the item capacity limit (400,000 items), we’re introducing banner alerts that identify current shared drive capacity. These banners will be visible when less than 20% capacity is left and will appear only for users who have edit access to add content to the specific shared drive. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for April 3, 2024. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Essentials Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits. | Learn more about item capacity limits in shared drives.
Input numbers into slider controls across Google Docs, Slides and Drawings Rapid Release domainsScheduled Release domainscropping and adjusting images.

Updated version history limits for Apps Script projectsEarlier this year, we announced that you can create and save up to 200 versions for newly created scripts. We’ve expanded this limit to all scripts. If needed, you can permanently delete multiple script versions at the same time from the project history page using the new “Bulk delete” feature. | This is available now to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more using our developer documentation on working with Apps Script versions.

Google Meet-certified Logitech Rally Bar Huddle room kits are now available
Logitech Rally Bar Huddle room kits for Google Meet are now available for purchase. These kits are optimized for small spaces that can accommodate 3 to 5 people. The device can be used as a meeting room appliance, in USB mode connected to a meeting room PC, or connected via laptop. | This is available now to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet hardware devices. | Visit Logitech’s website for more information on purchasing a room kit.

Google Meet-certified Logitech Rally Bar Huddle room kits are now available

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.

Application load failures are now captured for the Google Meet hardware devices

Admins can now see when the Google Meet app fails to load for a device. | Learn more about application load failures.

Create fully customized email campaigns using new layout editor tool

Starting this week, even more users across Google Workspace editions can now create customized email layouts using a new email layout editor that is accessible from the compose screen in Gmail or Google Drive. In the layout editor, you can create a new email layout from scratch or select from a predefined set of email templates, which include images, text elements and buttons. | Available to Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus and Workspace Individual subscribers only. | Learn more about customizable email campaigns.

Select App Access Controls can now be applied at the organizational unit

Google Workspace Admins can now configure a number of App Access Control (AAC) policies at the Organizational Unit (OU) level. | Learn more about App Access Controls.

Import data from other messaging platforms using the Google Chat API is now generally available

Google Workspace developers registered in our Workspace Developer Preview program have been able to import user data from other messaging platforms into Google Chat using the Google Chat APIs. This functionality is now generally available to all Workspace developers and admins. | Learn more about importing data using the Chat API.

Subtly enhance your appearance with portrait touch-up when using Google Meet on the web

In October 2023, we introduced portrait touch-up for Google Meet on mobile devices. We’re extending this functionality to Google Meet on the web. Portrait touch-up can be used to lightly touch up your appearance before or during a meeting, helping you feel more comfortable and confident in your appearance during video calls. | Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Teaching & Learning Upgrade, Google One and Google Workspace Individual subscribers only. | Learn more about subtly enhancing your appearance with portrait touch-up.

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:

New formatting sidebar in Google Docs, Slides and Sheets apps on Android Tablets (Docs and Slides only)

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).

Subtly enhance your appearance with portrait touch-up when using Google Meet on the web

Friday, March 15, 2024

What’s changing In October 2023, we introduced portrait touch-up for Google Meet on mobile devices. Beginning today, we’re extending this functionality to Google Meet on the web. Portrait touch-up can be used to lightly touch up your appearance before or during a meeting, helping you feel more comfortable and confident in your appearance during video calls.

You can choose from two portrait touch-up modes:

Subtle: very light complexion smoothing, under eye lightening and eye whitening.
Smoothing: slightly more complexion smoothing, under eye lightening and eye whitening.

Getting started

Admins: There is no admin impact or action required.
End users: This feature will be off by default and can be enabled by the user. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning portrait touch-up on or off for your account.

Rollout pace

Availability

Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, Teaching & Learning Upgrade, Google One and Google Workspace Individual subscribers

Resources

Import data from other messaging platforms using the Google Chat API is now generally available

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

What’s changing Google Workspace developers registered in our Workspace Developer Preview program have been able to import user data from other messaging platforms into Google Chat using the Google Chat API. This functionality is now generally available to all Workspace developers and admins.

Who’s impactedAdmins and developers

Why it’s importantIn order to import data, you can create a Chat app and “import mode” Chat space. Within an import mode space, Chat apps can import the following data as equivalent REST resources:

Spaces: only SpaceType.SPACE is supported.

This is a helpful workflow for those who are transitioning from other messaging platforms to Google Chat. Rather than copying source data into regular spaces, import mode has the following advantages:

Preservation of resource creation timestamps: You can set a historical time for the creation times of space and message resources, letting Chat apps retain historical context during user adoption of Google Chat.
End users can't view or access spaces in import mode: To prevent user interference with a space undergoing data import, or to avoid possible user confusion as a result of viewing an in-progress data import, spaces in import mode are hidden from end users. After a space has completed import mode, you can add users to the space.
Chat turns off notifications during import mode: This helps users to avoid unnecessary alerts about the migration.

Getting started

Rollout pace

Available now.

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources

Select App Access Controls can now be applied at the organizational unit

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

What’s changing Google Workspace Admins can now configure a number of App Access Control (AAC) policies at the Organizational Unit (OU) level. Previously, this was only possible at the ___domain level. Specifically, this applies to:

What happens when users try to sign in to unconfigured third-party apps with their Google Account.
Whether internal apps built by your organization can access restricted Google Workspace APIs.
Whether custom messages will be shown to users when they can't access a blocked app.

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why it’s important

We know that users rely on a variety of tools to do their best work, including third-party apps. However, not every third-party app aligns exactly with every organization’s security policies. App access controls give customers and partners the ability to control access to third-party apps and how those apps access Google Workspace data. This update gives admins added flexibility, allowing them to set App Access Controls as they see fit at the OU level, rather than across their entire ___domain.

Additional details

For Google Workspace education editions, the “User requests to access unconfigured apps setting” can now be configured at the OU level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing access to unconfigured third-party apps for users designated under the age of 18.

Getting started

Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about controlling which third-party & internal apps access Google Workspace data.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 13, 2024

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Control which third-party & internal apps access Google Workspace data

Create fully customized email campaigns using new layout editor tool

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

What’s changingIn 2022, we made it easier for you to send professional-looking emails, announcements, newsletters and more with layouts. These are predefined email templates that can be further customized with company or brand color schemes, logos, images, links and more. In 2023, we took this a step further by introducing the ability to customize an existing template, reuse a custom layout in multiple email campaigns, or create a brand new layout from scratch for Workspace Individual subscribers.

Today, we’re excited to announce that even more users across Google Workspace editions can now create customized email layouts using a new email layout editor that is accessible from the compose screen in Gmail or Google Drive. In the layout editor, you can create a new email layout from scratch or select from a predefined set of email templates, which include images, text elements and buttons.

You can then fully customize these templates by placing elements such as color schemes, logos, images, footer text and links wherever you’d like. You can also share a layout file directly from the email layout editor using the Share button. Once another user has edit access, they can open the same layout in their Gmail or from Drive and you can collaborate with them in real time.

Create fully customized email campaigns using new layout editor tool

Who’s impacted Admins and end users

Why you’d use it With Google Workspace, you can create, collaborate and communicate seamlessly across our apps. This new feature is yet another way we are striving to help you do so as you create fully customized announcements, newsletters, and other mass-email campaigns.
Getting started

Admins:

End users: If enabled by your admin, visit the Help Center to learn more about using layouts in Gmail and Drive.

Gmail:

You can access custom email layouts in Gmail from the layout icon in your Compose toolbar.

You can then open the full screen editor from the embedded editor in Gmail using the “Edit in full screen” button in the top-right:

Drive:

You can open an email layout that you have in Drive (an email layout created previously or an email layout shared with you) by double clicking the email layout file in Drive.

Your custom layouts are stored in Drive as a special file type associated with the layouts editor. You can find email layouts in Drive by searching: “type:email-layouts”

Rollout pace Embedded layout editor (in Gmail's compose window):

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 12, 2024
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 8, 2024

Full screen editor for email layouts & feature availability via Google Drive:

Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 25, 2024
Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on April 15, 2024

Availability

Available to Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus and Workspace Individual subscribers

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Manage Gmail settings for your users
Google Workspace Admin Help: Turn Docs creation on or off
Google Help: Create branded emails with customized layouts
Google Workspace Updates Blog: New integrated email marketing tools for Gmail
The Google Workspace blog: Helping small businesses manage their time and connect with their customers

Application load failures are now captured for the Google Meet hardware devices

Monday, March 11, 2024

What’s changingIn November 2023, we announced a series of improvements for managing Google Meet hardware devices, which included surfacing additional information about device issues, such as a description of the issue, when the issue was detected, and more. Today, we’re adding an additional data point: admins can now see when the Google Meet app fails to load for a device.

“Application load failures” will now be displayed in the “Device status” column.

When you click on the alert, you’ll see more detailed information on the error.

Getting started

Admins:

End users: There is no end user impact or action required.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on March 18, 2024

Availability

Available to all Google Workspace customers with Google Meet hardware devices

Resources

Google Workspace Admin Help: Understand device usage in your organization
Google Workspace Updates Blog: More insights to help admins troubleshoot Google Meet hardware issues

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - March 8, 2024

Friday, March 8, 2024

3 New updatesUnless 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.

Hovercards for group messages and spaces are now available in Google Chat When hovering over a space or group chat within the left navigation in Google Chat, you will now see a hovercard that displays an abridged list of members and their avatars. This is especially useful when you need to distinguish one chat from another. In addition, you can include space hovercards across Chat apps using the shared hovercard library. | Available now to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.

New Google Calendar lock screen widgets on iOS mobile devices We’re excited to announce the launch of Google Calendar lock screen widgets on iOS mobile devices (iOS16+) and iPads (iOS17). These will surface an upcoming event or task, giving you a quick glance right from your lock screen. | Available now to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Learn more about how to add widgets to your Lock Screen.

Remove the background from your images in Google Slides You can now easily remove the background from images added to your Google Slides presentations. To do so, simply select an image on your slide > right-click and select "Remove background" or select the “Remove background” button in the toolbar. | Available now to Gemini Enterprise and Gemini Business add-ons, and to users on personal accounts through Google One AI Premium. | Learn more about removing an image background.

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.

Smooth scrolling in Google Sheets now available on desktop

With smooth scrolling, you can scroll to a specific part of a row or column and stop wherever you’d like within the spreadsheet. | Learn more about scrolling in Sheets.

New enhancements in the Space Management Tool For admins: add multiple members or groups, review settings and details

We’re introducing several updates for the Space Management Tool in the Admin console, including an improved user interface and additional management capabilities. | Learn more about Space Management Tool For admins.

Migrate email data from one Google Workspace account to another, available in open beta

Beginning today, a new data migration experience is available: you can migrate your users’ email data from one Google Workspace account to another in a more reliable and efficient manner. You can configure your data migration for up to 100 users at a time and also run delta migrations, which smartly brings over any newly generated data from the source without duplicating previously migrated content. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus; Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus; Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Education Plus; Essentials Starter, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus, and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about migrating email data.

Set up dropdown chips more easily in Google Sheets

Instead of manually creating values for your dropdown chips, you can now insert preset dropdown chips that are configured for common use cases like priority or review statuses. | Learn more about preset dropdown chips.

Google Meet co-host support added for client-side encrypted meetings

Client-side encrypted meetings are now getting support for using the co-hosts feature. This means that an organizer can plan and book client-side encrypted video meetings on behalf of other users and assign those as co-hosts to allow them to join and open the meetings independently from the organizer. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Education Standard customers only. | Learn more about client-side encrypted meetings.

User enrollment for managed iOS devices is now generally available

In late 2023, we introduced user enrollment in beta, an additional option for iOS mobile management. User enrollment separates work and personal data on iOS devices, giving admins control over Workspace data on the device while users retain privacy over their personal data. Beginning today, user enrollment is now generally available. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Essentials Plus, Frontline Standard, Frontline Starter, Business Plus, Cloud Identity Premium, Education Standard, Education Plus and Nonprofits customers only. | Learn more about user enrollment.

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:

[Weekly Recap] New way to use smart canvas in Google Docs

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).

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Join the official community for Google Workspace administrators

In the Google Cloud Community, connect with Googlers and other Google Workspace admins like yourself. Participate in product discussions, check out the Community Articles, and learn tips and tricks that will make your work and life easier. Be the first to know what's happening with Google Workspace.

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Learn about more Google Workspace launches

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

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - March 29, 2024

Launch Miro directly from Google Meet Series One Board 65 and Desk 27 devices

Access and sort shared files within a space in Google Chat more easily

Workspace audit log exports in BigQuery now enriched with Drive label metadata

Send voice messages in Google Chat

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - March 22, 2024

Securely migrate existing encrypted messages to Gmail client-side encryption (CSE)

The current appointment slots feature in Google Calendar will be replaced by appointment schedules in July 2024

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - March 15, 2024

Subtly enhance your appearance with portrait touch-up when using Google Meet on the web

Import data from other messaging platforms using the Google Chat API is now generally available

Select App Access Controls can now be applied at the organizational unit

Create fully customized email campaigns using new layout editor tool

Application load failures are now captured for the Google Meet hardware devices

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - March 8, 2024

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Useful Links

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Learn about more Google Workspace launches