Google Workspace Changes

International language support for Google Drive integration with Slack

Google is launching international language support for the Google Drive integration with Slack. The Google Drive bot will now send messages and respond to users in French, Spanish, German, or Japanese, depending on the user's preferred language setting in Slack.

View Slack activity events within Google Drive

Google Drive is adding activity events that allow users to see when a file is shared or discussed within Slack. Specifically, the activity logs will now record when someone shares a Google Drive file in Slack or comments on a shared Google Drive file within Slack, provided the user has access to both the document and the Slack channel.

Twenty-two third-party applications added to the G Suite pre-integrated SAML apps catalog

We’re now adding SAML integration for 22 additional applications: 7geese, Accellion, Bime, Bugsnag, Canvas LMS, Honey, Humanity, Jitbit, Kintone, Knowbe4, Kudos, Looker, Meraki, Mingle, RemedyForce, Replicon, Rollbar, Signal FX, StatusPage, Weekdone, Wrike, and Zoho CRM.

Publish Google Sites to a specific audience.

Google Sites now allows users to specify exactly who can view their content when published. By selecting the 'Share with others' icon and changing the Published settings to 'Specific people can view when published,' editors can invite specific individuals to view the published site.

With Single-Sign-On (SSO), users can access all of their enterprise cloud applications—including the Admin console for admins—after signing in just one time.

We’re now adding SAML integration for 22 additional applications.

Updated setup flow for company-owned Android devices to improve ownership assignment.

Starting February 12th, 2018, the setup flow for company-owned Android devices (running Android 6.0+) will be updated to encourage correct ownership assignment. Instead of requiring users to check a box to assign ownership to their organization, users will be asked if they own the device personally. Unless they explicitly state personal ownership, the device will be auto-assigned to the organization, provided the G Suite account is added before any personal account.

Hangouts Meet now supported on Android and iOS tablets.

Hangouts Meet is now available for use on Android and iOS tablets, enabling team members to join video meetings from a wider variety of devices.

Hangouts Meet metrics added to G Suite Reports API.

Google is introducing over 50 new metrics to the Reports API Customer Usage report for Hangouts Meet, providing details on call duration, size, and device-specific characteristics. Additionally, Hangouts-related metrics previously provided under the Google+ metrics group have been migrated to a new 'Meet' metrics group.

Pop-up notifications for Drive for Mac/PC users to transition to Drive File Stream starting January 30

Starting January 30, 2018, G Suite accounts still using the legacy Drive for Mac/PC client will begin seeing pop-up notifications providing instructions on how to install Drive File Stream, provided the domain allows the service and displays download links in the Drive interface.

Shutdown date for legacy Google Drive desktop sync client delayed to May 12, 2018

Google has delayed the complete shutdown of the legacy Google Drive desktop sync client for Mac and PC (Google Drive for Mac/PC) from March 12, 2018, to May 12, 2018. Enterprise organizations are encouraged to transition to Drive File Stream, while non-G Suite users are recommended to use Backup and Sync.

HTML view removed from the menu in Google Slides.

The HTML view option has been removed from the View menu in Google Slides. Users can still access this view using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P.

Change shape option moved to right-click menu in Google Slides.

In Google Slides, the 'Change shape' option has been removed from the Format menu and is now available via the right-click context menu on a selected shape.

Alt text for shapes moved to right-click menu in Google Docs and Slides.

The option to add alt text to a shape has been removed from the Format menu in both Google Docs and Google Slides. Users can now access this feature by right-clicking on the shape.

Updated menu path for adding page and column breaks in Google Docs.

Google Docs has updated the menu structure for adding breaks. Users now find page and column break options under Insert > Break, rather than directly under the Insert menu.

International Hangouts Meet dial-in phone numbers expanded to nine additional countries.

Google has expanded the availability of international dial-in phone numbers for Hangouts Meet to nine additional markets: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Norway, Romania, Switzerland, and Turkey. This functionality is available exclusively for G Suite Enterprise edition users, enabling teams to stay connected by dialing into meetings from more global locations.