Google Workspace Changes

Improved Google Calendar audit logs for third-party ICS-related changes.

Google Calendar has enhanced its audit logs in the Admin console to provide more detail for changes originating from third-party systems, such as Microsoft Exchange or IBM Notes, via ICS files. New information added to the logs includes the email sender's address, the message ID for cross-referencing with Gmail audit logs, the specific third-party system that sent the message, and the email recipient. Admins can filter these activities by selecting 'Gmail ICS Parser' in the API Kind field.

Event details now supported by Calendar Interop for Microsoft Exchange

Google is rolling out support for event details in availability lookups for Calendar Interop with Microsoft Exchange. G Suite admins can now opt in to share event titles, locations, and guest response statuses when users utilize Google Calendar's 'Find a Time' or Outlook's 'Scheduling Assistant'.

Automatic room suggestions in Google Calendar

Google Calendar is introducing automatic room suggestions to help organizations collaborate more effectively. The tool suggests rooms optimized for attendees based on their building and floor location, previous booking history, audio/video equipment needs, and room capacity requirements. To unlock this feature, administrators must input detailed meeting room information into Calendar.

Automatic upgrade to the new Google Calendar web UI begins January 8th, 2018.

Google will begin automatically upgrading users to the new Google Calendar web UI starting January 8th for Rapid Release domains and January 15th for Scheduled Release domains. Users on automatic rollout can opt out until February 28th, 2018, while those in manual rollout domains will be upgraded on February 28th without an opt-out option.

Update Google Calendar resources using the Calendar Resource, Buildings, and Features APIs.

Google has updated the existing Calendar Resources API and introduced two new APIs—Buildings and Features—to make it easier for G Suite admins to add and edit structured data about buildings and resources, ensuring synchronization with other facility management systems.

Classic Google Calendar Interop tool will be shut down on February 28, 2018.

Google is shutting down the classic version of the Calendar Interop tool on February 28, 2018. Organizations that have previously configured the classic version must migrate to the new version of Calendar Interop by this date to ensure continued availability lookup functionality between G Suite and Microsoft Exchange or Office 365 environments.

Easily copy and paste Hangouts Meet conference details across Google Calendar events.

Google Calendar now allows users to copy and paste Hangouts Meet conference codes or full URLs across different events. This is particularly useful for scheduling multiple events that require the same conference link, such as separate events for interviewers and candidates or back-to-back meetings, ensuring all participants join the same video conference. This feature is available in the new Calendar for web.

New admin control to suppress prompts when inviting external guests in Google Calendar.

Domain administrators can now enable or disable the confirmation prompts that appear when users invite guests from outside their domain to Google Calendar events. This setting can be managed globally or on a per-organizational unit (OU) basis via the Admin console under Apps > Google Apps > Calendar > Sharing Settings > External invitations. The setting is enabled by default.

New Admin console setting allows users to book resources shared as 'See only free/busy'.

Google has introduced a new setting in the Admin console that enables users to book calendar resources even when they are shared with the domain as 'See only free/busy'. Previously, admins had to share resources as 'See all event details' to allow booking, which exposed sensitive event information. This update allows admins to maintain privacy while still permitting resource booking across the domain.

Introduction of the new Calendar Resource API for managing physical resources.

Google has introduced the new Calendar Resource API as part of the Admin SDK's Directory API, enabling Google for Work customers to manage physical resources such as conference rooms, printers, and nap pods. These resources can be added to meetings by end users. This new API replaces the GDATA Calendar Resource API, which is scheduled for deprecation starting in January 2016 and will be sunset in January 2017.

Easier account syncing in the Google Calendar app for Android.

The latest version of the Google Calendar app for Android makes it easier for users to monitor and manage account syncing. If sync is disabled for an account, an 'Enable sync' message will appear in the left side Menu, allowing users to quickly re-enable syncing by clicking on their email address.

Google Calendar Android and iOS apps now support Reminders for tracking to-dos.

Users of the Google Calendar Android and iOS apps can now create Reminders to track to-dos alongside their events. Reminders are created via the '+' icon and can automatically incorporate phone numbers and addresses from contacts and Google's knowledge graph. Unlike standard events, Reminders persist and appear at the top of the calendar each day until they are marked as completed. Additionally, Reminders are integrated across other Google services, including Inbox by Gmail, Google Keep, and Google Now.

Google Calendar adds Trash functionality to restore deleted events on the web.

Google Calendar on the web now includes a Trash feature, allowing users to view, permanently delete, or restore individual and recurring deleted events. This functionality is available for primary calendars and secondary calendars where the user has edit rights. Administrators can monitor these actions using Calendar Audit logs in the Admin console.

Google Calendar Chrome Web Store app URL update

Starting October 1, 2015, the Google Calendar Chrome Web Store app will be automatically updated to use the new calendar.google.com URL. Users with offline sync enabled are advised to confirm their offline settings once the update is active.

Main Google Calendar URL changing to calendar.google.com

The main Google Calendar URL is changing from www.google.com/calendar to calendar.google.com to increase security. The rollout is scheduled for Rapid release domains in mid-October, with Scheduled release domains following two weeks later.