Google Workspace Changes

Users can now edit password-protected Microsoft Office files directly within Google Drive using Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Google Workspace now allows users to edit password-protected Microsoft Office files directly in Google Drive, utilizing Docs, Sheets, and Slides. When opening a protected file in Drive, users will be prompted to enter the password with the option to 'View' or 'Edit'. Selecting 'Edit' opens the file for editing in Docs/Sheets/Slides and removes the password. This enhancement improves interoperability between Workspace and Microsoft, eliminating the need for third-party applications to remove passwords or edit protected Microsoft files.

Edit password-protected Microsoft Office files directly in Google Drive.

Google Drive now supports the editing of password-protected Microsoft Office files directly within Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. When opening a protected file, users are prompted for the password and can choose to either preview the document in read-only mode or select 'Edit', which removes the password and opens the file for editing in the corresponding Google Workspace application.

New Data Migration service now generally available to migrate files from Dropbox to Google Drive.

The New Data Migration service, which previously had an open beta, is now generally available. This service allows administrators to migrate data, including files, folders, and associated permissions, from Dropbox business accounts to Google Drive. This helps organizations efficiently transition to Google Workspace by simplifying data consolidation.

Migrate files from Dropbox to Google Drive is now generally available.

The New Data Migration service now allows admins to migrate data from Dropbox business accounts, including files, folders, and associated permissions, to Google Drive. The tool supports migrating up to 150 users or team folders at a time to MyDrive or Google shared drives, provides comprehensive reporting on migration progress, and supports delta updates for newly added or updated files.

Google Drive receives a modernized interface for viewing various file formats on the web, including PDFs, videos, images, and audio.

Google Drive is significantly improving the viewing experience for third-party file formats such as PDFs, videos, images, and audio files on the web. The modernized interface includes a new left rail for PDFs with a table of contents and thumbnails for easier navigation, a new file menu, a new toolbar and app bar, and an option to search by transcript for videos. This update aims to make it easier for Google Workspace users to navigate documents, especially large ones.

Data classification labels now visible in more places across Google Drive

Google Drive will now display applied data classification labels across all web views, including Home, My Drive, Shared Drives, and search results. Previously, users had to access file details or open a file to see its classification. This enhancement provides immediate visibility of classification values while navigating Drive. The highest-ranked label with a badged list field will be displayed, with an icon indicating additional labels if present. Hovering over a label will reveal more details, and clicking it opens the Labels section in File Details.

Automatically generated captions for videos in Google Drive now available in more languages

Google Drive is expanding its automatically generated captions feature to support 27 additional languages. This update aims to make video content more accessible and inclusive for all users, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, are in noisy environments, or speak different primary languages. It also saves time by automating caption creation and enhances video content searchability. The feature automatically detects eligible videos' languages and generates captions upon upload, respecting existing admin settings.

Google Drive now allows users to set sharing expirations for files and folders in shared drives and My Drive directly from the sharing dialog, enhancing security and organization.

Google Drive has introduced the ability to set expiration dates for shared files and folders directly within the sharing dialog, extending this functionality to both shared drives and My Drive. This update builds upon existing API capabilities and addresses a highly requested feature, simplifying access management for temporary collaborators. Users can now easily specify when access to a file or a folder (for Viewer role) should automatically revoke, eliminating manual cleanup and ensuring consistent expiration behavior across different Drive environments.

Gemini for Google Workspace capabilities extended to Google Drive mobile apps on Android and iOS.

Users can now collaborate with Gemini within the Google Drive mobile applications on Android and iOS. This integration allows users to ask questions about their files and folders, summarize long documents or entire folders, discuss topics requiring information synthesis from multiple files, and retrieve quick facts without opening relevant documents, mirroring the functionality available on Drive web.

The "Editors can change permissions and share" setting in Google Drive will be updated, affecting how changes to containing shared folders apply to items with this setting off.

Starting September 22, 2025, if the "Editors can change permissions and share" setting is off, and an item's owner places it in a shared folder, any changes to the shared folder's access will apply to the item. Previously, this only occurred if the item's owner made the folder access change. Additionally, starting October 8, 2025, limited access will be applied to pre-existing items with this setting turned off, meaning only the owner can share them. This limited access will not apply to items with the setting turned off after October 8, 2025.

Google Drive will no longer allow restricted access on specific files/folders within a shared folder, requiring consistent management via limited access folder setting.

Previously, users could restrict access to individual files or folders inside a shared folder. Starting September 22, 2025, this will no longer be possible. Access must be managed consistently at the shared folder level using the limited access folder setting. Users with permission to restrict access on the parent folder will no longer see the “update item only” option, and users without this permission will have certain options grayed out.

Gemini summaries are now displayed directly on the Home page in Google Drive for suggested Docs, Sheets, Slides, and PDFs.

Users can now view Gemini-generated summaries directly within the suggested files section on the Google Drive Home page. These summaries will appear for selected Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and PDF files in the suggested list. Users have the option to click a ‘See more’ button that appears on hover to view a more in-depth analysis or to ask Gemini follow-up questions about the file in the Gemini side panel, enhancing quick understanding and interaction with document content.

Google Drive on Android devices revamps the scanned document editing experience with improved adjustment options and UI.

Google Drive on Android devices is revamping its scanned document editing experience. Users will now benefit from updated adjustment options, offering a more seamless and improved user experience. Enhancements include larger page previews for detailed viewing, an improved UI layout with easy access to page deletion and retake functions, and a new Material 3 page thumbnail carousel for quick document skimming and drag-and-drop page reordering. These updates allow for better cropping, rotation, color adjustments, and shadow erasure.

Google Drive inventory reporting now supports daily exports of Drive data assets to BigQuery, in open beta.

Google Drive Inventory reporting now supports scheduling a daily export of your Drive data assets to BigQuery, in addition to the existing weekly cadence. Compared to APIs, exporting inventory reports to BigQuery empowers administrators to understand their data more deeply, providing insights into how their data is classified, accessed, and used. Understanding these metrics can help admins to identify security risks, ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, and more.

Thumbnail previews now appear when hovering over a video's progress bar in Google Drive, allowing quick navigation.

Starting July 22, 2025, when hovering over a newly uploaded video’s progress bar in Google Drive, users will see a thumbnail preview that enables quick viewing and navigation to specific parts of the video. This enhancement aims to improve productivity and the overall video viewing experience within Google Drive by allowing users to easily find specific moments in their videos. This feature is only available for newly uploaded videos.