Google Workspace Updates: November 2015

Updated version (v1.1.132.0) of the Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office

Thursday, November 19, 2015

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

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A new version of the Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office is now available:

What’s New

Added support for customers to send feedback from settings menu
New per-machine based enterprise installer for internal software distribution

What's Fixed

Sharing feature would fail “unknown error has occurred” when saving Share changes.
Fixed Japanese language UI issues

Check out the Help Center links below for more details. Google Apps domains who have deployed the plug-in and enabled automatic updates should see the updated version pushed to their users in the coming days, if they haven’t already received it.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Admins
Help Center: End users

Updated version (v4.1.0) of Google Apps Directory Sync

Thursday, November 19, 2015

A new version of Google Apps Directory Sync (GADS) is now available:

What’s New

New license synchronization feature assigns specific licenses to Google Apps user accounts.

Check out the Help Center for more details and download the latest version of GADS.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action required (download the latest version of GADS)

More Information
GADS Overview
What’s New in GADS

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

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Guest access to Hangouts video calls without a Google account

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Last year, we introduced a new feature for Hangouts on the web allowing Google Apps customers to share links to Hangouts video calls so that external meeting guests may request to join if not explicitly invited. We completed the rollout of this feature across all platforms earlier this year.

Starting today, we’re making this feature even more useful by removing the requirement that guests have a Google account in order to join a Hangouts video call. Here’s how it works: guests without a Google account who have been provided with the video call link by the organizer will be asked to provide their name and then request to join the call.

Any attendee from the domain organizing the video call can then allow the guest into the meeting.

We’re also making this easier for guests who do not use Google Calendar by ensuring a link to the video call is visible in the description of the event.

This new feature is available now for guests joining with a web browser, making it easy for Apps customers using Hangouts to meet with anyone - inside or outside their organization, with or without a Google account. Customers with Chromebox for meetings will also have an even easier method for guests to present content in meeting rooms. Check out the Help Center for more information: Hangouts | Chromebox for meetings

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Hangouts | Chromebox for meetings
Google for Work blog post

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

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A simpler, better Google+

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Today we’re rolling out a few updates to Google+ that make it easier to focus on the features our Apps customers tell us they find the most useful. There’s a new homestream to quickly browse through content, Communities that make it easy to safely share ideas and Collections that enable organizations to curate their work and keep it in one easy-to-find place.

The fully redesigned homestream is built to be fast and simple. The new design makes it easier to use whether you’re at your desk browsing through posts or sharing an update on the go from a smaller mobile device screen.

Domain-restricted Communities are a popular way for organizations to share content and ideas amongst teammates, with the peace of mind that they’ll stay private. We’ve already seen how a global fashion brand uses Communities to inspire conversation about products and branding among employees across the world and how a Japanese startup is keeping their staff up-to-date as they build a vaccine.

Collections let you keep all your related content in one spot and make it easier to discover and browse. For example, earlier this year we dedicated a week on the Google for Work G+ page to our awesome System Admins. In order to keep all that content together, we put it into a Collection.
G+_Final_Animation.gif

For more information on the launch check out the Official Google Blog. The new-look Google+ is available on the web today and is coming to iOS and Android later this week.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release today on the web and on iOS and Android later this week

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center
Official Google blog post

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

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New version (v3.8) of Google Apps Sync for Microsoft® Outlook now available

Monday, November 16, 2015

A new version (v3.8) of Google Apps Sync for Microsoft® Outlook (GASMO) is now available for download. The latest version now supports Office 2016 and Windows® 10.

Check out the Help Center for more details and download the latest version of GASMO. Auto-updates for existing GASMO users will start in the coming days.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility/auto-update). Users and admins can manually upgrade sooner by installing the new version from the download page.

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested if immediate upgrade is needed/FYI

More Information
What’s New in GASMO
Download the latest version of GASMO

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

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Enhanced commenting, charts, and font functionality in the Google Docs and Sheets apps for Android

Thursday, November 12, 2015

This launch also helps users better create and edit charts in the Sheets app for Android. For instance, if a user a selects a single cell and inserts a chart, we’ll automatically expand that data selection to include the immediately surrounding cells. This will make it easier for users to create robust charts with relevant information. In addition, when an employee creates a new chart, they’ll now see three recommended chart types, which we’ll suggest based on the data they’ve selected.

As a bonus, when your employees download the latest version of the Sheets app for Android, they’ll be able to view the more than 400 new fonts added to Sheets on the web earlier this week.

For more information on these new features, check out the Help Center articles below.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information

Google Play Store
Add comments to documents and spreadsheets on Android
Add a chart or graph to a spreadsheet

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

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Commenting is crucial to collaboration amongst your employees. This launch makes it easier for them to work together—even from their mobile devices. In the latest version of the Google Sheets app for Android, users can now add new and reply to existing comments. In the newest Google Docs app for Android, they can now see comments and suggestions in Print Layout view—and then resolve, close, accept, or reject those comments and suggestions—making it simpler to move between their desktop and mobile devices.

As a bonus, when your employees download the latest version of the Sheets app for Android, they’ll be able to view the more than 400 new fonts added to Sheets on the web earlier this week.

Smarter sorting in Google Drive ‘Recent’ view on the web

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Google Drive lets people organize and access their content in a single, secure location. To make it easier for people to find and interact with that content on the web, today’s launch introduces a smarter sorting experience for the ‘Recent’ view in Drive.

The new sorting experience removes the existing sorting dropdown options (‘Last modified,’ ‘Last modified by me,’ and ‘Last opened by me’) and replaces them with a dynamically-generated view based on the actions of the person using Drive. Items will continue to be segmented into time-based sections (‘Today,’ ‘Earlier this week,’ etc), and will now indicate whether each item was opened, modified, or uploaded by the user directly in the UI. The smarter sorting ensures that items acted upon by the user are more likely to be shown than items acted upon by other collaborators.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center

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

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Find ‘missing’ emails more easily in Gmail

Monday, November 9, 2015

Sometimes emails are mistakenly marked as spam or put into Trash, and they can be difficult to discover via search. To help address this issue, Gmail will now search in both the Trash and Spam folders (only Trash was indexed previously). If a match is found, a footer at the bottom of search results will indicate the match and direct the user to view the messages.

In addition, if a search query is too general to return useful search results, a different footer will now be shown guiding the user to try refining their query using Gmail advanced search.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center

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

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Restore deleted events in Google Calendar web

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Ever deleted a calendar event by mistake and wanted to get it back - just like you can in Gmail and Drive? Now you can: today we’re adding Trash functionality to Google Calendar on the web, providing an easy way for users to view, permanently delete, or restore individual and recurring deleted calendar events. Trash puts calendar users in control by letting them quickly reverse any event mishaps, and limits escalations to Google Apps admins.

Trash is accessible from the calendar's dropdown menu in the "My calendars" section as well as from Calendar Settings. This functionality is available for both primary calendars and secondary calendars for which people have edit rights.

Admins can track events restored or removed from Trash within their domain using Calendar Audit logs in the Admin console.

Check out the Help Center for more information.

Note: The first time a user deletes an event from a shared calendar after the launch, a one-time email notification will be sent to them from Google Calendar, explaining the Trash options and details around sharing settings.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center

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

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Sharing on the go with Google Drive

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

People will be informed of this new feature the first time they use the updated versions of the Drive app, and can choose to turn it on or off in Settings.

Consistent sharing experience across platforms (iOS)
We’re implementing a more consistent sharing experience in Drive (and the Docs editor apps too!) across platforms, including the ability for people using the Drive iOS app to add custom messages to recipients directly from the app when sharing a file.

Seamless sharing to people without a Google account (Android)
Until now, a Google Account was needed to view shared files on an Android device. Now, people can do this without a Google Account just like they can on the web.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launched to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Android | iOS
Get the Google Drive Android app on Google Play
Get the Google Drive iOS app in the App Store

Following the recent addition of the ability to request access to Drive files on Android, today we’re making sharing on the go even easier with several new features in the Drive apps for Android and iOS.

Sharing notifications (Android and iOS)
People using the Drive app can now choose to receive mobile notifications when someone shares a Drive item with them, allowing them to open the file or folder by simply tapping on the notification. If a file/folder owner has notifications turned on and someone requests access to their content, the owner will be notified of the request instantly on their mobile device so they can quickly grant access.

Updated version of Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange®

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

An updated version of Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange® (GAMME) is now available:

What’s New

Service Accounts and OAuth 2.0 tokens are now used for data migration authorization. This replaces the deprecated OAuth 1.0 protocol.
GAMME now uses the Gmail API for mail migration and label creation, replacing the Email Migration API v2 and Email Settings API, respectively.
Reserved labels are now prefixed with an underscore to ensure proper nesting in the Gmail web interface. For example, a folder named "Inbox/Receipts" is migrated as "_Inbox/Receipts."
If the migration user list includes a user that doesn't exist or there's an authorization issue, GAMME now detects the problem in all cases and doesn't try to migrate that user. Previously, GAMME would try each message individually and the failure would take a longer time.
Minor UI and logging improvements.

What’s Fixed

Multiple labels with names more than 225 characters long could cause a crash.
Messages in subfolders of Deleted Items were not being correctly marked as Trash in Gmail.
Messages migrated from Exchange Public Folders to Google Groups show sender as "unknown@googlegroups.com."
GAMME would crash if any command line flag or setting content included "%s."
GAMME would fail to migrate the sender SMTP address in some rare cases.
IMAP commands and responses in the logs were sometimes truncated.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
What’s New in GAMME

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

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Find, approve, and install apps that work with Android for Work even more easily

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

The Google Apps Marketplace offers hundreds of quality enterprise apps that admins can install for their domains, enhancing their employees’ native Google for Work apps with additional functionality and features. We’re now making it easier for admins to determine the apps on the Google Apps Marketplace that work with Android for Work and that can be installed on their end users’ Android devices.

If you are logged in as an Apps for Work admin and visit the Google Apps Marketplace, you’ll now see an Available on Android for Work section that features a select number of apps and links directly to their Google Play for Work counterparts. This initial group of apps will also be easily identifiable via an Android icon in the Available on section of their public listings on the Marketplace.

If your organization has Android for Work enabled and you install one of these Available on Android for Work apps for your domain, you’ll be given the option to visit the Play for Work store, where you can approve the corresponding Android app and begin deploying it to your users. This will allow your employees to get started using native mobile apps more quickly and easily.

In conjunction with the changes described above, we’re also making it simpler to identify apps that work with Google Apps in the Play for Work store. Going forward, if you’re logged in as an Apps admin and visit the Play for Work store, select listings for apps that work with Google Apps will be marked Works with Google Apps and link to their Marketplace counterparts. If you have Android for Work enabled and approve one of those apps, you’ll be given the option to navigate directly to that counterpart on the Marketplace and install it for your domain.

In addition, much like on the Marketplace, the Play for Work store will now display a Works with Google Apps section on its homepage. This section will allow you to quickly identify those Play for Work apps that have a Marketplace counterpart. PfW Homepage.png

Initially, only a small group of apps will be featured in these Available on Android for Work and Works with Google Apps sections, though we’re looking to add more apps in the future.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center

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

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Better previews of Excel and other spreadsheet files in Google Drive and Gmail

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

When spreadsheet files are opened in Drive or in Gmail as an attachment, the content will now be quickly and cleanly displayed in a view-only format that is searchable and easily navigable. People can then decide to print, download, share, or open the file in Google Sheets or another app for editing.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

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

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Launch detail categories
Get these product update alerts by email
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Google Apps aims to provide customers with a seamless experience when interacting with files and attachments, regardless of their file type. Today’s launch will provide a more consistent and useful experience when previewing Excel and other spreadsheet files (e.g. .csv, .tsv, .ods) in Google Drive and Gmail on the web.

What's New in Google Apps newsletter - October 2015

Monday, November 2, 2015

Check out the latest "What's New in Google Apps" newsletter [pdf] for a roundup of all Apps launches from October 2015.

Newsletter Archive & Translated Versions (coming soon for October issue)

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

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Useful Links

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

Drag and drop files directly into folders in Google Drive

Updated version (v1.1.132.0) of the Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office

Updated version (v4.1.0) of Google Apps Directory Sync

Guest access to Hangouts video calls without a Google account

A simpler, better Google+

New version (v3.8) of Google Apps Sync for Microsoft® Outlook now available

Enhanced commenting, charts, and font functionality in the Google Docs and Sheets apps for Android

Smarter sorting in Google Drive ‘Recent’ view on the web

Find ‘missing’ emails more easily in Gmail

Restore deleted events in Google Calendar web

Sharing on the go with Google Drive

Updated version of Google Apps Migration for Microsoft Exchange®

Find, approve, and install apps that work with Android for Work even more easily

Better previews of Excel and other spreadsheet files in Google Drive and Gmail

What's New in Google Apps newsletter - October 2015

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