What’s changing

Following the introduction of tables in Google Sheets and the recently announced improvements to tables, we’re excited to support a new automated way for users to transform their data into a well-formatted table, with rich data types.

If you have a meaningful range of data, Sheets will show a “Convert to table” suggestion when you click into your data range. By hovering over that indicator, you can preview the suggestion and then convert your range to a table in one click. 
suggestions for table conversion in Google Sheets

Who’s impacted

End users 


Why you’d use it 

This update encourages the use of tables, a feature that enables users to transform the way they organize their data, simplify data creation, and reduce the repetitive tasks needed to format, input, and update data in Sheets. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • This feature will be on by default and can be disabled by going to Tools > Suggestion controls > (deselect) Enable table suggestions. 
    • While the suggestion to convert to table will likely appear automatically, you can also convert data to a table manually by selecting a data range and going to Format > Convert to table. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about using tables in Google Sheets. 

Rollout pace 

  • Rapid Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 13, 2024 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on September 4, 2024 

Availability 

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

Resources 

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This can be useful for admins who want to prevent groups of students from initiating or adding users to a conversation. 

Chat restrictions for Education domains



Who’s impacted 

Admins and end users 


Why it’s important

This is a highly-requested feature that restricts the creation of unsupervised activity among K-12 students and helps provide a safer and easier way for teachers to communicate with students. 


Getting started 

  • Admins: 
    • To restrict users from accessing features in Chat, go to the Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Google Chat > click the Chat and Space restrictions setting > Inside the Google Chat box, search for the group of users you'd like to apply Chat restrictions to > check the box for Restrict creating direct messages, group messages, and spaces > hit Save. 
      • Note: groups can be restricted at the group level only.
    • We recommend admins enable the "automatically accept chat invitations" setting for their OU. This will ensure teachers can easily initiate messages to students that instantly deliver without the need to accept an invitation. We also recommend turning OFF Chat with external users.
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about setting up Chat restrictions for Education accounts.
  • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature.

Rollout pace 

Admin setting: 
Chat UI: 

Availability 

Available for Google Workspace: 
  • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, the Teaching & Learning Upgrade 

Resources 

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First, Meet hardware log events are now captured in the security investigation tool. Within the tool, you’ll be able to view historical events for your devices and create customized alerts. You can also click out to Meet hardware log events from individual device pages (Devices > Google Meet Devices > [Device Name]), allowing you to find information on specific devices even faster.

Meet hardware logs in the security and investigation tool




Secondly, through integration with BigQuery, Meet hardware logs can be imported from the security investigation tool to be analyzed at scale. This is a powerful new tool that can be used to build customized views of your historical data across your entire hardware fleet. For example, you can use this data to identify which devices are the most used across your organization, which devices are experiencing the most issues within a specific timeframe, and more.




Specifically, you’ll be able to filter by the following details: 



Getting started

Rollout pace


Availability

The security investigation tool is available for Google Workspace:
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Education Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Essentials Plus
  • Frontline Standard
  • Cloud Identity Premium
Reporting logs in BigQuery is available for Google Workspace:
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Education Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Essentials Plus
  • Frontline Standard

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Getting started


Rollout pace

Availability

  • Available for Google Workspace customers except Google Workspace Essentials and Workspace Individual Subscribers 

Resources


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Appointment slots booking pages are no longer available in Google Calendar 
Earlier this year, we announced that the appointment slots feature will be replaced by appointment schedules in Google Calendar. Starting this week, appointment slots booking pages will no longer be available and all new appointments will need to be booked through appointment schedules. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is scheduled to complete by the end of August 2024. |  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, Google One Premium users and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center for detailed information about appointment schedules. 

Dark mode now available in Google Classroom on mobile 
Similar to the recent announcement of dark mode in Google Drive, users will now be able to change the color theme of Google Classroom on their mobile device. This new setting aims to provide users with a more comfortable, customizable viewing experience and also reduces battery usage. | Available to Google Workspace Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, the Teaching & Learning Upgrade customers. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Dark Mode in Classroom.
Dark mode in Classroom

New automation event for AppSheet databases is now generally available 
We’re excited to announce the general availability of AppSheet database automation events, allowing users to kick off automation workflows based on changes made directly in their AppSheet database. | Available to AppSheet Free, AppSheet Core and AppSheet Enterprise Plus. Google Workspace editions that include AppSheet Core can be viewed here. |  Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Visit the AppSheet community to learn more about this feature and check out the Help Center to get instructions for building your first automation using an AppSheet database.

New automation event for AppSheet databases

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.


Available in open beta: configure third-party apps by select API scopes 
We’re giving admins another layer of granular control for third-party apps. Specifically, you can now configure apps to be limited by selected OAuth 2.0 Scopes for Google APIs, such as Drive or Gmail scopes. | Learn more about the beta to configure third-party apps by select API scopes. 

Providing student engagement signals for Google Drive file attachments in Google Classroom 
We’re introducing a new feature that surfaces richer student engagement data on assignments with Google Drive attachments in Google Classroom. With this update, teachers will have easily accessible visibility into whether students have made progress on assignments with Drive attachments through pre-existing workflows in Classroom. | Learn more about Drive file attachments in Classroom.

“Take notes for me” in Google Meet is rolling out soon; pre-configure access with a new admin setting
“Take notes for me,” an AI-powered feature in Google Meet that automatically takes notes during your meetings, will be rolling out soon. Prior to end user availability, admins can now configure whether their users can use this Google AI note-taking feature with a new Admin console setting. | Learn more about the admin setting for “Take notes for me.”

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: 
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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    Apps > Google Workspace > Google Meet > Gemini Settings > Google AI note-taking


    Similar to Meet transcripts Admin settings, this control gives admins more flexibility to test the feature within specific Organizational units (OUs) or Groups before deploying the feature more broadly within their organization.


    “Take notes for me” is available for customers who have a Gemini Enterprise, Gemini Education Premium, or AI Meetings and Messaging add-on. Only users who are assigned one of these licenses will be able to use the note-taking feature. 


    We’ll provide more information and timing on end user availability about “Take notes for me” in the coming weeks here on the Workspace Updates blog.


    Additional details

    Notes documents will be stored in the meeting owner’s drive folder and will follow the Meet retention policy that your organization has configured. If you are currently testing this feature in Workspace Labs and Alpha, your experience will change from respecting the Drive retention policy to respecting the Meet retention policy. 


    Getting started

    • Admins: Take notes for me will be ON by default and can be configured at the OU and Group level in the Admin console by going to Apps > Google Workspace > Google Meet > Gemini Settings > Google AI note-taking. If you want all of your users to receive the feature at once, you may want to consider turning this setting OFF and then after rollout switching it to ON.


    Rollout pace

    • Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout of the admin setting (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 13, 2024 with expected completion on August 21, 2024

    Availability

    Available for Google Workspace customers with the:
    • Gemini Enterprise add-on
    • Gemini Education Premium add-on
    • AI Meetings & Messaging Add-on

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    With this update, teachers will have easily accessible visibility into whether students have made progress on assignments with Drive attachments through pre-existing workflows in Classroom. This can help to identify students who may need additional support and make more informed decisions about how to assist their students. 

    Specifically, teachers can see: 
    • From the Classwork page: The number of students who haven’t edited attachments for assignments. 
    • From the student work page on individual assignments: When the attachments were last edited by each student. 

    With this information, teachers can: 
    • Quickly see whether students have started on their assigned work 
    • Provide timely interventions like sending reminders to the class or individual students 
    • Adjust instruction based on class progress Metrics for Drive attachments in Classroom

    Who’s impacted 

    End users 


    Why you’d use it 

    This feature gives teachers visibility into student progress on academic work and helps them provide effective interventions to best support students. 


    Additional details

    The feature is currently only available on assignments with Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drawings attachments. 


    Getting started 

    • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
    • End users: 

    Rollout pace 

    Availability 

    Resources 

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    Admins currently can configure the third-party apps as “Trusted”, giving them access to all OAuth scopes or as “Limited”, giving them access to scopes only from Google services which are not restricted. Beginning today, we’re giving admins another layer of granular control for third-party apps. Specifically, you can now configure apps to be limited by selected OAuth 2.0 Scopes for Google APIs, such as Drive or Gmail scopes. This helps ensure that these apps do not gain additional access without admin consent based on new API scopes that they might request in the future, keeping data access limited to only what is deemed absolutely necessary by admins.




    Getting started

    Rollout pace


    Availability

    • Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as Cloud Identity Free and Premium customers


    Resources


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    More granular control for Google Apps Script
    We’re introducing a new toggle in the Admin console that adds controls for who can access and execute Google Apps Script scripts.
    • Users who have Apps Script turned on can use it to create, edit, and execute Apps Script scripts.
    • When disabled, end users can’t create or edit scripts and script and trigger executions are blocked. 
    By default, Apps Script is turned on for all users in an organization. To change this setting, navigate to the Admin console > Apps > Google Workspace > Drive and Docs > Google Apps Script. This setting will not take effect if the entire Drive and Docs Service is turned OFF.  | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to Google Workspace customers. | Learn more about turning Apps Script on or off for users.


    Improving tables in Google Sheets
    Following our announcement of tables in Google Sheets, we’re excited to introduce improvements to the experience. More specifically, you can now: 

    1. Add table rows (anywhere in a table) and columns (to the right of a table) from an easy button at the edge of a table. 
    Add table rows and columns from an easy button at the edge of a table.

    2. Automatically set column types when converting a range to a table.
    Automatically set column types when converting a range to a table

    3. Drag values down or across to auto-fill cells, which expands the table automatically.

    Drag values down or across to auto-fill cells, which expands the table automatically.

    4. Use spaces in table names, meaning you can name something “Project tracker” instead of “Project_tracker”.

    Use spaces in table names
    Rollout to Rapid Release domains for #2 is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for August 5, 2024. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now for #1, #3 and #4; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for August 14, 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using tables in Google Sheets. 

    Google Meet annotation updates for mobile devices 
    Earlier this year, we announced annotations for Google Meet, which made it possible for presenters and their appointed co-annotators to highlight content or make other notations over presented content. Beginning today, Android users can appoint co-annotators. Previously on Android devices, it was only possible for presenters to use annotations. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Standard, and Plus; Enterprise Starter, Standard, and Plus; Frontline Starter and Standard; Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus; Education Standard, Plus, the Teaching & Learning Upgrade; Workspace Individual subscribers. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using annotations in Google Meet.


    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.


    Catch up on followed threads from the home shortcut in Google Chat 
    We’re introducing the ability to follow and review threads within the home shortcut in Chat. | Learn more about threads in home. 

    Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive introduces a new PDF viewing experience 
    You can now interact with the Gemini side panel while viewing PDFs. | Learn more about PDF viewing with Gemini. 

    Allowlist and Audit Logs for URLs accessed from Google Apps Script and Google Sheets 
    Admins can now monitor which URLs are being accessed by referencing new logs that we’re adding to the audit and investigation page. Admins can then create an allowlist that controls which of those URLs they’d like to enable/disable. | Learn more about accessed URLs. 

    Prevent downloading, printing, or copying files by combining Data Loss Prevention rules with Context-Aware Access conditions 
    Today, we’re expanding protections by enabling admins to combine DLP rules with Context-Aware Access conditions. | Learn more about combining rules and conditions.

    Admins can now centrally set default grading settings for teachers in their district
    Classroom admins can now centrally set default grading settings for teachers in their district using the Admin console. | Learn more about default grading settings.

    Educators can now create new classes in Google Classroom using SIS data and import grading periods from the SIS
    Teachers can now create new classes by importing information such as student rosters, co-teachers, grading categories, and grading periods from their SIS. Also, teachers can now import their grading periods from their student information systems (SIS) into Classroom. | Learn more about new SIS capabilities. 


    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: 
    Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 

    Paused rollouts

    We have paused the rollout for this feature while we evaluate performance and quality. We will provide an update with new rollout information as soon as possible. 

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


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    Today, we’re excited to announce the ability for teachers to create new classes by importing information such as student rosters, co-teachers, grading categories, and grading periods from their SIS. Teachers can also pull this information into newly created classes in Classroom. Along with this, we’re launching the ability for teachers to import their grading periods from their student information systems (SIS) into Classroom. Please note this feature is only available for customers using one of our current SIS partners, which will expand over time. 


    Once an admin establishes a connection between their district SIS and Google Classroom, teachers can manually link new or existing Google Classroom classes to their SIS, then use the connection to import grading categories, import students rosters, import co-teachers, and starting today, import grading periods and create new classes using SIS data.

    Getting started

      • If a SIS is connected by your admin:
        • Teachers can import grading periods by going to classroom.google.com > select the class > Settings > next to “Grading Periods,” click “Import from SIS.”
        • Teachers can import “full class” information by going to classroom.google.com > click “Create or join a class” > select “Create class” > in the pop-up window, click the down arrow and select your SIS class > check the items you want to import to the new class (e.g. students, co-teachers, grading periods, grade categories).
      • Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Classroom with your SIS and importing data from your SIS.

    Rollout pace


    Availability

    Available for Google Workspace:

    • Education Plus and the Teaching & Learning Upgrade

    Resources


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