Google Workspace

Smart canvas is Google’s push to boost integrations between its family of Workspace apps. In Google Docs, dropdown chips and table templates are the latest additions meant to boost productivity.

Google is updating the toolbar menus that appear in the Docs web client with a focus on making it “easier to locate the most commonly used features.” 

In addition to offering user-facing apps, Google Workspace gives companies the ability to manage their employees’ devices. Google Workspace admins now have more control over Android app updates on work devices that use managed Google Play.

Google recently redesigned and tweaked the Google Contacts app on Android. The app has a new menu where users get tools to manage their contacts, allowing them to import and export as well merge and restore Google Contacts. These tools were available in some capacity before but were out of sight and mind. So how do you use them? This guide will break it down.

As announced at the end of last month, Google Meet is now built into Docs, Sheets, and Slides with a prominent new button that’s rolling out from today.

Google announced in January that “G Suite legacy free edition” accounts would have to start paying for Workspace this year, but that’s now being slightly delayed. Meanwhile, those opting for the no-cost option will soon have to join a waiting list to avoid payments.

When editing another person’s document, Google today lets you leave a comment or suggest edits. Google Docs on the web will soon support emoji reactions as a “less formal alternative to comments to express your opinions.”

In addition to Smart Compose, grammar corrections, and spelling autocorrect, Google Docs is now rolling out writing suggestions that feature a purple underline to help with tone, style, and word choice.

Alongside a slew of Meet announcements, Google Voice is getting a pair of new capabilities, most notably call recording, for enterprise subscribers. Google also previewed what’s coming to Spaces this year.

When G Suite was rebranded to Google Workspace in 2020, the company teased that Meet was coming to Docs, Sheets, and Slides. That Google Meet integration is now coming along with desktop web Picture-in-Picture (PiP), in-call reactions and more.

With the small business-focused Workspace Individual tier last year, Google Calendar gained appointment scheduling. Google is now bringing Calendar booking pages to the other enterprise and education Workspace tiers. 

Available now, Google Sheets has greatly expanded how much data you can fit on a single spread, with a whopping 10 million cell limit.

As previewed in February, Google Docs on the web is getting a rather nifty template for drafting emails that features Gmail integration. This is part of Google’s @-menu and Smart Canvas push.

At the start of last week, Google began rolling out the “new view” redesign of Gmail on the web. It has now hit our accounts, and here’s a look at how it works, as well as other details we’ve found while using it this afternoon.

Google is working to make Spaces in Chat more versatile and feature rich. It will eventually replace Currents, and Google is now rolling out features like setting Space Managers and guidelines.

Like email, the experience of searching through files can always benefit from improvements. For its part, Google Drive is in the process of beta testing search chips to “help users refine their search and locate files faster.”

One of the first major announcements at I/O 2021 was Google’s initiative to offer a more integrated and interactive Workspace experience. The latest “Smart canvas” features are now here, including AI summaries in Google Docs.

At the end of last month, Google officially detailed the “new integrated view” for Gmail on the web. This redesign is now rolling out for the first Gmail users, including those with personal Google Accounts.