The Google Admin console is how administrators manage Google services for people in their organization, and a redesign is rolling out over the coming weeks to help modernize it.
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Last year, Docs added a built-in citations tool, and Google is now updating the capability with more source types to join the existing five.
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In addition to a web revamp, Google Chat is rolling out more notification settings over the coming weeks. These new options are “based on your level of engagement or involvement in specific conversations.”
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While Google Drive does offer a GUI lookup interface, power users often take advantage of search operators to save time. A change is in the process of rolling out to “make finding shared files easier.”
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Google is adding a small but highly useful feature to the Calendar website that lets you snooze notifications. This was a “top user request” that’s long overdue for the web client.
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Google is introducing a “new way to view and manage notifications” related to your Drive files. The hope is that users with this new notifications feed will spend less time switching between Google Drive for Android and an email app.
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The presenter bar in Google Slides is getting redesigned to offer a “less intrusive experience” for presenters and viewers alike. Overall, the new toolbar is more hidden and not as distracting.
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Over the past month, Google has announced a slew of upcoming video calling features for education and enterprise customers. Some of them are now rolling out, including the ability to set up Google Meet breakout rooms in advance using Calendar.
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Internet quality can greatly vary around the world, with Google hoping to expand who can participate in video calls with a Meet Global Dialing subscription.
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Google has been working to make Assistant compatible with enterprise G Suite accounts since 2019. It started with a beta, and Google Assistant will now be generally available to all Workspace customers on Android over the coming weeks.
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In October, G Suite became Workspace and last month rolled out to education customers. A new “Workspace Frontline” tier is coming as Google lays out how it wants to help users adapt to the new hybrid working environment.
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Commenting in Docs can get especially unwieldy when there are several participants working on a multi-part file. Google Docs is making a pair of changes to the comments experience, starting with a filter.
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Back in 2019, Google made the “Working Hours” feature in Calendar much more prominent to aid Digital Wellbeing efforts. Google Calendar is now adding support for split working hours, as well as creating repeat out of office (OOO) entries.
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As distance learning continues, Google Meet is rolling out a handful of new features, including emoji reactions to help students better express themselves and more moderation controls for teachers.
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Google’s rebrand of G Suite to Workspace in October first rolled out to businesses, with the promise that personal and nonprofits users would follow later. Google Workspace for Education is rolling out next with more editions that better suit the needs of schools from pre-K to the PhD level.
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Back in 2019, Google provided dedicated Meet IP addresses to help network prioritization. That was focused on Workspace domains, and Google Meet is now listing a range of official, fixed IP addresses for all other users.
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The search bar in Gmail is already a powerful tool, especially when using the advanced filters, and will now show associated email aliases in results.
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Last month, we reported that Drive File Stream was being renamed to “Google Drive for desktop.” This name change is part of a broader move in 2021 to unify the current enterprise client with the consumer-focused Backup and Sync app that offers Google Photos upload.
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After adding a “Troubleshooting” menu last month, Google Meet now has a pre-video call “green room” to “quickly preview how you’ll appear to others before entering.” Available on the desktop web, it lets you check peripheral and network status.
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Google is updating Calendar on the web with basic offline viewing functionality. This joins Gmail, Drive, and Docs/Sheets/Slides, though the new feature is currently only for Google Workspace accounts.
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One way to boost the adoption of Google Chat is by making it available directly in the email tab that users likely already have open. The Gmail web client now lets you resize the Google Chat and Rooms side widgets.
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A handful of factors play into the quality of your video call, and Google Meet now wants to “make it easier for end users to understand how their local desktop and network environments affect meeting quality” with a new Troubleshooting menu.
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Google is touting a “more tailored experience” on a revised Meet homepage for Workspace customers that provides three precise options for creating a new meeting.
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Google started the week with a big outage that took down Gmail, Drive, and all other Workspace apps. As promised, Google now has a detailed explanation on the outage and steps it will take to prevent future incidents.
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