Collaboration Services News and Updates

Table of contents

• Google Calendar
• Improved user interface for sharing your working location in Google Calendar
• Require email verification to book appointments in Google Calendar
• Google Chat
• Add personal tasks from Google Chat
• Google Docs
• Take action on multiple text selections in Google Docs
• Google Drive
• Easily see file locations in Google Drive
• Cut, copy and paste files using keyboard shortcuts in Google Drive Web
• Google Meet
• Easily search for Google Meet content in Google Drive
• Share your video feed when using Companion mode in Google Meet
• Important: Upcoming changes to Google Duo and Google Meet

Google Calendar

Improved user interface for sharing your working location in Google Calendar

When sharing your working location or viewing another’s working location in Google Calendar, you will now see a new compact display of the information that uses less screen space and is displayed more efficiently. 

When displaying your own working location, the location has a more compact display and uses less space.



If you display the working location for multiple people, instead of occupying a full row, they will be combined by location.



For more information on setting up your working location, visit: Set your working hours & location.

Feature Availability: This feature is now available to all users.

Require email verification to book appointments in Google Calendar

In our March 7 to April 8 Features Recap, we announced a new way to set up appointment availability on your Google Calendar called Appointment Schedules. Now, you can require the appointment requestor to verify their email address either by being signed into a Google account or verifying with an emailed PIN. 



This option is also sticky, meaning the selected option will apply to any future Appointment schedules that you create on a calendar.

Feature Availability: This feature is now available to all users.

Google Chat

Add personal tasks from Google Chat

In Google Chat, you can now create personal tasks from a direct message or group message in Google Chat. This helps to allow you to stay on top of tasks when talking with coworkers. 

When selecting the “More options” menu next to a message in Google Chat, you will now see an option to “Add to Tasks”.



Tasks added will be visible in the Google Tasks side panel and in Google Calendar (if a due date has been added.) A description can also be added.

Feature Availability: This feature is currently rolling out to all users and is expected to be available on or before June 7, 2022. It will be initially available for Android and web users and will roll out to iOS users in the coming months.

Google Docs

Take action on multiple text selections in Google Docs

In Google Docs you will now be able to make multiple text selections at once and take action on them. This allows you to take actions such as formatting, copying, pasting, and deleting text at the same time more easily.



To select multiple sections of text at once:

• Windows and Chrome OS Users: After selecting one section of text, Ctrl + Alt + Shift + Left/right arrow. Use the left/right arrow to move to a separate section of text you also want to select.
• Mac Users: After selecting one section of text, Ctrl + ⌘ + Shift + Left/right arrow. Use the left/right arrow to move to a separate section of text you also want to select.

For more information regarding keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs, visit: Keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs.

Feature Availability: This feature is currently rolling out to all users and is expected to be available on or before June 9, 2022.

Google Drive

Easily see file locations in Google Drive

You can now more easily see where a file is located in Google Drive through a new column for file location when viewing the Search, Recent, Starred and Trash web views of Google Drive. This greatly improves determining where a file is located in a list of files with mixed locations. When clicking on a location, a pop-out will display more information about the full location.



Feature Availability: his feature will be available on or before June 17, 2022.

Cut, copy and paste files using keyboard shortcuts in Google Drive Web

In Google Drive for the web, you can now use the common keyboard shortcuts for cut, copy, and paste to move and copy files in Google Drive, such as Ctrl + C / ⌘ + C to copy a file, Ctrl + V / ⌘ + V to paste, and Ctrl + X / ⌘ + X to cut. This provides an easily solution to copying and moving files than having to navigate and drag and drop files

When using the above shortcuts to copy, you can also use it to copy a file with its title and Drive link into an email.

An additional shortcut for creating shortcuts to files has also been added, by first copying the file and then using Ctrl + Shift + V / ⌘ + Shift + V to paste a shortcut to the file in its original location.



Finally, you can use Ctrl + Enter / ⌘ + Enter to open a selected file or folder.

Feature Availability: this feature will be available on or before June 16, 2022.

Google Meet

Easily search for Google Meet content in Google Drive

You can now more easily search for files generated by Google Meet in Google Drive when using the search bar by searching app:”Google Meet”.

These files include:

• Meeting recordings 
• Chat transcripts (coming soon)
• Attendance reports 
• Polls or question and answer reports 
• Meeting transcripts (coming soon)
• Meeting notes created in Google Calendar 



As always, you can combine multiple search criteria in the search bar with the app:”Google Meet” to easily find a meeting using additional information, such as when the file was created or certain words that might have been used in the meeting.

Feature Availability: This feature is now available to all users.

Share your video feed when using Companion mode in Google Meet

Previously when joining a meeting, you could join using “Companion mode,” which provided a quick way to join a meeting with only a screen presentation. Companion mode is also used in a hybrid environment.

Now, it is possible to turn on your camera after initially joining using Companion mode, making it easier to fully immerse in the conversation without having to leave the meeting and then rejoin.

For more information about using Companion mode, visit: Participate in hybrid video calls on a second screen using Meet Companion mode – Google Workspace Learning Center.

Feature Availability: This feature is now available to all users.

Important: Upcoming changes to Google Duo and Google Meet

Google has announced that beginning in mid-2022, Google Duo, a mostly personal/consumer product used for connecting with friends and family, will begin to be merged with Google Meet. This process will begin by Google Duo receiving all of the features present in Google Meet, including enterprise features in the context of Google Workspace. Then later in 2022, Google Duo will be merged into Google Meet as a singular product and retain the “Google Meet”.

While regular Google Meet users won’t be immediately affected by this change, this will bring several new features to Google Meet, including:

• A way to directly call other people via their associated email address or phone number (if it has been set up) – an equivalent feature already present in Duo – will be available at meet.google.com/calling (not yet available.)
• Use fun filters and effects in calls.

For more information about this change, visit: Upcoming changes to Google Duo.

Change Availability: Google has announced this change will take effect in two phases:

• Phase 1: Mid-2022, Beginning this month.
• Phase 2: Later in 2022

More information will follow as it becomes available.

Categories Google Calendar, Google Chat, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Feature Updates and Changes, Google Meet, Google Workspace News, Important Changes, Other Google Feature News

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