Collaboration Services News and Updates

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Google Updates Recap for July 25 to August 19, 2022

by Doctor Gee

In this features update, we discuss several new and exciting features in Google Meet and Google Calendar, as well as a new SpeedGrader option for Google Assignments and edit notifications for Google Docs.

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Table of contents

Gmail

Better search and suggestion options in Gmail

Gmail will now show more accurate and contextual search results and suggestions when searching for a conversation, file, or contact information. These improvements include:

  • Better contextual contact suggestions for names and email addresses. For example, search results will put matches for first name or email address higher than matches by last name.
  • Personalized suggestions based on past interactions, such as how often you interact with someone via Gmail.

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

Important: Information regarding the new integrated view for Gmail

As mentioned in our last blog posts, all users now have been switched to the new integrated view for Gmail. This view puts Gmail, Chat, Chat Spaces, and Meet all in one convenient while utilizing less space. Users with only Gmail enabled will continue to have a Gmail-only experience.

During this period, it is still possible to opt out to use the previous Gmail experience until the integrated experience is turned on for everyone by going to the Gmail settings gear and clicking “Go back to the original view”. Additional timeline information will be announced when it becomes available. 

For more information about the new integrated view, visit:

Google Assignments

Choose to grade with Canvas SpeedGrader or Google Assignments

In Google Assignments, you now have the option to choose whether to grade assignments using the Canvas SpeedGrader or Google Assignments. This option can be selected when setting up the Google Assignment in Canvas. 

This option allows instructors to choose which interface they’d prefer to leveraging the tools provided by Google Assignments, including originality reports and providing template documents for assignments.

To use SpeedGrader to grade assignments in Canvas, after you have received submissions from students, select the “SpeedGrader” button on the right-hand side of the page.

For more information, visit https://support.google.com/edu/assignments/answer/9433485?hl=en

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

Google Calendar

Better sharing options for appointment schedules

Appointment schedules in Google Calendar now have additional options for how they can be shared. 

These options include providing a short link that can be easily copied and shared with others, or an HTML option that can be embedded in a webpage. 

For more information, visit:

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

Better location context for events and RSVPs in Calendar

When RSVPing for an event on Google Calendar, you can now select an RSVP option that intelligently updates how you will join the event by using your working location. For example, with the new RSVP option selected, if your working location was a specific office location and then was changed to “Home,” your RSVP method would be changed from “Yes, in a meeting room” to “Yes, joining virtually.”

Additionally, others who can view the calendar event will also now see your working location or out of office status directly on the guest list of the event.

Visit the below links for more information:

Feature Availability: This feature is anticipated to be available on or shortly after September 1, 2022.

Google Chat

Space Managers can change access to new and existing spaces in Google Chat

In our previous post, we announced the ability to create a discoverable Space in Google Chat. However, it was not yet possible to change whether the Space could be discoverable or restricted after it was already created. Now, a Space Manager can change an existing Space’s access to make them restricted or discoverable. 

Note: Only Spaces that are not “External” can have this setting changed. “External” Spaces are ones created to allow external users to the organization to join the Space.

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

Google Docs

Stay on top of changes to document content with edit notifications

Similarly to comment notifications, you can now enable edit notifications for a Google Doc. 

These notifications can be enabled either:

  • Directly in the Google Doc (from the Bell icon or Tools → Notification settings)
  • In Gmail (click “Notification settings” in a notification email for the specific Google Doc, such as a comment notification)

By default, these notifications are disabled and must be enabled on a per-document basis. When enabled, notifications will be sent when anyone makes any edits to the document. Multiple edits will typically be combined into one email digest to prevent excessive notifications.

Example of a notification email in Gmail, with a list of who has made edits and color coding to show who made what edit. “Notifications settings” can be selected to change the notification settings for that specific document.

Notification settings can be changed in the Google Doc itself by clicking the “comment” button, then selecting the Bell icon for “Notification settings.”

In the “Notification settings” menu, you can change which notifications you receive for comments, and now, edits as well for added or removed content.

Feature Availability: This feature is anticipated to be available by September 1, 2022.

Google Drive and Google Keep

Improving the Google Workspace experience on large screen Android devices

Google Workspace apps now have a better experience in Android devices with large screens, such as tablets and multi-screen devices, with new ways to work the content in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Google Keep.

Some of these enhancements include:

  • Drag and Drop between Docs, Sheets, and Slides, and Google Keep

  • Attached keyboard support for Google Drive, Docs, and Slides
  • Multi-instance support on Drive (have multiple instances of Drive open at once)

Feature Availability: These features are now available.

Google Meet

The Google Meet and Google Duo app icons are changing, additional information for Google Workspace users

In our last blog post, we announced that Google Meet and Google Duo are merging to become one product. As part of this change, the app icons on mobile are updating to reflect the merging of apps. The “Google Duo” app will adopt the familiar “Google Meet” icon and name, while the original “Google Meet” app will adopt a new icon as it is becoming “Meet (original).”

In addition to this change, some Google Meet features have already been brought over to the app that was originally Google Duo.

For more information regarding this change and the merging of the Google Duo and Google Meet apps, please visit: 

Feature Availability: These changes are now visible to all users, but a mobile app update may be necessary to see the changes.

Improved quality and performance for Google Meet effects on the web

Effects in Google Meet, such as background blurring, background replacement, and immersive backgrounds and styles, are now more accurate for Google Meet users on the web.

Additionally, devices that may struggle to run real-time processing of video effects such as background blurring and light adjustment can now be processed in the cloud, reducing battery and up to 30% of CPU usage. Presently, this cloud processing supports background blur and light adjustment, with additional effects such as background replacement to be added in the future. Switching between on-device processing and cloud-processing is automatically done by Google Meet based on detection of used system resources.

For more information about virtual backgrounds and effects, visit: Change background and apply visual effects in Google Meet.

Feature Availability: Both features are now available to all users.

See how much noise is being removed during Google Meet video calls

A new indicator has been added to show how much noise is being removed in a Google Meet call when noise cancellation is enabled. This indicator comes in two parts:

  • An initial indicator message to show that a burst of noise is being reduced while you are speaking and noise canceling is actively working, which shows only once:
  • An on-going noise indicator ring which grows and shrinks in size around your voice indicator to show how much noise is being filtered at a given moment:

Note: These noise indicators only appear to the individual and are not seen by other participants and noise cancellation must be enabled to see this. Instructions to enable noise cancellation can be found here: Filter out noise from your meetings on Google Meet.


Feature Availability: This feature is now rolling out to users and is anticipated to be available by Aug 31, 2022.

Categories Gmail, Google Assignments, Google Calendar, Google Chat, Google Docs, Google Drive, Google Feature Updates and Changes, Google Meet, Google Tasks and Google Keep, Google Workspace News

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