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Google Workspace

Google Workspace Updates: October 18 – 22, 2021

By October 22, 2021November 3rd, 2021No Comments

New updates

Drive for desktop support for Apple silicon (M1) devices now generally available

Earlier this year, we added Drive for desktop support for Apple Silicon (M1) devices in beta. Since then, we’ve been making improvements to the functionality, and it is now generally available. Learn more in the Google Drive for desktop release notes. Available to all Google Workspace customers, and G Suite Basic and Business customers. Also available to users with personal Google accounts. | Read more.

Previous announcements

View more information about your colleagues and stakeholders in Google Contacts

Google Contacts will include additional information about people in your organization such as: working hours, non-manager relationships, shared files, and more. Read more.

Control session length for Google Cloud Console and gcloud CLI now generally available

In 2019, we announced a beta that allows Google Workspace, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and Cloud Identity admins to set a fixed session duration for specific apps and services. This is now generally available. Available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as G Suite Basic and Business customers, and Google Cloud Identity Free and Premium customers. Read more.

Mark Google Chat messages as unread

You can now mark a Google Chat direct message (DM) or Space as read or unread on mobile and on the web. Read more.

Integrate Google Chat with a 3rd-party archiving solution

You can now send an email archive of Google Chat messages to a 3rd party archiving solution. Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus customers. Read more.

Easily add to Google Docs with the new universal @ menu

We’ve added a universal insertion menu to easily add things like tables and images, in addition to smart chips, directly in Google Docs. Simply type “@”, and you’ll see a list of recommended files, people, meetings, and different content elements and formats to insert into your work. Read more.

Classic Sites to new Google Sites migration reminder

Starting December 1, 2021: you will no longer be able to edit any remaining classic Google Sites in your domain. Starting January 1, 2022: classic Google Sites will no longer be viewable unless they are converted to new Google Sites. See full announcement for more information and milestones. Read more.

Add a page break before paragraphs in Google Docs

You can now mark a paragraph to always begin on a new page with the new “Add page break before” option in Google Docs. Read more.

Set aside time for focus in Google Calendar

We’re introducing a new Google Calendar entry type, Focus time, so you can block out and protect your time for heads-down individual work. Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Teaching & Learning Upgrade, Education Standard, Education Plus, and Nonprofits customers. Read more.

Visual updates and improvements for the To, Cc, and Bcc fields in Gmail

When interacting with the “To”, “Cc”, and “Bcc” fields, some improvements you’ll notice are a new right-click menu to view a recipient’s full name, edit contact names, etc., avatar chips for recipients, and more. Read more.

Google Meet meeting hosts now have more control of participant’s audio and video feeds for smoother, more productive meetings

Meeting hosts in Google Meet can now use Audio and Video Lock to turn off the microphones and/or cameras of other participants in the meeting and prevent them from turning them back on until you unlock them, in the main and breakout rooms. Read more.