Google Workspace Features Update: July 2023

Google Workspace Features Update Summary - July 2023

The summary of essential information about new features and improvements for Google Workspace customers in July 2023.

Product: Chat

Add hyperlinks to text in Google Chat

Edition:  Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts.

Who’s impacted: All end users

You can now hyperlink text on the web and Android when composing or editing a message in Google Chat. This update also includes copying over inserted links from Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly into Chat. We hope this highly requested feature helps make your messages look cleaner, more compact and easier to read. Read more.

Product: Calendar

Client-side encryption for Google Calendar is now generally available on mobile

Edition: Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers.

Who’s impacted: Admins and end-users

Earlier this year, we expanded the client-side encryption beta to Google Calendar on mobile to help customers strengthen the confidentiality of their data while helping address a broad range of data sovereignty and compliance requirements. Today, we’re happy to announce that client-side encryption for Google Calendar is now generally available on Android and iOS devices for eligible Workspace editions. Read more.

Product: Calendar

Adding more flexibility to working locations in Google Calendar

Edition:  Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Nonprofits.

Who’s impacted: All end-users

we’re introducing an option to set sub-day working locations in the Calendar grid. This will help users to more accurately reflect their availability based on their physical location, which can change throughout the day. Working from multiple locations is especially prevalent in a hybrid work environment when many have the flexibility to work from home, an office, a specific building, or a combination. Read more.

Product: Calendar

Paid appointment bookings now available in Google Calendar

Edition:  Available to Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Nonprofits, and Workspace Individual.

Who’s impacted: Admins & end-users

To improve upon the current capabilities of appointment scheduling, the Google Calendar feature that allows users to share their availability via a booking page, we're now integrating paid appointment bookings into Google Calendar. As a result: 

Appointment providers can connect their Stripe account to Calendar when creating an appointment schedule and setting a price. You can also create a new Stripe account from Calendar. Read more.

Product: Contacts

Reminder: delegators must re-approve contacts delegates by August 2023

Edition:  All Google Workspace customers

Who’s impacted: Admins & end-users

In May 2023, we announced that delegated users can manage contact labels on behalf of their delegator via contacts.google.com. As part of this update, delegators need to review existing delegates and add new delegates. This must be completed by July 31, 2023, or delegates will lose access to manage contacts. Admins can also make these adjustments for users in their domain using the Admin SDK API to remove and re-add the contacts delegate privilege. | Learn more about managing contact labels. Read more.

Product: Docs

Revamping the "First Open Experience" in Docs on Android devices 

Edition: Available to all Google Workspace customers.

Who’s impacted: All End users

Last week, we announced a more creation-focused experience when first opening the Sheets and Slides apps on Android devices. We’re extending this to the Docs app, which will now start in edit mode. Additionally, the formatting toolbar will be more visible, you will see an I-beam cursor, and tapping once exposes an on-screen keyboard unless a physical keyboard is attached. Read more.

Product: Docs

Add hyperlinks to text in Google Chat

Edition:  Available to all Google Workspace customers and users with personal Google Accounts

Who’s impacted: All end users

In addition to previous updates that give you more control over formatting in Google Docs, such as viewing non-printing characters and enhancements to content organization, we’re introducing the option to display line numbers within Docs that are set to paged mode. 

The numbers are automatically calculated next to each line in the document and can be configurable for the entire document, a page, or a specific section. Additionally, these numbers are preserved when printing. Read more.

Product: Drives

Import sensitive external files to Google Drive with client-side encryption using the Drive API, launching in beta

Edition:  Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus customers.

Who’s impacted:  All end Users

For select Google Workspace editions, admins can import sensitive, encrypted files from third-party storage using Client-side encryption and the Google Drive API, preserving the confidentiality of your data. Eligible admins can apply for beta access using this form. Read more.

Product: Editors

Including the Alt text option in the Image options sidebar of Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings

Edition:  All Google Workspace customers and consumers.

Who’s impacted: All admins

Currently, users add alternative text to images in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings by right-clicking an image and selecting “Alt text,” which then opens a box for them to input the text. Starting this week, we’re making this feature more discoverable by adding it to the “Image options” sidebar that appears when you right-click an image. Read more.

Product: Sheets

Add emojis in Google Sheets

Edition: All Google Workspace customers.

Who’s impacted: All End users

Emojis are a great way for people to express themselves across Google Workspace. We’re excited to announce that you can now insert emojis into a Google Sheet by:

• Typing “@” > “Emoji” > select the desired emoji
• Going to “Insert” > “Emoji” > select the desired emoji
• Read more.

Source: https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com