Upcoming changes to commenting behavior on YouTube for Google Apps customers

Upcoming changes to commenting behavior on YouTube for Google Apps customers

Posted: 28 Jul 2015 12:56 PM PDT

This week we announced some upcoming changes to the way Google+ and YouTube will interact moving forward that will make commenting simpler and more streamlined. For Google Apps customers with YouTube enabled, there are few key changes to highlight:

§ Comments posted on YouTube will now appear only on YouTube, not also on Google+ (and vice-versa). We will remove the “Also share on Google+” checkbox from the YouTube commenting interface.

§ Individuals in a Google Apps domain will no longer have the ability to restrict comments made on YouTube to be viewable only in their domain. They will see a warning alerting them to the fact that their comments will be public:

Similarly, Google Apps admins will no longer be be able to restrict YouTube comments to be viewable only in their domain by default.

Note: These changes will not impact any existing comments that have already been shared to Google+ or that have been shared privately. Those existing private comments and posts will stay private. These changes will only impact new comments on YouTube that are made going forward.

Launch Details
Release track:  
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release during the week of Aug 3

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact: 
All end users
 
Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

A new look for the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides viewers on the mobile web

A new look for the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides viewers on the mobile web

Posted: 27 Jul 2015 02:18 PM PDT

To create a consistent experience across the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides viewers on the web on mobile, today we’re introducing a simpler, more uniform interface for each.

In addition, we’re encouraging people to edit their Google Docs files in the mobile app, which is easier to use and offers more robust functionality. Going forward, when users open Docs files on the mobile web and attempt to edit, they’ll be taken directly to the app or given the option to download it. Like with Google Sheets and Slides files, they’ll no longer be able to edit Docs files on the mobile web.

Check out the Help Center for more information.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office Posted: 21 Jul 2015 10:10 AM PDT With Google Drive you can keep all your important files in one place, then open them with your choice of apps and devices. Today, we’re offering new ways to work together with Office files, using the Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office. With the new Google Drive plug-in, people using Office for Windows can now open their Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents stored in Drive and then save any changes back to Drive once they’re done. If you’re working on a document, spreadsheet or presentation that’s on your computer, you can also save that file to Google Drive, directly from the Office apps. This is especially useful for sharing files with teams, or for accessing your files across devices. The Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office supports Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (2007, 2010, and 2013 versions), and Office 365 if you've downloaded and installed Microsoft Office on your computer as part of an Office 365 subscription. Check out the Help Center links below for more information. Launch Details Release track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) Impact: All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI For more information: Help Center: Admins Help Center: End users Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted Launch release calendar Launch detail categories Get these product update alerts by email Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office Posted: 21 Jul 2015 10:10 AM PDT With Google Drive you can keep all your important files in one place, then open them with your choice of apps and devices. Today, we’re offering new ways to work together with Office files, using the Google Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office. With the new Google Drive plug-in, people using Office for Windows can now open their Word, Excel and Powerpoint documents stored in Drive and then save any changes back to Drive once they’re done. If you’re working on a document, spreadsheet or presentation that’s on your computer, you can also save that file to Google Drive, directly from the Office apps. This is especially useful for sharing files with teams, or for accessing your files across devices. The Drive plug-in for Microsoft Office supports Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (2007, 2010, and 2013 versions), and Office 365 if you've downloaded and installed Microsoft Office on your computer as part of an Office 365 subscription. Check out the Help Center links below for more information. Launch Details Release track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace:  Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) Impact:  All end users   Action: Change management suggested/FYI

Notification of invalid sharing settings in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Notification of invalid sharing settings in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides Posted: 20 Jul 2015 12:13 PM PDT Sharing files in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides is crucial to collaboration, but it’s important to maintain confidentiality by setting the appropriate file-sharing permissions. As such, employees can share files only to the extent allowed by their Google Apps administrators (for example, as an Apps admin, you can restrict employees from sharing Drive files and folders outside of your organization). This launch will provide employees with more information on how their files are being shared. In particular, the “Sharing with others” dialog will now show employees warnings when: § a file is shared with a person outside of the sharing employee’s domain, but sharing outside of that employee’s domain is disabled, § a file is shared with a person outside of the sharing employee’s domain, but sharing into the receiving person’s domain is disabled, and/or § a file is shared using one of the “anyone” options, but sharing or publishing outside of the sharing employee’s domain is disabled. Launch Details Release track: Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks Rollout pace: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) Impact: All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI

Clearer indication of 'View' and 'Comment' access in Google Docs editors

Clearer indication of 'View' and 'Comment' access in Google Docs editors

Posted: 20 Jul 2015 10:04 AM PDT

In an effort to make it more clear when people using the Google Docs editors have only ‘View’ or ‘Comment’ access to a file―and to simplify the process of requesting edit access―we’re making some minor UI tweaks.

Starting today, those with ‘View only’ access to a document, spreadsheet, slide, or drawing will see a new blue button in the toolbar:

Those with ‘Comment only’ access to a spreadsheet, slide, or drawing will see a similar green button (in documents, the ‘Suggesting’ mode indication will remain in the right side of the toolbar):

Clicking on the button allows one to easily request edit access from the file owner:

Check out the Help Center for more information on file sharing.

Launch Details 
Release track:  
Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks

Rollout pace: 
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact: 
All end users
 
Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

New content notifications in the Classroom app

New content notifications in the Classroom app

Posted: 15 Jul 2015 11:31 AM PDT

Over the next few days, students will begin receiving mobile notifications via the Classroom app for Android and iOS when new content is added to their classes. For instance, students will be alerted immediately when they receive new assignments or grades, notes from teachers, comments from fellow classmates, and more—allowing them to stay on top of their schoolwork even more easily.
  
Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

Disable downloading, printing, and copying of any Google Drive file

Disable downloading, printing, and copying of any Google Drive file Posted: 14 Jul 2015 11:25 AM PDT With Information Rights Management (IRM), people using Google Drive can now disable downloading, printing, and copying from the advanced sharing menu―perfect for when the file you're sharing contains sensitive information that you don't want shared broadly or leaked. This new option is available for any file stored in Google Drive, including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations created with Google Docs. To enable this feature, open the sharing dialogue from any Google document, spreadsheet, presentation, or other file in Drive on the web and click on Advanced in the lower right hand corner. Check the ‘Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers’ box and click Save changes. This functionality is also available through API. Notes: § This feature can be enabled by file owners only, and on the web only § Once this feature is enabled, all entry points for downloading, printing, and copying will be removed from Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides on all platforms. § Google documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for which this feature has been enabled will show a notification at the top of the File and Edit menus Check out the Help Center for more information. Launch Details Release track: Launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in two weeks Rollout pace:  Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) Impact:  All end users   Action: Change management suggested/FYI

Customize the App Launcher to make frequently used apps more accessible

Google Apps update alerts

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• Customize the App Launcher to make frequently used apps more accessible
• Whitelist specific Google Apps domains to allow file sharing from Google Drive, Docs editors, and Classroom
• Print and preview event support in Google Drive audit logs

Customize the App Launcher to make frequently used apps more accessible Posted: 13 Jul 2015 12:49 PM PDT As previously announced, it is now possible to customize the App Launcher by moving app icons between rows and screens. While Google Apps admins will not be able to customize the App Launcher for their employees, individuals will be able to configure the App Launcher on their own—making it easier for them to access the apps they use most. To help you spread the word about this new feature to your employees, a message explaining it will appear at the top of the App Launcher for a short time following the launch. Employees can dismiss this message permanently at any time by simply clicking the “x” in the upper right-hand corner. A few things to note: § If an admin disables an app that appears in an employee’s customized App Launcher, that app will still show up—but it will be greyed out and unclickable. § If an admin enables a previously unavailable app, that app won’t automatically show up in employees’ App Launchers, but employees can add it when visiting the specific app. Launch Details Release track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility) Impact: All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

Whitelist specific Google Apps domains to allow file sharing from Google Drive, Docs editors, and Classroom

Whitelist specific Google Apps domains to allow file sharing from Google Drive, Docs editors, and Classroom

Posted: 13 Jul 2015 11:42 AM PDT

Companies today don’t work in silos; businesses are often dependent upon partnerships with other businesses, vendors, and organizations—not to mention customers. As a Google Apps admin, you may currently protect your data by restricting employees from sharing Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides files outside of your domain. At times, however, such external sharing is necessary and appropriate (for example, with a trusted supplier or newly acquired company). In addition, educators and students often need to work across multiple domains—teaching and taking classes in domains other than their own. Today, as previously announced, we’re making that cross-domain work and sharing possible by launching Whitelisted Domains in Google Drive, the Google Docs editors, and Google Classroom.

You can now easily whitelist certain Google Apps domains and manage sharing options with respect to those domains. You can even turn Whitelisted Domains on or off for specific organizational units, but for any OUs turned “on,” the list of whitelisted domains must be the same.

Check out the Help Center for more information on making Whitelisted Domains work for your business. Please note that this feature is only available to Google Drive for Work and Google Apps for Education customers.

Launch Details

Release track:

Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Rollout pace: 

Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested 

Google Apps update alerts

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Edit and review more easily in the newest Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps for Android Posted: 09 Jul 2015 10:57 AM PDT The latest versions of the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps for Android make it easier to work on both Google and non-Google files on mobile. Check out the new features below. § People can now edit document, spreadsheet, and presentation titles directly from the overflow menu in the top right corner of each app, making renaming files faster and simpler. § Within the Slides app, individuals can now change the layout of an existing slide to one of several predefined layouts, allowing them to update presentations on mobile more effectively. § People can now reply to comments when working in Office Compatibility Mode in the Docs app. In addition, when in OCM, suggestions and comments now appear in the Comments panel in the order they were made—rather than as all comments first and all suggestions second.  For more information, check out the Help Center links below. Download the latest Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on Google Play. Launch Details [learn more] Release track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release Rollout pace: Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility) Impact: All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI More Information View and create documents on Android Edit presentations on Android or iPhone/iPad Edit and download Office files Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted Launch release calendar Launch detail categories Get these product update alerts by email Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Create and manage custom maps in Google Drive

Create and manage custom maps in Google Drive

Posted: 01 Jul 2015 10:25 AM PDT

Google My Maps makes it simple to create, share, and publish custom maps online for a variety of business purposes—from publicizing a company’s location to mapping delivery routes and planning events. Now integrated with Google Drive, My Maps allows anyone to easily create maps with custom lines, shapes, and placemarks, to import geographic data (like addresses, places, and coordinates) into maps, and to share maps as they do other Drive files. Shared maps are subject to the same permission settings as other Drive files, allowing Apps admins to decide which groups of employees can share maps within or outside of their domains