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What’s changing 
Last year, we announced that users can automatically generate captions for any video uploaded to Google Drive, improving the accessibility of videos and saving users the effort of manually creating captions. To build upon this feature and make information discovery, referencing, and productivity with video content much more efficient, we’re excited to introduce video transcripts. 


Starting today, Drive users can now view and search transcripts for their videos. The transcript appears in a sidebar next to the video player and highlights the currently spoken text. This update makes it easy to find specific moments, follow along with the content, or jump directly to the part of the video you need.

video transcripts in drive
Who’s impacted 
End users 


Why it matters 
Video transcripts can improve the accessibility of media stored in Drive and enables you to easily search and navigate to key moments within your video. 


Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • Your video must have captions to access this feature. A video with captions will have the CC button in the bottom right corner of the video player set to active (not grayed out). 
      • You can add captions to a video by right-clicking the video in Drive > selecting Manage caption tracks > generate automatic captions. You can also generate captions when the video is playing by going to the three dot menu on top right > manage captions tracks > generate automatic captions. 
    • To access video transcripts, open a video with captions in Google Drive > click the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the video to open the video settings > select “Transcript” 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning on video transcripts.

Rollout pace
  • Rapid Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 24, 2025 
  • Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on February 26, 2025, with expected completion by March 26, 2025

Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 
    • Note: Users with personal Google accounts can upload or request automatic captions after uploading a video to Drive. 

Resources 
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What’s changing 
Beginning today, Gemini in the side panel of Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Gmail can be used in seventeen additional languages: 
  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Czech
  • Danish
  • Dutch
  • Finnish
  • Hebrew
  • Hungarian
  • Norwegian
  • Polish
  • Romanian
  • Russian
  • Swedish
  • Thai
  • Turkish
  • Ukrainian
  • Vietnamese
With Gemini in the side panel of your Workspace apps, you can get help summarizing, brainstorming, and generating content by utilizing insights gathered from your emails, documents, and more—all without switching applications or tabs. Check out our original announcements for Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, and Drive, and Gmail for even more information. Image generation is supported in these languages as well. 


Additional details
  • While Gemini in the side panel of Docs, Sheets, Drive, and Gmail, is generally available in these additional languages - as we keep rolling out more Gemini alpha features in the side panel, end users with Gemini alpha features turned on may continue to see the “Alpha” badge. 
  • Gemini in the side panel of Slides and Chat is only available in English at this time.
  • Image generation of people is not supported in these additional languages at this time.
Getting started

Rollout pace

Availability
Available to Google Workspace:
  • Business Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Standard and Plus
  • Customers with the Gemini Education or Gemini Education Premium add-on 
  • Customers with the Gemini Business or Gemini Enterprise add-on*

Available for Gemini in the side panel of Gmail for:
  • Business Starter
  • Enterprise Starter
*As of January 15, 2025, we’re no longer offering the Gemini Business and Gemini Enterprise add-ons for sale. Please refer to this announcement for more details.

Resources

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What’s changing
Last year, we introduced a beta that allows shared drive managers and My Drive owners to restrict folders to specific users. Today, we’re excited to announce the general availability of this feature in shared drives and My Drive, which means that users can restrict access to their My Drive folders using the two options outlined below, and by 2026, we will simplify and align the restricted access principles for My Drive and shared drives.

Current experience for My Drive folders & files:
Users have two options to restrict access to files or folders in their My Drive: 


1. Update item only: Go to your My Drive > choose a file or folder you want to limit access to for a specific user > Change the role of the specific user (e.g. from Commenter to Viewer) > click on "Update item only"

updating role on a parent folder in drive

2. Limit folder access: Go to your My Drive > choose the folder you want to limit access > click the overflow menu > share > select share settings in the top right corner > click limit access to “Folder Name”.

limiting access to a folder in drive

For My Drive folders & files by 2026:
Later this year, we will stop allowing restricted access on specific files and folders as outlined in option 1 above (update item only), and limited access will be done consistently via the limited access folder setting as outlined in option 2 above (limit folder access). 

In the future, we will identify all the files and folders that are shared less broadly than their containing folder and enable limited access on them. This will not immediately change who has access to those items, but it will make it so that if someone were to share or unshare the item’s parent later, those changes will not apply to the item with limited access. We will provide an update in early 2026 before the change to limited access for pre-existing files and folders takes place.


For shared drives:
Only shared drive managers and content managers with sharing access can specify who can open a folder and see what's inside. Everyone else with regular access to the shared drive folder will be able to see that a "sensitive" file or folder exists, and can request access to it. This provides shared drive managers with greater flexibility to keep restricted and unrestricted content within a single shared drive, instead of having multiple folders for different access levels.


Who’s impacted 
Admins, end users and developers 


Why it’s important 
For My Drive, folders with limited access allow users to control the information viewed by others in their organization. For shared drives, folders with limited access allow users to organize files by project, in a single shared drive or shared folder, while ensuring that sensitive information is only accessible to the right team members. 


Additional details 
Drive’s public API 
We’re adding improvements to Drive’s public API that make it easier for developers to adopt the expansive access changes outlined above. Given these updates better align the behavior for items in My Drive and in shared drives, we recommend developers opt in to the expansive access API behavior in My Drive ahead of February 2026, when the changes will be enforced for everyone. Visit this developer guide for more information on managing folders with limited and expansive access.

“Editors can change permissions and share” setting 
As a result of this update, the “Editors can change permissions and share” setting will change by August 2025. 
  • Turning the setting off will still prevent users with Editor access from sharing the item directly, but if the owner places the item into a shared folder, any changes to the containing folder’s access will be applied on the item. Previously, those changes were only applied if the item’s owner was the one making the folder access change. 
  • By August 2025, we will apply limited access to items that have this setting turned off. Due to the limited access, the owner will still be the only person who can share those pre-existing items. Limited access will not be applied to items that have the setting turned off after August 2025.
Getting started 
  • Admins: Admins need to set up shared drives for their organization in order for end users to access this feature. Visit the Help Center to learn more about folders with limited access.
  • End users: 
    • As a shared drive manager or My Drive folder owner, go to your shared drive or My Drive folder > choose the folder you want to limit access > click the overflow menu > share > select share settings in the top right corner > click limited access to “Folder Name”. 
    • Folders with limited access can only be opened by people who have been added to it directly. People with general access to the shared drive or shared folder can see the restricted folder in Drive, but will not be able to open it. 
    • Folders with limited access are available in both shared drives and My Drive: 
      • Shared drive managers can always access folders with limited-access 
      • Folder owners can always access limited-access folders in their My Drive 
    • For users whose access has been limited, you will see the folder name, but the folder will be grayed out: For users whose access has been limited, you will see the folder name, but the folder will be grayed out
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about folders with limited access. 
  • Developers: Visit the Developer Documentation to learn more about managing folders with limited and expansive access. If you decide to opt into the expansive access API early, your app's behavior will not change when Drive stops allowing restricted access in 2026. 
Rollout pace 
Folders with limited access: 
API changes for Expansive Access: 
Availability
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 
Resources 
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1 New update

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.




Local files now sync to Google Drive faster 
We’ve added support for differential uploads to Google Drive, which means when large files are edited, Drive for desktop will now upload only the parts of the file that changed. This highly-requested feature results in much faster Drive syncs. | Rollout to Rapid and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about uploading files & folders to Google Drive.



Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Granular OAuth consent in Google Apps Script IDE executions
The OAuth consent screen will now let users specify which individual OAuth scopes they would like to authorize. | Learn more about OAuth consent in Google Apps Script IDE executions. 


Use Gemini to interact with PDFs in Google Drive’s overlay file previewer 
Earlier this year, we introduced the ability to use Gemini in Google Drive to interact with PDFs. To improve your viewing experience when reviewing PDFs from Drive, we’re excited to announce that Gemini in the side panel of Drive is now integrated into Drive's overlay file previewer. | Learn more about Gemini and Drive’s overlay file previewer. 


Google Meet provides additional privacy for livestreaming with new eCDN On-Premises API 
Admins can now use the eCDN On-Premises API for Google Meet to configure their network for eCDN while keeping classified IP addresses and network information private. | Learn more about the new eCDN On-Premises API. 


Prevent the downloading, printing, or copying of files by all users with Enhanced IRM for Google Drive Data-Loss Prevention
We're expanding IRM to be applicable to all users, including file editors and owners, when it is applied by a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) rule. | Learn more about Enhanced IRM for Google Drive Data-Loss Prevention.


Completed rollouts


Paused rollouts

We have paused the rollout for this feature while we evaluate performance and quality. We will provide an update with new rollout information as soon as possible.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases). 
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What’s changing 
Google Drive’s Information Rights Management (IRM) capability protects documents from data exfiltration actions, specifically downloading, printing, and copying. This is useful for making sure that sensitive content is protected from data leakage. 


Historically, this feature has only been applicable to users with either the “viewer” or “commenter” role, which has left administrators unable to apply the setting to users with write permissions (see here for more information on Drive roles). To address this, we’re expanding IRM to be applicable to all users, including file writers and owners, when it is applied by a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) rule. 

The new Enhanced IRM action, as seen in the DLP Rule creation flow.



Additional details
When an editor or owner is affected by IRM, they will retain the ability to copy and paste document content, but they may only do so within that document. Attempting to paste content outside of the document will not succeed. For more information, please refer to the help center content.


Getting started
  • Admins: DLP rules and CAA levels are applied per-file based on how these rules are configured.
  • End users: Only administrators can set IRM for all user roles on a file. File owners may still only set IRM for viewers and commenters. If a file has both an administrator-applied IRM setting and a file owner setting on it, the administrator setting takes priority. 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. Visit the Help Center to learn more about stopping, limiting, or changing how your files are shared.
A view of the file owner’s IRM setting when an overriding administrator setting is present.

Rollout pace

Availability
  • IRM controls are available for all Google Workspace customers
  • Data Loss Prevention Rules and Context-Aware Access conditions are available for Google Workspace:
    • Enterprise Standard and Plus
    • Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus, and the Teaching and Learning add-on
    • Frontline Standard
    • Enterprise Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus

Resources

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What’s changing
Earlier this year, we introduced the ability to use Gemini in Google Drive to interact with PDFs. To improve your viewing experience when reviewing PDFs from Drive, we’re excited to announce that Gemini in the side panel of Drive is now integrated into Drive's overlay file previewer. 

As a result, you can seamlessly switch between multiple files while leveraging AI capabilities using Gemini in Drive to do things like: 
  • Admins: To access Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps, users need to have smart features and personalization turned on. Admins can turn on default personalization setting for their users in the Admin console. 
  • End users:
    • To access this feature, double-click on a PDF from the Google Drive file list and click on "Ask Gemini" (star button) in the top right corner. 
    • Note: When Gemini initially launched in Workspace, PDFs viewed in Drive opened in a new browser tab to allow interaction with the Gemini side panel. With this update, the default behavior will open a file in the overlay file previewer. If you prefer for PDFs to open in a new tab by default, you can update your PDF opening default behavior in your Drive settings. If you previously set a preferred PDF opening default behavior in your Drive setting, your default open behavior will remain the same. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about using Gemini in Drive to work with PDFs. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
Available for Google Workspace customers with these add-ons: 
  • Gemini Business 
  • Gemini Enterprise 
  • Gemini Education 
  • Gemini Education Premium 
  • Google One AI Premium 

Resources 
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3 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.


Introducing instant video playback after uploads in Google Drive 
Following up on the recent announcement of a smoother, more modern video player in Google Drive, we’re excited to share that you can now watch videos the moment you upload them to Drive on web. This highly-requested feature eliminates wait times between upload and playback, while ensuring your videos still get fully processed. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for January 2, 2025. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about storing & playing video in Google Drive.

instant video playback after uploading video to Google Drive

Updated keyboard shortcuts for Google Groups 
Google Groups is designed to work with keyboards, screen readers, braille devices, screen magnification, and more. We’re excited to improve the accessibility of Groups by introducing updated keyboard shortcuts. Over the coming weeks existing keyboard shortcuts will be replaced by new shortcuts. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains, with expected completion by January 13, 2025. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about using keyboard shortcuts in Google Groups.


SOC 1 compliance for Gemini 
We’re pleased to announce that the Gemini app on web and mobile has achieved SOC 1 compliance. This latest certification is in addition to SOC 2 and SOC 3, which the Gemini app achieved on web and mobile earlier this year. | SOC 1 is available now for Google Workspace customers with a Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, or Education Premium add-on. Also available for Google Workspace customers accessing the Gemini app as a core service with a qualifying edition. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about how Google Workspace satisfies certification and compliance standards and about turning the Gemini app on or off for your users.


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Available in open beta: migrate messages from Microsoft Teams to Google Chat 
We're expanding our data migration experience to include the ability for Google Workspace admins to migrate conversations from channels in Microsoft Teams to spaces in Google Chat, making it easier for organizations to onboard and deploy Chat. | Learn more about migrating messages from Microsoft Teams to Google Chat. 


Available in open beta: Set up Single-Sign On with custom OpenID Connect profiles 
Via open beta, admins now have the option to set up a custom OpenID Connect (OIDC) profile for single sign-on (SSO) with Google as their Service Provider. | Learn more about Single-Sign On with custom OpenID Connect profiles. 


Now generally available: Monitor and manage AppSheet usage in your organization with the AppSheet Admin console 
All Google Workspace Admins with the AppSheet service privilege can access the AppSheet Admin Console. | Learn more about the AppSheet Admin console. 


Control whether your users can add account recovery information with two new admin settings
We’re launching two new settings that will allow admins to control whether their users can add recovery email information and phone information to their Google Workspace account. | Learn more about the new admin settings.


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.


Scheduled Release Domains: 
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 


For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
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3 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.


Use the GitHub app in Google Chat to get notifications about GitHub events
We’re excited to announce that we’ve made updates to the Google Chat integration with GitHub, a cloud-based platform that enables users to store, share and collaborate with others to write code. With these updates users can expect: 
  • Streamlined notification cards with key details from Github, such as issues, pull requests and comments. 
  • Enhanced repository and pull request subscription options (open/merge/close, comments, CI pipeline and test results). 
  • Clearer overview of GitHub links with richer link previews. 
  • Options to configure multiple repositories within a single space. 
Admins can install the Github app on their users’ behalf. End users need a GitHub account to use this app, and can also search for the app in the + New Chat menu to get updates via a DM with the bot. | Rollout to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains is complete. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn how to set up the GitHub app in Chat. 
GitHub app in Google Chat
Mobile scans are now crisper and clearer with auto enhancements in the Google Drive scanner 
Late last year, we made updates to the Google Drive scanner on mobile devices, and recently announced the option to apply black & white filters to Drive scans and save scanned files as PDFs or JPEGs. This week, we’re excited to introduce an additional improvement to the scanner experience on Android devices. Now, with the help of auto enhancement, Drive’s document scanner will digitize paper documents into higher quality images much faster. Depending on the document, auto enhancement will perform actions like white balance correction, shadow removal, contrast enrichment, auto sharpening, light improvement, and more. | Rolling out now to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains, with expected completion by mid February 2025. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about scanning files with your mobile device.The image on the right reflects auto enhancements to the Drive scanner
The image on the right reflects auto enhancements to the Drive scanner


HDMI presentation now supported on Google Meet hardware devices from Poly 
You can now present content via a wired HDMI connection when using Poly devices with Google Meet, specifically Poly Poly Studio X30, X50, X52, and X70 devices. This update provides another option for sharing high-quality video and audio content during your meetings. | Available to all Google Workspace customers. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about presenting using an HDMI cable.


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Create and manage rubrics using the Google Classroom API
Since 2019, teachers have been able to create or reuse a rubric for an assignment, however this capability did not previously exist in the Classroom API. To improve upon this experience, we’re excited to announce that developers can now manage assignment rubrics via the Classroom API. | Learn more about the Google Classroom API. 


Introducing Gemini Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI™) 
We’re pleased to introduce Gemini LTI™, an AI-powered assistant that can integrate into third party Learning Management Systems (LMS). | Learn more about Gemini Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI™). 


Build high-quality, modern documents faster in Google Docs with 40 new templates
We’ve introduced a collection of 40 new high-quality, visually modern designs in Google Docs. These pre-made pageless templates consist of several new features that make your documents visual and effective. | Learn more about templates in Docs.


Create fully stylized documents using Gemini in Google Docs 
This week, we launched help me create, a new feature that lets you build a full document using content in Drive from a single, custom prompt. | Learn more about help me create in Docs. 


Available in open beta: prevent sensitive changes by locking Groups
Admins can now label a Google Group as “Locked,” which will heavily restrict changes to group attributes (such as group name & email address) and memberships. | Learn more about the locking Groups beta. 


Adding folder support to Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive
You can now focus your Gemini conversations in Drive to a specific Drive folder using the side panel. | Learn more about Gemini folder support for Drive files.


Gemini for Workspace usage reports now include Gemini usage per app interactions 
We’re introducing additional usage metrics on the Gemini for Workspace reports in the Admin console. This report will now provide admins additional information about Gemini usage per app by users. | Learn more about Gemini usage reports. 


Now generally available: the Groups Editor & Groups Reader roles can now be provisioned for specific group types 
At the beginning of the year, we launched the ability to assign the Groups Editor and Groups Reader roles for security groups or non-security groups in open beta. This feature is now generally available and Groups Admins have access to all groups. | Learn more about group types. 


New Google Chat usage reports provide deeper insights into user engagement
We’re pleased to introduce new, information-rich usage reports to help Workspace administrators understand how their teams are using Google Chat. | Learn more about usage reports in Chat. 


Improvements to mentions in Google Chat 
When mentioning a user that is not already in the conversation, you will have the option to add them and send the message, or just send the message without adding them in Google Chat. | Learn more about mentions in Chat.


NotebookLM Plus now available to Google Workspace customers
NotebookLM Plus, our newest and most advanced version of NotebookLM, is now available to Gemini for Google Workspace customers. | Learn more about NotebookLM Plus.


Translate messages in-line from one language to another in Google Chat
As one of the most requested Gemini enhancements in Chat this year, translate for me will automatically detect and translate over 120 languages to a user’s preferred language. | Learn more about translate for me in Chat.


Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains: 

Scheduled Release Domains: 
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).
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What’s changing
Since rolling out Gemini in the side panel of Google Drive, users have been able to summarize one or multiple documents, get quick facts about a project, and more. We also introduced a new way for users to interact with the Gemini side panel while viewing PDFs.

Today we’re excited to announce that you can now focus your Gemini conversations in Drive to a specific Drive folder using the side panel. For example, after indicating a specific folder via an @-mention, you can ask Gemini to find files in the folder or write a summary of the folder’s content. You could also ask things like: 
  • “Summarize files in @-folder” 
  • “What is the theme of the content in @-folder” 
summarizing a folder in Drive using Gemini


Additional details 
Gemini can only answer questions about text documents, PDFs, spreadsheets, and presentations. 


Getting started 
  • Admins: To access Gemini in the side panel of Workspace apps, users need to have smart features and personalization turned on. Admins can turn on default personalization setting for their users in the Admin console. 
  • End users: 
    • If Gemini in the side panel is closed, you can: 
      • Navigate to a folder, and click on the “Summarize this folder” button, or; 
      • Right-click on a folder in the doclist, and click on “Ask Gemini” in the context menu, or; 
      • Select a folder in a doclist, and click on “Summarize this folder” in the selection toolbar. 
    • If Gemini in side panel is already open, you can: 
      • Drag and drop a folder from the doclist into the side panel, or; 
      • @-mention a folder in the side panel’s textbox. 
    • If you are searching for a folder, you can: 
      • Click the Gemini icon next to the folder in the search dropdown box. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in Google Drive. 

Rollout pace 

Availability 
Available for Google Workspace customers with these add-ons: 
  • Gemini Business, Enterprise, Education, Education Premium 
  • Google One AI Premium 

Resources 
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What’s changing 
Earlier this year we introduced eSignature in Google Docs for select Google Workspace customers. eSignature helps you request, track, and add signatures to official contracts, and more. 


Today, we’re pleased to announce that you can now request electronic signatures on PDF files stored in Google Drive. This capability includes custom fields, such as phone number, job title, company, etc. Expanding eSignature to include PDFs will make it even easier to request and capture signatures all without leaving Workspace.

Requesting an eSignature on a PDF stored in Google Drive

Getting started


Rollout pace

Availability
Available for Google Workspace:
  • Business Standard and Plus
  • Enterprise Starter, Standard and Plus
  • Essentials and Enterprise Essentials Plus
  • Education Plus
  • Also available to Google Workspace Individual subscribers 
Resources

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What’s changing
We're excited to announce beta support for Drive for desktop on Windows 11 devices powered by Snapdragon processors. Compiled natively for ARM64, this release enables users to easily sync and store files online from Windows PCs powered by Snapdragon. 


To opt-in to the beta, download and install the beta version of Google Drive for desktop on Arm-compatible Windows 11 device powered by Snapdragon. If you wish to opt-out at any time, disconnect your account and then uninstall the application. 


Getting started 
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users:
    • The beta version of Google Drive for desktop can only be installed on devices running Windows 11 and requires Microsoft WebView2, which is typically included with Windows 11. If it is missing or was previously removed, our installer will recommend you download and install it. 
    • Note: This is a beta version and may contain bugs. It should be used with non-production data only. Alternatively, ensure that your data is backed up separately. 
    • Should you encounter any issues, please submit feedback through the application. Kindly include logs to facilitate troubleshooting and assist us in improving the application. 
Availability 
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts 
Resources 
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What’s changing 
Earlier this year, we introduced a beta for policy visualization across Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive. Today, we’re excited to announce this is now generally available, and as a result, users who are interacting with policy-protected content, such as those with data loss prevention (DLP) rules or trust rules, will now be informed about what actions are prevented by those policies. 

For example, if a user is interacting with a document affected by DLP-enforced information rights management (IRM) and a trust rule, they will see a shield icon and side panel that informs them of the restricted actions. 

Policy visualization across Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Vids and Drive



Who’s impacted
End users 


Why it matters 
With this update, users will be made aware of which actions they are taking that are disabled on a document, spreadsheet, slides or file due to data protection controls. 


Getting started
  • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
  • End users: 
    • Any user will be able to see policy visualization if relevant restrictions apply to them. Security limitations can be applied by owners of a document, shared drive policies, or admin policies. 
    • A shield icon will automatically appear when security controls are present. Users can open the side panel to view all restrictions, either using the shield icon or by going to File > Security limitations. 
    • Visit the Help Center to learn more about Policy Visualization and the policies themselves: 

Rollout pace 
Availability
  • Available to all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts
Resources
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2 New updates

Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are available to all Google Workspace customers, and are fully launched or in the process of rolling out. Rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete if launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time. If not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete.


Find files more easily with the Drive Android file picker
In 2023, we introduced a streamlined file organization with the new Google Drive location picker on web. Now, we’re rolling out similar improvements to the Drive app on Android devices. This update will make it easier to find recently viewed Drive items and clearly see what other storage locations besides "My Drive" are available to you, such as items you have access to within shared drives. | Rollout to Rapid Release domains is complete; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for December 2, 2024. | Available to all Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about how to use Google Drive. 
Drive files on Android

View tasks lists on the Google Calendar Android app 
Last year, we introduced full screen tasks lists for Google Calendar on web, enabling users to see all their tasks and task lists in a single full screen view. This week, we’re excited to announce that this same functionality is now available on Android devices. This update makes it easier for users to stay on top of and organize their tasks, especially while on-the-go. | Rolling out to Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains now. | Available to Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts. | Visit the Help Center to learn more about Google Tasks.
tasks lists on the Google Calendar Android app


Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.


Easily respond to comments and access requests without leaving Google Chat with the auto-installed Google Drive Chat app 
Starting this week, the previously introduced Google Drive Chat app will be automatically installed and send you notifications about recent activity in Google Drive documents, such as new comments and share requests. | Learn more about the auto-installed Google Drive Chat app.

Table reference improvements in Google Sheets
This week, we introduced updates to table references that enhance discoverability and usability. | Learn more about table references in Sheets.

Educators can now request access to third-party apps for their students 
We’ve introduced a new workflow that allows educators to request access to unconfigured third-party apps on behalf of their students. | Learn more about requesting access to third-party apps for students.

Automatic framing is now available to everyone in Google Meet video calls, plus an improved experience when using virtual backgrounds 
We’re expanding automatic framing to all users, as well as introducing an improved experience while using a virtual background. | Learn more about automatic framing in Meet.

Add multiple multimedia files to a single message in Google Chat 
Users can now upload and send up to 20 multimedia files (photos and videos) in one Chat message. | Learn more about sending multimedia files in Chat.

More ways to get started quickly with building blocks in Google Docs 
This week, we introduced a new collection of building blocks designed to help you manage important business workflows in Docs, including team task management, project tracking, hiring, and more. | Learn more about new building blocks in Google Docs.

New file picker method for pre-selecting Google Drive files coming soon 
Today, Google Drive developers rely on the drive.file scope and the Google Picker API to optimize user experience and safety when creating their applications. To make it faster and easier for users to provide applications access to specific Drive files, the Google Picker API will introduce a new method to the Class view called setFileIds(fileIds) in January 2025. | Learn more about the new file picker method for pre-selecting Google Drive files.

Easily find and navigate your Google Chat conversations by organizing them into custom sections
As we continue to enhance the user experience in Google Chat over the last year, we’re excited to announce that users can now organize Chat conversations into custom sections. | Learn more about custom sections in Chat.

New Asus hardware kits for Google Meet
Asus is launching new hardware room kits certified for Google Meet that now offer daisy chain capabilities. Developed with AVer, this refreshed room kit portfolio will work in video conferencing rooms and spaces of just about any size. | Learn more about Asus hardware kits for Google Meet.



Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog posts for additional details.


Rapid Release Domains: 
Scheduled Release Domains: 
Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains: 


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    What’s changing 
    Today, Google Drive developers rely on the drive.file scope and the Google Picker API to optimize user experience and safety when creating their applications. 

    To make it faster and easier for users to provide applications access to specific Drive files, the Google Picker API will introduce a new method to the Class view called setFileIds(fileIds). This method lets application developers present users with a picker that is pre-navigated to the specified file IDs the application is seeking access to, allowing faster consent for your users and a more continuous experience for your application. 

    Getting started 
    • Admins: There is no admin control for this feature. 
    • Developers: If you have a user interaction such as a chat interface where a user already provided the FileId that they want to open using your application, you can now provide that FileId via the View class and Google will prompt the user to grant you OAuth access directly to that file or files. 
    • End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. 

    Rollout pace

    Availability 
    • Available to all Google Workspace customers and Workspace Individual Subscribers 

    Resources 
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    What’s changing
    Starting this week, the previously introduced Google Drive Chat app will be automatically installed and send you notifications about recent activity in Google Drive documents, such as new comments and share requests. Directly in Chat, you can now: 
    • Reply to or resolve comments in Docs, Sheets and Slides, which includes the ability to mention your colleagues easily while replying. 
    • Choose the appropriate access level (e.g. viewer, commenter, editor) for share requests. 
    • See when you’ve been mentioned in Docs, Sheets or Slides using Chat’s “Mentions” shortcut. 
    • Easily block a sender or report abuse from the Drive Chat app’s notifications when they come from a user outside of your organization. 
    While this new app will be automatically installed, you can easily manage notifications, mute or uninstall the app at any time by going to the three dot overflow menu. 
    responding to a comment using Drive Chat app


    Getting started 

    Rollout pace 

    Availability 
    • Available to all Google Workspace customers and Workspace Individual Subscribers 

    Resources 
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