The Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) team has been hard at work making your Admin and end user experiences more secure, seamless, and productive. Read on to learn about the latest developments to Google Drive, Chat, Admin settings, and more.
Trust rules in Google Drive
Trust rules are now available in Google Drive. They give Admins more control over how files can be shared within and outside of their organization. For example, admins can limit access to certain departments or external domains.
Rollout of this feature has completed and it is available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Standard, Education Plus, and Education Standard Admins. For instructions to help you get started, see this support article.
Schedule Do Not Disturb in Chat
In addition to setting a custom duration for “Do Not Disturb”, users of all business and personal Google Workspace accounts can now set a recurring schedule for Do Not Disturb in Google Chat. This feature is intended to reduce distractions during lunch breaks, focus times, and more.
To schedule a recurring Do Not Disturb period in Chat, do the following:
- Open Google Chat.
- Click your status at the top.
- Select Do not disturb > Set a do not disturb schedule.
- Under “Do not disturb schedules,” click Create new.
- Enter details of the times that you want to pause notifications, then click Save.
Access Approvals for Google support and maintenance
In order to increase visibility and control during Google-led support and maintenance sessions, Admins can now explicitly approve or deny Google employees’ organizational data access. Admins may choose to limit Google data access according to the Organizational Unit (OU) or Admin group. They may approve or decline individual access requests.
This feature is part of Google Workspace Assured Controls, which is available as a purchased add-on for Enterprise Plus customers only. Rollout of Access Approvals to eligible customers has completed. Contact us to gain access to this add-on.
Consolidated Controls Page for Google Takeout
Google Takeout is a helpful tool that enables all Google Workspace/G Suite users to systematically export their data. As an improvement to this tool, Admins can now manage organization-wide Takeout settings via a centralized control panel.
To access this, Admins can navigate to the Admin console and click Account > Google Takeout > User access to Takeout for Google services.
More data exfiltration prevention methods on iOS devices
To add to the several data exfiltration methods they released in 2020, the Google team has expanded iOS security protections.
Google Workspace Enterprise edition Admins can now allow or disallow:
- Air Printing of files
- Assigning Workspace items to Contacts with the iOS share sheet
- Copying files to a personal account
- Saving Workspace images/videos to iOS photos
- Saving Workspace items to files with the iOS share sheet
- Sharing Workspace data to personal accounts using AirDrop or the iOS share sheet
Similar settings have previously been released for Android. To configure these settings for iOS, open the Admin Console and select Devices > Mobile and endpoints > iOS settings > Data Sharing.
Drop-down chips in Google Sheets
Google has announced drop-down chips in Sheets. Already available in Docs, this feature allows users to easily create polished drop-down menus within a cell.
Insert a drop-down chip in Sheets by typing “@” followed by “dropdown,” or by clicking Insert > Dropdown.
Rollout of this feature to all Workspace/G Suite users is in progress and will conclude in mid-January.
Easily format and display code in Google Docs
Previously, collaborators who paste code into a Google Doc have needed to manually apply text styles by highlighting syntax. Code blocks remove this inconvenience—use them to automatically update the formatting of highlighted text according to its programming language.
To use code blocks in Docs, click Insert > Building blocks > Code blocks > Select your programming language > Code blocks > Choose your programming language. Users of all Google Workspace and G Suite editions may use code blocks.
Track Admin email notifications in the Alert Center
Most Google Admins receive regular email notifications from Google about topics such as security, billing, or high-impact product updates. In an effort to make these emails easier to track and manage, Google has announced a new section in the Alert Center dedicated to the Admin email notifications.
Rollout of this feature will begin at the end of January 2023 and will conclude by mid-February. It will be available to all Google Workspace and G Suite admins, accessible in the Alert Center. Find the alert center in the Admin console by selecting Menu > Security > Alert center.
Improved granularity for data exports
Google Workspace Enterprise Plus and Education customers can now export data on the organizational unit (OU) or group. This is an improvement upon previous data export capabilities, which were only a full export of all organizational data.
Search chips for Google Chat now available on desktop
Locate content in Google Chat more easily than ever with search chips! Previously only available on mobile, this feature allows users to filter by the following attributes when searching for information:
- From: Messages sent from specific people.
- Said in: Messages said in a specific conversation or space.
- Date: Messages sent during a specific date range.
- Has file: Messages that include documents, spreadsheets, slides, and more.
- Has link: Messages that include links.
- Mentions me: Messages that mention you.
Questions?
Have questions about these updates? To get in touch about complimentary support, migration services, change management, and more, contact our team of Google Workspace experts using the form below.
