Add service accounts from primary and secondary domains without turning the “Allow external members in the group” setting on.
See the service account member type on the Groups page and audit logs in the Admin console.
Add, remove, and manage service account membership via the Admin console and Cloud Identity Groups API.
Who’s impacted
Admins and developers
Why it’s important
Groups are a critical tool for customers to manage their G Suite deployment. Many customers use service accounts with Groups to automate user management, manage migrations, and integrate G Suite with other apps, tools, and services.
Until now, it was difficult to use service accounts in groups due to limitations in the functionality. This launch fixes many challenges and makes it easier to use service accounts with groups while increasing security and transparency.
You can now cast Google Meet calls to your TV or smart display.
Cast Google Meet to your TV
You can start casting before you join a meeting or anytime during a meeting.
By viewing your Meet on Cast, you can turn any room in your house into your own personal conference room. Whether you want to step away from the notifications on your laptop or phone to be more present in a meeting or you’re on mute in a larger meeting and want to concentrate on your task at hand, casting to your TV can help you be more productive and stay focused.
Meet and Cast can also pair up to simplify distance learning. Students can view their classmates and lesson plans on the big screen while working from their laptops, and teachers can get a broader view of their students on a call.
Getting started
Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
With Google Meet on Cast, you can turn any room in your house into your own personal conference room, taking advantage of your TV or a Smart Display. Whether you want to step away from the notifications on your laptop or phone to be more present in a meeting or you’re on mute in a larger meeting and want to concentrate on your task at hand, casting to your TV can help you be more productive and stay focused.
Meet and Cast can also pair up to simplify distance learning. Students can view their classmates and lesson plans on the big screen while working from their laptops, and teachers can get a broader view of their students on a call.
To get started, you‘ll need to have a Google account, update to the latest version of Chrome and ensure that your Chromecast device has the latest firmware installed. Google Cast functionality is available for all Meet users, and casting works on Chromecast, TVs with built-in Chromecasts and Nest displays.
We recently launched Connected Sheets, which connects Google Sheets and BigQuery to help you analyze large datasets using familiar spreadsheet tools. We’re now adding support for macros and APIs to help you automate tasks, as well as providing mobile access. Specifically, you can now use Connected Sheets with:
Who’s impacted
Developers and end users
Why you’d use it
Sheets Macro recorder
You can use the macro recorder to record when to create, edit, delete, and refresh Connected Sheets objects. This generates macros which you can then directly run in Sheets to refresh the data. This can automate common tasks, saving time and reducing errors.
Apps Script and Sheets API
You can use these APIs to write scripts and applications that automate tasks. For example, you can automate CRUD functions for Connected Sheets objects, including sheets, formulas, pivot tables, and extracts. Additionally, you can use the APIs to refresh these objects, as well as to refresh charts.
Mobile app support
You can now view Connected Sheets on mobile devices. You can also copy and paste data from Connected Sheets using the mobile apps. At this stage, you can’t create, edit, or refresh data in Connected Sheets on mobile.
Getting started
Rollout pace
Rapid and Scheduled Release domains:
Sheets Macro recorder: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 26, 2020.
Apps Script: Available now for all users.
Sheets API: Available in September.
Android app: Gradual rollout (up top 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 17, 2020. To get access, update to the latest version of the Sheets Android app.
iOS app: Gradual rollout (up top 15 days for feature visibility) starting on August 24, 2020. To get access, update to the latest version of the Sheets iOS app.
Availability
Connected Sheets is available to G Suite Enterprise, G Suite Enterprise for Education, and G Suite Enterprise Essentials customers
Connected Sheets is not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite Business, G Suite for Education, G Suite for Nonprofits, and G Suite Essentials customers
Earlier this year, we made shortcuts in Google Drive generally available. Shortcuts simplified file and folder structures in Drive by creating pointers to items, rather than having items which existed in multiple locations. This helps ensure easy access to files and folders for different users while reducing possible confusion about how files are owned, managed, and updated.
Now, we want to share three updates to our plans for shortcuts and file locations:
Expanding use of shortcuts: Removing some specific actions which still created multiple locations for files.
A migration update: More details on migration of existing multiple-location files to shortcuts.
Improving file management and reducing “unorganized” files: Ensuring files which have their last location removed are now placed in the owner’s My Drive folder. See more details below.
Who’s impacted
Admins and end users
Why it’s important
Expanding the use of shortcuts will increase the consistency of behavior and make it easier for users to understand how their Drive is structured.
Additional details
Expanding use of shortcuts
After launching shortcuts, there were still some ways for users to add files to multiple locations. We’re now stopping some of those to create a more consistent experience across different platforms and ways of using Drive. Specific changes include:
When using Drive on the web, the keyboard shortcut Shift+Z on a shared file used to place the file in multiple locations. Now, when a single file or multiple items are selected, Shift+Z will create a shortcut instead. However, if a single folder is selected, Shift-Z will still add another location for the folder to ensure continued compatibility with offline access via Backup and Sync.
When using Drive on the web, making someone else the owner of a file used to create multiple locations for the file. Now, if the new owner can see the file’s existing location, it will remain there. If the new owner can’t see the existing location, it will be moved from its current location to the My Drive folder of the new owner, and a shortcut will be created in its place
A migration update
In our original announcement, we mentioned that we would be migrating existing files in multiple locations to shortcuts. We’d like to share more details on these plans:
We will start this migration some time in 2021. We’ll announce the migration on the G Suite Updates blog and with an in-product notification banner at least 2 weeks before it starts.
The migration will remove all but one location of files that currently are in multiple locations, and will replace the removed files with shortcuts.
The migration heuristics will be based primarily on original ownership, but will also take signals about access and activity on other parent folders into account, to ensure the least possible disruption for collaboration.
File access and ownership will not be impacted.
The migration will be automatic and won’t require manual work from users or admins.
Improving file management and reducing “unorganized” files
A file can become unorganized when its last previous location is removed. For example, this could happen if you had added a file to a shared folder that was later deleted by the owner of the shared folder.
Previously, in those situations you would only have been able to find the file by specifically searching for it, not by browsing for it. This led to some instances where it appeared a file was lost. Now, we will add these items to the owner’s My Drive. This change will make it easier to locate files which have had their locations removed.
API updates reminder
Earlier this year, we announced changes to the Drive API which would support the transition to file shortcuts. These changes will start to go into effect on September 30, 2020. Read more details about the API changes here.
Getting started
Rollout pace
Expanded use of shortcuts and improved file management:
Migration of existing files in multiple locations:
Will not start until 2021, and will be announced in advance on the G Suite Updates blog and with an in-product notification banner.
Availability
Available to all G Suite customers and users with personal accounts
We’re launching a new feature that enables admins to define specific audiences that their users can link-share Drive files with. This gives admins more influence over who their users share files with, and helps to protect organizational data by reducing the potential for accidental oversharing of files. Target audiences is initially available in an open beta.
Who’s impacted
Admins and end users
Why you’d use it
Previously, admins could choose to allow users to link-share files to either their entire domain or anyone with the link. Target audiences allow admins to define and recommend more granular link-sharing options for users.
This means that admins can prevent oversharing without hampering collaboration—since target audiences are defined and recommended by their admins, users can be confident that sharing files with a target audience is appropriately broad and secure. It can also help users share files more quickly, as target audiences allow for the ease of link-sharing, but with more specific audiences. This can reduce the need for users to manually add specific users and groups and respond to individual access requests.
For example, an admin could set up an audience of all finance team members. When someone on that team enabled link sharing for a file, they’d see an option to allow link-sharing to anyone on the finance team. Members of the team could access the link immediately, while anyone outside of the team would have to ask permission before they could view the file.
Getting started
Admins: Find Target audience settings at Admin console > Directory > Target audiences. You can assign target audiences on the group or OU level. Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing target audiences for your organization.
End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. If enabled by an admin, users will see target audiences available to them as link-sharing options for Drive, as indicated in the image above.
Admins can create a target audience in the Admin console
Rollout pace
Availability
Available to G Suite Business, G Suite Enterprise, and G Suite Enterprise for Education
Not available to G Suite Basic, G Suite for Education, G Suite Essentials, G Suite Enterprise Essentials, and G Suite for Nonprofits customers
We’re launching two features in new Google Groups:
Collaborative Inboxes, which can be used by teams to collaborate on messages received by a group, such as a customer support team managing support queries from customers.
Shared labels, which can help organize group conversations and enable you to filter and search for messages. This replaces tags and categories in classic Groups.
Who’s impacted
End users
Why it’s important
These features were available in classic Groups, but until now were not available in new Groups. We hope that adding them to the new experience will enable more users to use the new and improved interface in Groups.
Additional details
Collaborative Inboxes
Using Groups as a Collaborative Inbox can be useful if you want to use a group as a mailing list for a team, where different team members can see, manage, and respond to messages sent to the group. For example, you could have a Collaborative Inbox for your support team, so the team could all see inquiries to your support email address. Once inquiries are received, team members can assign each other tasks, categorize topics with labels, and mark topics as resolved. Collaborative Inboxes in new Groups enables:
Advanced search, including for conversation status
Filtering, including quick filters for conversation status or to help users find conversations assigned to themselves, others, or that are unassigned
Existing collaborative inboxes will be accessible in the new Groups experience. New and existing groups can be changed to a Collaborative Inbox via Groups settings.
Labels
Labels is a replacement for tags and categories in classic Groups. Any tags currently used in classic Groups will be migrated to new Groups as labels, and the feature will be turned on automatically. Tags that are created under categories will also be migrated over if the Labels feature is enabled in new Groups. Note, categories will not be migrated.
When a message is posted to a group, group owners or managers can label conversations. Labels will appear in the left navigation panel of a group, and any users viewing the group can then search and filter conversations by those labels. This can make it easier to find messages, to see grouped related messages, or to manage workflows within Collaborative Inboxes.
Getting started
Admins: There is no admin control for this feature.
End users: These features will be OFF by default, but can be turned on for each group by group owners or managers. Visit the Help Center to learn more about Collaborative Inboxes and labels.
Rollout pace
Availability
Available to all G Suite customers and to users with personal Google Accounts
We’re changing the manner in which user profile photos are displayed across Google products and services, and updating how admins can manage those photos.
Last year, we removed a photo setting in Gmail that allowed users to set a different profile photo in Gmail than their Google Account. Starting today, users who still have two different profile photos will be migrated to a single profile photo. No action is needed by users, the current Google Account photo will become their only profile photo. This will ensure users are seen and recognized consistently across different products and interfaces.
Previously set Google Account profile photos are kept in a user’s Album Archive, available at get.google.com/albumarchive. New profile photos set by users or admins will also be stored here.
Getting started
A user’s Google Account photo will be used for their profile photo
With a lot more of our lives happening on video, you might have discovered more ways for things to go wrong during a call. Shaky camera, bad lighting—remember that time you could only understand every third word someone was saying?
With Google Meet, there are lots of ways to make video meetings and calls with loved ones more enjoyable and productive (and maybe even a little more fun). Here are a few tips and features that can help you avoid some common mistakes, and get even more out of Meet.
We’re launching a new Cloud Identity Groups API. This will enable you to create and manage Google Groups and their memberships for your domain via API. Previously, API support for group management was available only via the Admin SDK and therefore was accessible only to domain admins. With this launch, the APIs can be accessed by admins as well as non-admins. Once you create groups via the API, you can view and manage them through the Google Groups web UI (groups.google.com), through the Admin console, or via the API.
Using the new API you can:
Create and delete groups
See and update group metadata
Add members to and remove members from a group
Modify member roles within a group
Who’s impacted
Admins, developers, and end users
Why you’d use it
Groups are an important tool to manage communication, access, and security for organizations. Adding the ability to create and manage groups via an API can help make group management more scalable and efficient.
Additional details
Available to admins, developers, and end users
Business teams can create and manage groups they own without being granted admin permissions, preventing them from managing additional, unnecessary groups and saving the admin team time. This allows teams to manage their work more efficiently without creating any security risks from assigning admin permissions when they are only needed for this specific task.
Getting started
Rollout pace
This feature is available now for all users in beta.
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