U-M Google Updates

Google Drive File Stream is now Google Drive for desktop

2/8/2021

Google has announced they are changing the name of Google Drive File Stream (GDFS) to Google Drive for desktop. You will begin to notice the new name across U-M Google as this change continues to roll out. Additionally, the desktop icon has been updated to the new Google Workspace visual branding. (Google Workspace is the new name for G Suite.)

Screenshot of Google Drive File Stream name change notification.

Note: The mount point path remains the same, so you can still find all your files in the same places, but shortcuts to the application have been renamed to “Google Drive.”

Visit the Google Workspace Learning Center to learn more about Google Drive for desktop and how to install it on your device.

Enable offline support for Google Calendar on the web

1/28/2021

Soon, you will be able to enable offline support for Google Calendar using Google Chrome on your computer. During a time where most are working remotely, this will allow you to access your calendars even when you have unreliable internet access. When enabled, you can view your calendar and events from four weeks prior or any time in the future by day, week, or month.

Note: When you are offline you cannot create or edit events, email guests, or access Tasks or Reminders.

This feature will be OFF by default and can be enabled from your Google Calendar settings.

  1. From Google Calendar, click the gear icon in the top right corner and select Settings.
  2. Under General, select Offline.
  3. Check the Turn on offline calendar box.

Screenshot of Google Calendar General settings, under Offline.

Important: If you clear your browser’s cached images and files, it will also clear offline support for Google Calendar. You will need to turn on offline again to use Calendar offline.  

Visit the Google Help Center to learn more about using Google Calendar offline.

According to Google, this feature should begin showing up in U-M Google on February 8, 2021, and could take 15 days or longer to become fully visible.

U-M Google December Monthly Summary

1/11/2021

The monthly U-M Google Summaries inform the university community of Google releases. We communicate important information throughout the month.

Updates:

Google has made improvements to the process of converting PDFs to Google Docs.

  • Image imports: Import the image itself and text wrapping related to images. 
  • Text styles and formatting: Import underline and strikethrough, background color, and more fonts.
  • Layout conversion: Added support for multi-column layouts, custom page sizes, tables with borders, and improved content ordering.

For more information on converting PDFs to Google Docs, see the Google Help Center.

Google has updated the user interface for comments and action items in the Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps for iOS. These improvements include a clearer interface, shortcuts to navigate comments, and a quick access button to reply, “@” mention someone, and assign action items.

You can now adjust text size, color, font, spacing, and more while typing in a new Google Sites text box. For more information on changing how your site looks, see the Google Help Center.

Similar to the current web and Android experiences, Google has brought Office editing to iOS. You can now edit Microsoft Office files within the Google Drive app on iOS.

Google now “sticks” (i.e., saves) settings you turn on or off during a meeting for any future meetings that use the same meeting code. Previously, all settings would return to their default state whenever a meeting was restarted. This change will apply to quick access, screen sharing, and sending chat messages settings. (Settings are saved for each meeting code, not per user.)

Now, Android and iOS users with the latest versions of the Google Drive app will be able to: 

Google has added the ability to open Microsoft Office files in Docs, Sheets, or Slides with one click from Gmail. When you send or receive an email with an Office file attached, you’ll see an edit icon that will open the file directly in Docs, Sheets, or Slides while preserving the original file format.

Screenshot of a Microsoft Word Doc attached to an email in Gmail with a blue pop-up notification introducing Office editing.

Additionally, you can now reply to the email from within the file itself. Once the file is opened, you’ll have new options to respond to the email thread from the File menu in Docs, Sheets, or Slides. Previously, you would have to save a file to Drive before using Google’s Office editing features.

Screenshot of drop-down File menu when editing a Microsoft Word document in Google Drive, highlight over Email.

For documents created in Google Docs, soon you will be able to change the page orientation on a per-section basis. You’ll also be able to edit, import, and export Microsoft Word documents that contain both portrait and landscape-oriented pages.

GIF of a Google Doc, showing someone highlight a chart on a page and changing the page orientation.

Google has expanded their language support for live captions in Google Meet to include French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish (Spain and Latin America). They were previously only available in English.

Previously Communicated:

U-M Google November Monthly Summary

12/9/2020

The monthly U-M Google Summaries inform the university community of Google releases. We communicate important information throughout the month.

Updates:

You can now schedule meetings in Google Calendar directly from Google Chat conversations. You’ll see a new icon in the conversation’s compose bar. On mobile, the draft event will open in the Calendar app. On the web, the draft event will open in the left side panel.

Taskbar in Google Chat with a red box around the new Google Calendar icon.

You can now pin a direct message or a room to the top of your list view in Chat in Gmail. You can access pinned conversations from the left or right-hand sidebar. To learn more about pinned conversations, see Google’s Help Center article.

You can now set yourself as “away” in Chat in Gmail, showing you as offline to others, even when you’re active. This ability is available on both the web and mobile apps.

Gmail on the web, status drop-down is selected in top right corner, with "Set as away" selected from that list.

You can now accept all pending “knocks” (i.e., requests to join) in bulk in Google Meet to limit interruptions during the video call. Note that only the meeting host can see or approve requests to join a meeting.

Participants can now raise their hand in Google Meet. To raise your hand in Meet, click the “Raise Hand” button in the meeting’s bottom bar. Once the button is pressed, it will change to a “Lower Hand'' button, which can be clicked to lower your hand. To learn more about hand-raising in Google Meet, see Google’s Help Center article.

Google has changed the default editing mode for Microsoft Office files in Google Drive on the web. Now, when you double-click on an Office file, it will open directly in Office editing mode in Google Docs. Previously, double-clicking would open a preview of the document, from which you could choose whether to open in Office editing mode or download the file. (If desired, you can still use the preview mode by right-clicking the file and selecting Preview or by pressing ‘P’ on the keyboard while double-clicking the file.)

Previously Communicated:

The new Google Chat desktop app

12/3/2020

Earlier this year, Google launched a new Google Chat standalone app. The app is a Progressive Web Application (PWA), which provides the ability to use Chat on any desktop device with the Google Chrome web browser.

Once installed, the app integrates with your device’s operating system to function like a built-in app (similar to the previous Electron-based Chat desktop app). The new app interface is the same, and all of your previous Chat history is preserved and accessible. To learn how to install the new app, see Google’s Install the Chat standalone app documentation article.
 
The new Chat app works on Windows, macOS, Chrome OS, and Linux devices. You must have Google Chrome version 73 or higher installed on your device to run the new app. (Enter chrome://version in your Chrome browser to find the version.) Additionally, the app is kept up to date with Chrome, so there is no need to update the app separately as you would with other built-in apps.

Important: If you previously installed the old Google Chat desktop app, you will need to uninstall it. Google has announced that they plan to shut down the previous Chat app in January 2021. Its replacement is the new Chat Progressive Web App built into the Google Chrome browser, as mentioned above. For more information on how to uninstall the previous app on a macOS or Windows machine, see Google’s Update the Electron-based Google Chat app to the Progressive Web App documentation article.

Important items to note:

  • Chrome doesn’t have to be your default browser to use the app.
  • The Chrome browser needs to be open to use the app.
  • After the previous Chat app is disabled in January 2021, it will remain inactive (and unusable) on your device until you uninstall it.
  • You can continue to access Google Chat via:
    • The built-in interface within Gmail on the web.
    • The Google Chat website (chat.google.com).
    • The Google Chat mobile apps for iOS and Android.

To learn more about Google Chat at U-M, visit: