U-M Google Updates
Reminder: Google Apps Script UI Service Ending
6/17/2019
Google announced that it will discontinue its Apps Script UI Service on July 15, 2019.
Apps Script is a development platform used to create applications that integrate with G Suite. Only the UI service is being discontinued. Apps Script will remain available. We have notified affected U-M users based on a list we received from Google. This is a general announcement to deter any further use of the UI service.
Google deprecated the Apps Script UI Service in December, 2014. According to Google, any projects using the Apps Script UI Service will cease to function starting July 15. While Google has no direct migration process for existing UI service projects, Google App Maker can be used to create applications in G Suite and can create similar UI applications.
Spelling and Grammar Improvements in Google Docs
6/14/2019
New features in Google Docs enhance existing spell check functions and highlight possible grammatical errors in the text. Google is also introducing a revamped interface for reviewing spelling and grammar suggestions that make it faster and easier to spot and correct errors in your text.
Some improvements are:
- Grammar
- Possible grammar corrections will be underlined in blue. To see a suggested correction or dismiss the alert, right-click on it.
- You will also see possible grammar errors when running a spelling and grammar check through the Tools menu.
- New language review interface
- You can review all language suggestions for a document with the updated spelling and grammar check tool. Access it through the Tools menu or right-click on a suggestion and select Review more suggestions — you’ll see each suggestion and actions to correct any errors.
See Google Cloud Product News to learn more about how Google is using machine learning to recognize errors and suggest corrections to improve your writing.
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides offline mode
6/14/2019
Note: The Google Docs Offline extension is required. You will be prompted to install it when enabling offline mode if it is missing.
It’s now possible to create, edit, and comment on Docs, Sheets, and Slides files when your device is offline or has a slow internet connection. Any changes made while offline will sync in Drive once connected again. You can also preview which files are available offline with a new offline preview mode.
Enable offline access in Drive settings:
- In Google Drive, select Settings from the Settings (gear icon) drop-down list. In the general section, select Sync Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings files to this computer.
- Once offline access is enabled, a checkmark icon will appear next to Settings and Support (question mark). Click this icon to find the offline preview toggle.
Make files available offline:
- Google Drive automatically makes a certain number of files available offline based on how recently you accessed them.
- While connected, mark a file available offline:
- In offline preview mode.
- In Drive, right-click on any file and toggle Available offline.
This feature has begun to roll out in U-M Google and will gradually become fully visible.
New G Suite Learning Center
6/7/2019
Google has completely redesigned its G Suite Learning Center to include more customer-friendly features, including 300+ how-to’s and guides.
Some of these new features include:
- An Announcements tab with lists of new and updated Learning Center guides.
- A “Day 1” checklist to help new G Suite users get started on their first day.
- An improved search function to help you find help and training content across the G Suite Learning Center.
- Guides you can print, save as PDFs, or customize in Google Docs and Slides.
Note: The new G Suite Learning Center can now be found at support.google.com/a/users, but you can still use the old web address (gsuite.google.com/learning-center).
Interested in our latest updates about Google G Suite at U-M? Check out the Google Service Updates page.
Office files are now easier to edit in Google Drive!
6/6/2019
Google has recently added the ability to edit, comment, and collaborate on Microsoft Office files using Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides. This feature brings the real-time collaboration tools of G Suite to Office files and eliminates the need to convert file types.
To access this feature:
- In Google Drive, double-click your Office file. This will open a preview of the file.
- At the top, select Open with. In the dropdown, select the file type you are trying to open (i.e., Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides). From here, you can edit, share, view version history, collaborate in real-time with others, and more.
All changes you make will be saved to the original Office file.
The following Office file types are supported:
- Word files: .doc, .docx, .dot
- Excel files: .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm, .xlt
- Powerpoint files: .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .pot
Note: If you edit Word, Excel, or PowerPoint documents older than Office 2007, files will be saved to a newer format when editing using this feature.
According to Google, full rollout began on May 30th and is expected to take up to 3 days for feature visibility.
Interested in our latest updates about Google G Suite at U-M? Check out the Google Service Updates page.