U-M Google Updates

Updates to group conversations in Google Chat and classic Hangouts

12/2/2020

According to Google, starting December 3, 2020, there will be two updates to group conversations in Google Chat:

  • Add and change members: You’ll be able to add and change members of new group conversations you create after December 3.
  • Compatibility with classic Hangouts: Group conversations and their history in classic Hangouts will begin to appear in Google Chat over the coming weeks. New group conversations and unthreaded rooms in Chat will also begin to appear in classic Hangouts.

Add and change members

Any new group conversations created in Google Chat after December 3 will allow you to add or change new members in the group. When a new member is added to a conversation, all members will see a message posted in the chat announcing the new member. It is important to note that the new member will be able to see the entire conversation history upon joining, even messages sent before they were invited.

Note: You will not be able to add or change members in group conversations created in Google Chat before December 3. You will have to create an updated conversation with the same people using the “Start a new chat” option in the settings menu of the conversation.

Screenshot of Google Chat in-chat settings menu with a red arrow pointing to "Start a new chat"

Compatibility with classic Hangouts

Group conversations and their message history in classic Hangouts will begin to appear in Google Chat over the coming weeks. In addition, updated group conversations and unthreaded rooms from Chat will begin to appear in Hangouts. (Threaded rooms in Chat will not appear in Hangouts.)

Note: We are currently investigating how various features work regarding the new interoperability between classic Hangouts and Google Chat. For example, it is unknown how group conversations with external users will transfer over from Hangouts to Chat. As we know more, we will continue to update the university community and our U-M Google resources as needed.

According to Google, these updates should begin showing up in U-M Google on December 3, 2020, and could take 15 days or longer to become fully visible.

FINAL REMINDER: Google Cloud Print Ending Dec. 31

12/1/2020

You may disregard this message if you do not use Google Cloud Print and its features.

This is the final reminder that beginning January 1, 2021, devices across all operating systems will not be able to print using Google Cloud Print. This includes the “Save to Google Drive” option when printing a document in Chrome. (Google recommends installing the “Save to Google Drive” Chrome extension to replace this feature.)

Find an alternative print solution and migrate your print services by the end of 2020. One alternative, MPrint, is U-M's printing service that allows university community members to print from their computer or mobile device to many printers on campus.

Note: Due to COVID-19, many printers are unavailable across the university. To find a list of available printers, see the Shared Computing Site Directory - COVID-19 Temp Operations spreadsheet.

Upcoming changes to Google Chat rooms

11/11/2020

Google has announced that starting November 16, 2020, they will be introducing “unthreaded” rooms as the new default room type in Google Chat. Currently, messages in rooms are grouped into conversations, also known as “threads.” Any existing threaded Chat rooms will not change.

When you create a new room, conversations will not use threads unless you turn on threading by checking the “Use threaded replies” box in the “Create a room” dialog box.

Note: You cannot change whether a room is threaded or unthreaded after it has been created.

Google Chat dialog box when you create a new room.

For more information on Google Chat, please visit the U-M Google Chat site.

U-M Google October Monthly Summary

11/10/2020

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

Updates:

Google has announced they will be making it easier to manage access requests to Google Drive files without leaving Gmail by sending dynamic emails. Previously, when someone requested access to a Drive file, you received an email with the access request and had to navigate to the file to give access. You will soon be able to manage that request directly from that email, without leaving the message or Gmail. Specifically, you’ll receive a dynamic email that lets you review the request, choose the access level (e.g., Editor, Commenter, or Viewer), and grant access directly from the email. This feature will be available for you in Gmail on the web, Android, and iOS.

GIF showing Gmail, user opens email, depicts new dynamic mail for granting access, grants access for someone.

Note: The 'From' address for access request emails from Google is changing and will now come from [email protected].
For more information on dynamic email (including how to turn it off for your account), see Google’s Complete tasks without leaving a message.

You can now create and view tasks in Google Calendar on Android and iOS. Previously, you could only do this in Calendar on the web. Tasks added to your calendar will automatically sync across desktop and mobile. Visit the Google Help Center to learn more about getting started with Tasks.

Google has made the following changes to the history on/off setting in Google Chat:

Google has updated the user interface (UI) of the Google Meet Android mobile apps. The new mobile UI will have the same look and feel as that of the meeting experience in the Gmail app.

Access checker in Google Slides ensures viewers and presenters can play videos and audio files as expected. With this launch, Google will also perform an access check for already embedded audio and video content after sharing the presentation with others. Specifically, when you close the sharing dialog, the Access checker will run and may suggest permission changes for multiple Drive video and audio files in the presentation.

You can now see when the other person has seen your Google Chat direct messages. This will only apply in active chat windows for one-to-one conversations on Android, iOS, and the web. In these messages, you'll see the avatar of the person you're chatting with to the right of the last message they've seen. Read receipts won’t be visible in group messages or rooms. This feature was previously available in classic Hangouts and is now available in Google Chat.

You can now mark conversations as favorites in new Google Groups. To mark an item as a favorite, simply click the star icon. You can access starred conversations from the left-hand navigation menu, making them quick and easy to find. This feature was previously available in classic Google Groups and is not available in new Groups.

You can now mention another user in Google Docs within the document itself. Previously, this was only possible within a comment. When another user is mentioned, you can hover over their name for information about them and to view suggested actions. (This is the same information you see today when hovering over a user's name in other Google Workspace apps, such as Gmail or Calendar.)

GIF of a Google Doc with someone typing a user's name into the document, which then leads to a Google Slides presentation.

Google has introduced a new feature called Smart Fill for Google Sheets, which detects and learns patterns between columns to autocomplete data entry intelligently. For more information (including how to turn this feature off for your account), see Google’s Use SmartFill in Sheets to automate data entry.

Google has updated the default way videos play when you present in Google Slides. Now, the video will start playing when you click to advance the presentation. Previously, you had to click on the video for it to start playing.
There are now three options to control playback:

  • Play (on click): The video will play when you advance the slide. (This is the new default option.) 
  • Play (automatically): The video will play without you clicking to advance. 
  • Play (manual): The video will play when you click specifically on the embedded video in the slide while presenting. (This was previously the default.)

Note: This change will only apply to videos inserted after the feature was released. Videos already in presentations will not change playback type automatically, but you can change them manually from the Format tab in Slides. To learn more, see Google’s Insert or delete images & videos.

Previously Communicated:

Notice: Changes to video and phone calling in classic Google Hangouts

11/9/2020

Google has announced they will soon be making changes to how phone calls and video calls work in classic Google Hangouts.

The changes will happen in two steps:

  • In early November 2020, group video calls in classic Hangouts will be moved to Google Meet. When inviting a group to a video call in classic Hangouts, you will now need to click on a Meet link to join the call.
  • At the start of 2021, all phone calls in classic Hangouts will no longer be available or supported by Google.
Important: The University of Michigan is unable to offer Google Voice within our domain, and therefore, cannot provide support. Because of this, classic Hangouts phone calling will no longer be available at U-M.

Phone calling
According to Google, after mid-October 2020, if you are using the phone calling feature in classic Hangouts, you will begin to see an alert in Hangouts informing you that this functionality will be going away. The alert will direct you to more information about why the feature is going away.

Video calling
According to Google, after early November 2020, you will be able to share Google Meet links to start and join video calls from classic Hangouts. As part of this, you will see the following changes:

  • Clicking on the video call button (Classic Google Hangouts video call icon (video camera).) in a group classic Hangouts conversation will send a Meet video call link instead of ringing all participants.
  • Clicking on the video or audio call options in a one-to-one classic Hangouts conversation will continue to call or “ring” the other participant until some time in early 2021.

As Google continues to phase out classic Hangouts, we recommend checking out our resources on Google Chat and Meet to learn more about the services that will be replacing Hangouts.