Google Workspace Updates: AppSheet

Introducing AppSheet Organizations

Thursday, May 2, 2024

What’s changing We’re making it easier to manage your AppSheet users with the introduction of AppSheet Organizations. An AppSheet organization creates organization administrators with a centralized tool to manage all of the teams in the organization and delegate team management responsibilities to team administrators.

This chart shows the hierarchical relationship between an organization, and its teams and members.

An organization is based on a Workspace organization and is tied to your primary domain. One organization can contain multiple teams based on Google groups and Workspace organizations.

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why you’d use it

AppSheet organizations significantly simplify the management of users and policies across all their AppSheet teams. Admins can:

Access self-serve tools to make changes that formerly required manual Support team intervention.
Create and manage organization-level policies that apply to all teams and manage individual team policies.
Create new teams with distinct admins, users and policies as needed. Admins can also independently assign or remove team, root, or organization administrator roles of any user.

Additional details

Support for non-Google authenticated users

For new and existing customers with AppSheet Organizations, any user from your verified primary or secondary domains that does not authenticate through Google will be shown in your domain-based teams alongside any group-based teams that have been created. These users will be subject to the same policies and team settings that apply to your users that authenticate through Google.

Getting started

Admins: Visit the Help Center to learn more about AppSheet Organizations and how to request an organization.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Available now.

Availability

Available to Google Workspace customers with a domain verified organization and AppSheet Enterprise Standard or AppSheet Enterprise Plus.

Resources

Available in open beta: Build AppSheet automations using Google Forms

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

This announcement was part of Google Cloud Next ‘24. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about the next wave of innovations in Workspace, including enhancements to Gemini for Google Workspace.

What’s changing

Many companies rely on the data collected via form submissions when they are performing tasks for ticketing or incident reporting. However, prior to today you could only view information from form submissions via email, spreadsheet, or in the Forms app itself.

With this update, Google Forms submissions can act as event triggers within AppSheet Automations. These automations can then take many different actions, such as sending notifications or approval requests to Gmail or Google Chat, or even calling a custom Apps Script function.

Build AppSheet automations using Google Forms is now available in beta

Who’s impacted Admins, end users and developers

Why you’d use it This integration enables users to receive actionable notifications based on responses to Google Forms.

Getting started

Admins:

AppSheet admins can use AppSheet’s Policy Engine to control access to this feature by App Creators in their organization. Visit the Help Center to learn more about policy enforcement in AppSheet policies and specific guidance on preventing app creators from using Google Forms.
This feature is available as an open beta, which means AppSheet app creators can use it without enrolling in a specific beta program.

Developers and end users: Visit the Help Center to learn more about building automations using Google Forms.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) starting on May 1, 2024

Availability Available for Google Workspace:

Business Starter, Standard, Plus
Enterprise Standard, Plus
Enterprise Essentials Plus
Education Fundamentals, Standard, Plus and the Teaching & Learning Upgrade
Frontline Starter, Standard
AppSheet Starter, Core, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus

Resources

AppSheet smart chips for Google Docs

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

What’s changing In Google Docs, you can already insert smart chips for Docs, Sheets and Slides files, date chips, Calendar event chips, and more. Beginning today, you can now insert smart chips for AppSheet content. These smart chips allow you to access AppSheet data directly into Docs — you’ll be able to view and take action on the data, including triggering automations, without having to leave Docs.

Getting started

Admins: AppSheet smart chips are included as part of the AppSheet product service entitlement in your Admin Console. Additional policies and settings can be configured directly in AppSheet
End Users: All Workspace customers are entitled to use AppSheet smart chips in Google Docs once they are enabled. To enable them, you’ll need to install the AppSheet for Google Docs Add-On from Google Workspace Marketplace. Visit the AppSheet Help Center to learn more about getting started with AppSheet and inserting AppSheet smart chips into a Google Doc.

Rollout pace

This feature is available now.

Availability

Available to Google Workspace customers with AppSheet licenses.

Resources

AppSheet Core licenses will be included by default for more Google Workspace editions, along with a new Admin security setting

Monday, July 17, 2023

What’s changing To bring the power of AppSheet to more users, AppSheet Core licenses will now be included for the following Google Workspace editions:

Business Starter, Standard, and Plus
Enterprise Starter and Standard
Frontline Starter and Standard
Non-profits
Education Standard

Note that AppSheet Core licenses are already included for domain-verified Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, and Education Plus users. Your Google Workspace instance must be domain-verified to enjoy this feature.

Along with expanding access, we’re giving Admins a new org-level setting, which controls how users are able to use their AppSheet Core licenses, including whether app data can be shared externally. See below for more information.

Who’s impacted Admins and end users

Why it matters

AppSheet allows users to maximize Google Workspace by building custom applications on top of Google Workspace and other services in their environment, all without writing any code. For example, you can build apps that record facility inspections, document inventory, or manage approvals.

You can take advantage of AppSheet features and integrations such as:

By including AppSheet Core licenses in more Google Workspace editions, the power of AppSheet is accessible to more users. Further, Admins will have the security features they need to ensure their users are using AppSheet appropriately in their organization. Visit our Help Center to learn more about getting started with AppSheet as well as our online community to collaborate with other AppSheet Creators.

Additional details

Admins can use the new “Core License Security Setting” in the Google Workspace Admin Console to control features related to whether app data can be shared externally. The setting will apply to the following functions for Google Workspace users using AppSheet Core:

Sharing with external app users
Connecting to external app data
Automation emails to external recipients
Using external AppSheet apps

The setting applies to all AppSheet Core apps in your domain — for more granular governance, AppSheet Enterprise licenses are required.

For Admins with existing AppSheet usage, this setting will be OFF by default to ensure no existing apps are disrupted.
For Admins without existing AppSheet usage, the setting will be ON by default.

You’ll begin seeing the new setting in the coming weeks, see the "Rollout" section below for more details.

Getting started

Admins

If you’re currently paying for AppSheet Core licenses, they will have to be canceled manually. Impacted customers will receive a notification via email in the coming weeks with more information and next steps.
Before changing the Core License Security Setting, Admins should check with their AppSheet creators to ensure any active applications don’t rely on the features controlled by the Core License Security Setting. Admins can get a basic understanding of which users are using AppSheet by running a User Report in the Google Workspace Admin Console.

Partners

Use the Partner Advantage Portal to learn more about how your customers can leverage AppSheet in their organizations and AppSheet's subscription plans.

End users

Visit the AppSheet Help Center to learn more about getting started with AppSheet.

Rollout pace

Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on July 25, 2023

Availability

AppSheet Core licenses are already included for domain-verified Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Enterprise Essentials Plus, and Education Plus users.

AppSheet Core licenses will now be included for domain-verified Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Frontline Starter and Standard, Nonprofits, and Education Standard customers
Google Workspace for Education users designated as under the age of 18 are restricted from using AppSheet with their Google Workspace for Education accounts. For more information, use this article in our Help Center about controlling access to Google services by age.

Resources

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - May 19, 2023

Friday, May 19, 2023

6 New updatesUnless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace customers.

Improve time management and display time with new chips in Google Docs

In addition to the recent introduction of new smart canvas features in Google Sheets and Google Docs, we’re adding new timer chips that can be used to timebox activities and ensure that you’re using your time productively.

To more finely represent time, we’re also adding a time-of-day chip to Google Docs. By typing “@today" you can add the date and then select "Set time" to add the time to the date chip.

Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for May 31, 2023. | Learn more about inserting smart chips & building blocks in your Google Doc.

Use alternative text for visual content on Google Sites

Google Sites editors are now able to add or edit alt text on inserted images and add or edit alt text on background images, making their Sites more readable by everyone. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for May 30, 2023. | Learn more about making your site more accessible.

Enhancing our web onboarding experience in Google Chat to help users get started quicker

To build upon recent Google Chat improvements and help organizations use Chat more efficiently, we’re revamping the web onboarding experience for those new to Chat. When using Chat in Gmail or visiting chat.google.com for the first time, you will see options to start a chat, join a space, or browse apps. If you select the first option to send a direct message to a colleague or group, the simpler chat creation options will appear. Choosing to join a space will display a new browsing experience, and the Chat apps option will show you how apps work and the ways to find and add apps. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for June 5th 2023.

New web onboarding experience in Google Chat

Spellcheck for client-side encrypted files in Google Slides

If you’re working in a client-side encrypted file in Google Slides, you’ll now see spelling suggestions as you type. You can see suggestions for misspelled words (indicated by a red wavy underline) by accessing the menu (Tools > Spelling > Spell check) or right- or left-clicking on the word. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers only. | Rolling out to Rapid Release domains now; launch to Scheduled Release domains planned for May 30, 2023. | Learn more about encrypted files in Drive, Docs, Sheets & Slides.

Export client-side encrypted spreadsheets to Excel files

Google Sheets files that are client-side encrypted can now be exported as an Excel file. This means you'll continue to protect your files with encryption, but convert your files as needed. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus, Education Standard and Education Plus customers only. | Learn more about encrypted files in Drive, Docs, Sheets & Slides.

AppSheet-powered no-code apps in Google Chat

This announcement was made at Google I/O ‘23. Visit the Workspace Blog to learn more about building workflows across Google Workspace to connect user experiences across apps. You can now create Google Chat apps without code in AppSheet to build integrations or workflows that suit the needs of your organization. | Available now to all Google Workspace customers with an AppSheet Starter, Core, or Enterprise plan. | Learn more about Chat apps.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Improving Calendar Interoperability

Recent improvements to Calendar Interoperability include: Microsoft Outlook users who also have a Google Calendar with the same email address can receive Google Calendar invitations and RSVPs in Outlook, a default meeting reminder will be generated in Microsoft Outlook if the invitation was created in Google Calendar to help make sure guests using Outlook do not miss events, and non-Google Calendar recurring events will be more systematically and accurately updated in Google Calendar. | Learn more about Calendar Interoperability improvements.

New membership limits for Google Groups

We've increased the limits for the number of direct and indirect group memberships for which a user can have: Direct: 3,000 memberships (increasing from 2,000) and Combined direct and indirect: 7,500 memberships (increasing from 5,000). | Learn more about new membership limits for Google Groups.

Easily expand and collapse content in Google Docs

We introduced a new feature that helps you minimize and expand sections within Google Docs. This collapsible headings function makes it easier to consume content by enabling you to hide portions of larger documents more easily. | Learn more about expand/collapse in Google Docs.

Create custom building blocks in Google Docs

This feature enables you to save custom blocks of text, tables, and chips to build reusable components. For example, you might create a project kickoff template to track milestones and tasks, a product launch checklist, or even a block of code or text that’s commonly used within your organization. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus customers and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about custom building blocks in Docs.

React to messages quickly in Google Chat

We've added quick reactions in Chat, which displays your most frequently used emojis upon hovering over a message. You'll also see options to open the full emoji picker, reply in a thread, quote in reply and more. | Learn more about quick reactions in Google Chat.

Monitor abuse related events in the Alert Center

Admins will now receive alerts related to abuse related events in their organization. This includes events related to content that has been marked abusive or user access restrictions to apps. | Learn more about monitoring abuse related events in the Alert Center.

Complete data-driven tasks faster with new smart chip data extraction in Google Sheets

You will now be able to quickly extract information from smart chips for advanced sorting, filtering and analysis to drive your projects forward. | Learn more about smart chip data extraction in Google Sheets.

Collaborate with others on Google Calendar invites in Google Docs

We've introduced a building block that lets you collaborate with others to draft calendar invites. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus customers and Nonprofits only. | Learn more about drafting calendar events from Google Docs.

Completed rollouts

The features below completed their rollouts to Rapid Release domains, Scheduled Release domains, or both. Please refer to the original blog post for additional details.

Rapid Release Domains:

Find files quicker with search chips in Google Drive

Introducing additional smart chip functionality in Google Sheets

Scheduled Release Domains:

Enabling organizational communication with announcements in Google Chat (Web)

Replace images quicker in Google Slides with new drag and drop feature

Add emoji reactions to existing comments in Google Docs

Rapid and Scheduled Release Domains:

Communicate better with a modernized Google Chat

Attach a document, spreadsheet, or presentation to a Google Calendar event directly from Meet in Docs, Sheets, and Slides

Manage all Spaces in your organization through the Admin console

Improving Calendar Interoperability

New membership limits for Google Groups

Monitor abuse related events in the Alert Center

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - October 28, 2022

Friday, October 28, 2022

New updates Unless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers.

New keyboard shortcuts for Keep

In continuing our efforts to provide a top-class user experience on large screen devices, we’re releasing updated keyboard shortcuts for Keep on Android that better align with the web experience. | View the full list of shortcuts and learn more here.

Enhancing spell check in Google Docs

Words whose spelling is not recognized will now be underlined in red, even if there is no suggestion. When you click on such a word, you'll see it labeled as an "unknown word" -- from here you can choose to add the word to your personal dictionary or ignore the suggestion. This improvement will highlight more potential spelling errors - helping you write correctly and with confidence. Note that this feature is only available in English at this time. | Learn more.

Improved hearing aid support for Google Meet on Android

We’ve expanded Google Meet hearing aid support on Android devices to recognize a wider variety of hearing aid devices. Meet will automatically default to using hearing aid support when they’re connected. You can also select hearing aids during a meeting from the audio settings menu. If the hearing aid has a built-in microphone, this microphone will be used. If it doesn’t the mobile phone or tablet microphone will be used.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Use built-in mail merge tags like @firstname to personalize multi-send emails

We’ve launched the ability to personalize multi-send emails with mail merge tags like @firstname and @lastname. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Plus, and Workspace Individual customers only. | Learn more.

Stronger Admin console protection with risk-based re-authentication challenges

In August 2022, we announced strengthened safeguards for sensitive actions taken in your Google Workspace end users accounts. Specifically, this update protected users from bad actors taking over accounts via cookie theft. Beginning this week, we’re extending this protection to the Admin console. | Learn more.

Custom emojis coming to Chat

We’re making emojis even more expressive and personalized by allowing people to create custom emojis. Everyone in an organization can view and use custom emojis uploaded by their colleagues in Chat messages and reactions. | Learn more.

Save time by adding in grading category information before exporting Google Assignments in Google Classroom

Starting this week, teachers can include grading category information when exporting Google Classroom assignments to the SIS. | Available to Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, and Aspen and Skyward 2.0 (SaaS Customers Only) SIS customers only. | Learn more.

Create and manage AppSheet databases, available in public preview

AppSheet is Google’s platform for building and deploying end-to-end apps and automation without writing code. As we continue to enhance and streamline app creation, we’re introducing a built-in structured database in public preview. | Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers, as well as those with an AppSheet license. | Learn more.

Configure App Access Control for third-party applications in bulk

You can now use that CSV file to specify the status of each app—trusted, blocked, or limited—and upload the file back into the Admin console for updates. | Available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Nonprofits, legacy G Suite Basic and Business, and Cloud Identity Pro customers only. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Create and manage AppSheet databases, available in public preview

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

What’s changing AppSheet is Google’s platform for building and deploying end-to-end apps and automation without writing code. As we continue to enhance and streamline app creation, we’re introducing a built-in structured database in public preview.

Within the database editor, you can set the same column types as in the AppSheet editor for your data.

Easily create and customize databases starting from AppSheet's My Apps page.

Who’s impacted Admins, developers and end users

Why it’s important AppSheet databases make it easy for you to organize and manage the data that power your apps directly inside AppSheet. See our Developer Blog for more information.

Additional Details Note that during preview:

Access to AppSheet databases will be enabled by default for everyone. There will be no impact on existing apps. Users can connect a database to both new and existing AppSheet apps.
Databases will be limited to 10k rows per table, 20 tables per database and 20 databases per user. These limits may change when this feature becomes generally available.

Getting started

Admins and Developers: You can create a blank database from the My Apps page.

Rollout pace

This feature is available now for all users.

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers, as well as those with an AppSheet license.

Resources

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - May 20, 2022

Friday, May 20, 2022

New updates
There are no new updates to share this week. Please see below for a recap of published announcements.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Migrate your classic Google Sites before December 1, 2022 We’re extending the previously announced timeline to give Google Workspace customers more time to migrate from classic Google Sites to new Google Sites:

Starting December 1, 2022 (previously June 1, 2022), you will no longer be able to edit any remaining classic Sites in your domain.
Starting January 1, 2023 (previously July 1, 2022), Classic Sites will no longer be viewable unless they are converted to new Google Sites.

Learn more here and here.

New and updated third-party DevOps integrations for Google Chat, including PagerDuty There are now a variety of additional DevOps integrations that allow you to act on common workflows directly in Google Chat. | Learn more.

Export log data in near-real time to BigQueryExported log data streams are now in near-real time (under 10 minutes), improving upon the previous process which returned log data that could be up to three days old. | Learn more here and here.

AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus available as add-ons to Google Workspace editionsGoogle Workspace customers can now purchase AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus as add-ons by contacting their Google Cloud sales representative or through the Google Workspace Partner network. | Learn more.

Use Connected Sheets with VPC-SC protected data, improved Cloud Audit Logs for Connected Sheets events BigQuery datasets that are behind a perimeter created by VPC Service Controls can now be accessed using Connected Sheets. We’ve also made improvements to the Connected Sheets logging in the Cloud Audit Logs. | Learn more.

New banners in Google Chat protect against malicious links In Google Chat, you can now see banners warning against potential phishing and malware messages coming from users with personal Google Accounts to help protect users against malicious actors, keeping data safe. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus available as add-ons to Google Workspace editions

Wednesday, May 18, 2022

Quick summary Google Workspace customers can now purchase AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus as add-ons by contacting their Google Cloud sales representative or through the Google Workspace Partner network.

AppSheet allows users to maximize Google Workspace by building custom applications on top of Google Workspace and other services in their environment, all without writing any code. With AppSheet Enterprise, customers can enable advanced scenarios, adding advanced connectivity, more scale, and strengthened governance.

Getting started

Admins: Customers can contact sales for more information on purchasing AppSheet Enterprise Standard or Enterprise Plus as add-ons.
Partners:

Partners can use the Partner Sales Console, Reseller APIs, and Rep-Assisted Buy Flows to add AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus to their customers Workspace editions.
Use the Partner Advantage Portal to learn more about how your customers can leverage AppSheet in their organizations and AppSheet's subscription plans.

Developers: Visit the AppSheet Help Center to learn more about getting started with AppSheet.

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Starter, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade, Frontline, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers.

Resources

Getting started with AppSheet

Build custom, integrated solutions across Google Workspace with the new AppSheet Apps Script connector

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

What’s changing We’re introducing a new AppSheet and Apps Script connector which allows you to extend custom, no-code apps to integrate and automate workflows across Google Workspace.

The Apps Script Connector will be available for users in the AppSheet Core plan and above, which is available to users of the Google Workspace Enterprise edition. Users in the AppSheet Starter plan can test the feature. Learn more from AppSheet documentation.

Who’s impacted Admins, end users, and developers

Why it matters AppSheet is Google’s platform for building no-code custom apps and workflows to automate business processes. AppSheet works well with mixed data sources, even if customer data is stored across Sheets, CloudSQL, or on-premise databases.

Apps Script is Google’s hosted JavaScript platform that makes it easy to build solutions that integrate, automate, and extend Google Workspace. Apps Script is integrated with Google Workspace APIs and includes native integrations to Google services such as YouTube, Google Analytics, and BigQuery.

You can use the AppSheet Apps Script connector to extend custom no-code apps to integrate and automate workflows across Google Workspace. This is useful in a variety of scenarios, such as use cases in the retail, manufacturing or public sector. For example, you could use the connector with your AppSheet app to:

Receive employee travel requests via the web, and when a request is made, it can look up the requestor’s manager and send a chat or email notification for approval.
Allow workers to capture photos from their mobile device for on-site inspections, and upload images and media to Google Drive and adjust Drive sharing settings to ensure auditors have access.
Manage shift schedules and appointments through a simple web interface, and when a time slot is booked, create an event on Google Calendar with the requestor invited.

Getting started

Admins and Developers: As a feature of AppSheet, this will be available based on the admin control for AppSheet. There is no admin control for this individual feature, only a product-level admin control for AppSheet.
See our Developer Blog for more information about the Apps Script connector for AppSheet.
Use our AppSheet Help Center documentation and this video tutorial for more information on calling Apps Script from an automation.

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility) starting on April 13, 2022

Availability

The Apps Script Connector will be available for users in the AppSheet Core plan and above (available to Google Workspace Enterprise, see AppSheet pricing). Users in the Starter plan can test the feature.

Resources

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - February 25, 2022

Friday, February 25, 2022

New updatesUnless otherwise indicated, the features below are fully launched or in the process of rolling out (rollouts should take no more than 15 business days to complete), launching to both Rapid and Scheduled Release at the same time (if not, each stage of rollout should take no more than 15 business days to complete), and available to all Google Workspace and G Suite customers.

AppSheet Support is now available through the Workspace Admin console

Available to all AppSheet customers who have admin user access through Workspace Support. AppSheet Core is available as an add-on paid subscription to all Google Workspace editions. | Available to all AppSheet customers who have admin user access through Workspace Support. AppSheet Core is available as an add-on paid subscription to all Google Workspace editions. | Learn more here.

Updated emoji experience in Google Chat on web

Last year we updated the emoji experience on mobile.Now we have brought the ability to express yourself more authentically in Chat on Web. We’re making the following updates to the emoji experience:

The Emoji set is updated to the latest version (Emoji 13.1), reflecting the latest emoji set and diversity and inclusion options.
Gender-neutral options for gender-modifiable emojis have been added.
Emoji skin tone and gender preferences are saved per individual emoji.

Previous announcements

The announcements below were published on the Workspace Updates blog earlier this week. Please refer to the original blog posts for complete details.

Classic Hangouts will be upgraded to Google Chat beginning March 22, 2022

Beginning March 22, 2022, we’ll turn on the “Chat preferred” setting for any customers who haven’t already done so, making Google Chat the default chat application. This means that when users visit classic Hangouts in Gmail on the web or the classic Hangouts mobile apps, they’ll be directed to Chat. Hangouts.google.com will continue to work. It is not possible to opt out of this change. | Learn more.

Google Workspace Migrate is now generally available

Google Workspace Migrate, previously announced in beta in 2019, is now generally available for select Google Workspace Editions. This first-party, on-premise product helps admins assess and plan migration projects, and confidently migrate their users and large amounts of critical content directly into Google Workspace. | Available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, Education Plus, and legacy G Suite Business customers only. | Learn more.

For a recap of announcements in the past six months, check out What’s new in Google Workspace (recent releases).

Integrating AppSheet into Gmail

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

What’s changingWe're bringing more flexibility into Google Workspace by integrating AppSheet into Gmail through dynamic email support. This integration lets anyone—including non-technical users—build dynamic emails using AppSheet.
Google Workspace Enterprise Plus users and AppSheet users can now:

Create AppSheet apps that can be rendered in Gmail
Easily send AppSheet forms and views to Gmail users with embedded, editable data fields
Trigger additional workflows—such as vacation or budget approvals—using AppSheet automation

Example using AppSheet in dynamic emails for a budget approval

Example of using AppSheet to approve an inventory request in Gmail

This feature was announced as a part of Google Cloud Next ‘21.
Who’s impactedAdmins, end users, and developers
Why you’d use itAppSheet enables anyone, regardless of their coding experience, to quickly build and deploy applications and automation. By bringing AppSheet into Gmail using dynamic email, Google Workspace users can now interact with these apps without having to leave their inbox, saving them time, and helping them be more productive and efficient.
Google Workspace customers are already using this feature in exciting ways, such as for budget, inventory, and vacation approvals; commenting on requests and projects; assigning support tickets; and updating customer info in their CRM, among many other scenarios.
Getting started

Rollout pace

This feature is available now.

Availability

Available to all AppSheet customers and Google Workspace Enterprise Plus customers.
AppSheet Starter and Core are available as an add-on paid subscription to all Google Workspace editions; AppSheet Core licenses are included at no cost in Google Workspace Enterprise Plus.

Resources

Control access to AppSheet with a new Admin console setting

Wednesday, December 2, 2020

UpdateFebruary 25, 2021: This rollout for this feature is complete.
January 26, 2021: This feature will resume a gradual rollout (up to 15 days for feature visibility) beginning on February 8, 2021.
January 12, 2021: We've paused the rollout of this feature while we work to improve performance. We apologize for the delay — we'll provide an update here once rollout has resumed.
December 7, 2020: Primary domain administrators will receive an email no later than January 5, 2021, outlining the specific impact to their organization and who to contact for more info. Please note that you will not receive an email if:

Your setting for managing access to services that aren’t controlled individually is OFF for everyone, and
You do not currently have an AppSheet subscription.

See the Additional Details section below for more information.

What’s changing

On December 14, 2020, Google Workspace admins will begin seeing a new control for AppSheet in the Additional Google services section of the Admin console.

AppSheet is available to all Google Workspace customers; this new setting simply gives admins the ability to enable or disable user access to AppSheet at the domain, organizational unit (OU), or group level.

Who’s impacted

Admins

Why you’d use it

AppSheet allows users to maximize the power of Google Workspace by building custom applications on top of Workspace applications and other services and applications in their environment, all without writing any code.

Additional Details

Setting defaults

The default for the new control will be based on your setting for managing access to services that aren’t controlled individually, combined with additional factors.

If your setting for managing access to services that aren’t controlled individually is ON for everyone, the new AppSheet control will also be ON for everyone.

If you currently pay for an AppSheet subscription and your setting for managing access to services that aren’t controlled individually is OFF for everyone, or ON for some OUs and OFF for others, the AppSheet control will be ON for everyone. This is to ensure that your AppSheet services continue to run without disruption.

If you do not currently pay for an AppSheet subscription and your setting for managing access to services that aren’t controlled individually is ON for some OUs and OFF for others, the AppSheet control will automatically align to those settings at an OU level.

If you do not currently pay for an AppSheet subscription and your setting for managing access to services that aren’t controlled individually is OFF for everyone, the AppSheet control will be OFF for everyone.

Most admins will receive an email no later than January 5, 2021, detailing the specific impact to their organization in these cases. Please note that you will not receive an email if your setting is OFF for everyone and you don’t currently have an AppSheet subscription.

Unless you want to make changes to the configurations described above, no additional action is required.

Disabling AppSheet

If your users are already using AppSheet, turning the additional service off will disable access for all app creators and users, and will stop applications from running.

To find out who in your organization is using AppSheet, use the Token Audit Log in the Admin console at Reports > Audit Log > Token. Select “+ Add a filter” and choose “Application name,” then enter “AppSheet”. You’ll then see a list of users in your organization who have used AppSheet.

Getting started

Admins: In the Admin console, go to Apps > Additional Google services > Settings for AppSheet. There, you can enable or disable AppSheet for your entire organization or specific OUs, groups, or users. Visit the Help Center to learn more about turning AppSheet on or off for your organization.

End users: There is no end user setting for this feature. Visit the AppSheet Help Center to learn more about getting started with AppSheet.

Rollout pace

Rapid and Scheduled Release domains: Extended rollout (potentially longer than 15 days for feature visibility) starting on December 14, 2020

Availability

Available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers

Resources

Google App Maker will be shut down on January 19, 2021

Monday, January 27, 2020

What’s changing

Due to low usage, Google App Maker will be turned down gradually over the course of 2020 and officially shut down on January 19, 2021. Prior to the shutdown, you’ll need to review App Maker usage in your domain and take any necessary action.

See the Additional details section below for a timeline of the shutdown and alternatives you can deploy in your organization.

Who’s impacted

Admins, end users, and developers

Why it’s important

As soon as possible, review your organization’s App Maker applications. App creators should review the uses cases listed in the Additional details section below and take action as necessary by the dates listed in the turndown schedule.

Additional details

Turndown schedule
App Maker will be disabled gradually according to the schedule below:

Today, existing apps continue to work. Though App Maker is no longer under active development, the service will continue to be maintained.
Starting April 15, 2020, you will no longer be able to create new App Maker apps. You will still be able to edit and deploy existing apps.
Starting January 19, 2021, existing App Maker apps will stop working and you will no longer have access to them. App maker data stored in Cloud SQL will remain unchanged and continue to follow the policies established by your Google Cloud Platform (GCP) account.

Alternative solutions

Due to the specific source code used for App Maker, you can’t directly migrate your apps to another platform. Depending on your use case, we recommend the following:

Deleting apps

If you no longer use apps created with App Maker, please follow these steps to fully delete each app:

Data retention

Your App Maker data belongs to your organization. App Maker user data is stored in CloudSQL and will continue to be retained according to the policies established by your GCP account. Data composing the App Maker app itself can be exported from within the App Maker editor until January 19, 2021.

Getting started

Admins: We recently emailed the primary admin in your domain and provided a CSV file with a list of the App Maker apps being used in your organization. This list includes the application name, creator name, and last modified date for each app. It also contains a link to your Admin console with application-specific usage stats and project information.

Notify app creators in your domain as necessary of the upcoming shutdown and alternative solutions.

Resources

Useful Links

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In the Google Cloud Community, connect with Googlers and other Google Workspace admins like yourself. Participate in product discussions, check out the Community Articles, and learn tips and tricks that will make your work and life easier. Be the first to know what's happening with Google Workspace.

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Learn about more Google Workspace launches

On the “What’s new in Google Workspace?” Help Center page, learn about new products and features launching in Google Workspace, including smaller changes that haven’t been announced on the Google Workspace Updates blog.

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Updates

Introducing AppSheet Organizations

Available in open beta: Build AppSheet automations using Google Forms

AppSheet smart chips for Google Docs

AppSheet Core licenses will be included by default for more Google Workspace editions, along with a new Admin security setting

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - May 19, 2023

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - October 28, 2022

Create and manage AppSheet databases, available in public preview

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - May 20, 2022

AppSheet Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus available as add-ons to Google Workspace editions

Build custom, integrated solutions across Google Workspace with the new AppSheet Apps Script connector

Google Workspace Updates Weekly Recap - February 25, 2022

Integrating AppSheet into Gmail

Control access to AppSheet with a new Admin console setting

Google App Maker will be shut down on January 19, 2021

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