As always, here is a digest of the key updates Admins need to be aware of that Google has released last month for those of you hanging out in the ‘Admin console’. Some of the key changes includes new Chrome policies in Google Apps, ability to white list specific Google Apps domains, and so much more.
New Chrome Policies in Google Apps
Admins can now set domain name auto complete at sign in so users don’t have to type the domain part of their username when accessing their Google account via Chrome as well as an option to allow users to enter an asset identifier upon enrollment.
Additionally, the device details page has a newly added section called ‘System Activity and Troubleshooting’ which contains some of the existing fields as well as two new policies: Reboot Device and Screen Capture.
What Admins Should Do Now:
If you want to enable Domain name auto complete at sign in, enable users to enter an asset identifier during the enrollment process, please refer to the following support links:
New Google Classroom Mobile App Features
With the updated Google Classroom app for Android and iOS, students can now receive mobile notifications on their mobile device to get immediate alerts when they receive new assignments, grades, notes from the teachers and comments from fellow classmates.
What Admins Should Do Now:
No admin configuration changes required. Make sure to relay information to key users. Users should install latest version of the Classroom app to enjoy the new features.
Changes to Google Drive file
With Information Rights Management (IRM), file owners can now disable downloading, printing, and copying of Google Drive files from the advanced sharing menu. This new option is available for any file stored in Google Drive, including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations created with Google Docs.
To activate this option via Drive on the web, open the sharing dialogue from any Google file and click on Advanced in the lower right hand corner. Select the ‘Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers’ box and save your changes.
What Admins Should Do Now:
Educate key users about this new feature.
Updates for Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides Apps
With the latest version of the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides mobile apps for Android, users can now perform the following actions:
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Easily rename files (document titles) via the overflow menu.
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Change the layout of an existing slide to one of several predefined layouts.
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Reply to comments when working in Office Compatibility Mode in the Docs app.
What Admins Should Do Now:
Educate key users about these new features. For more information, please see the Help Center links below.
Notification of invalid sharing settings in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets and Slides.
Apps admins can restrict employees from sharing Drive files and folders outside of their organization to help maintain confidentiality. With this update, users are given more information on how their files are being shared and will show warning messages when:
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a file is shared with a person outside of the sharing user’s domain, but sharing outside of that user’s domain is disabled
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a file is shared with a person outside of the sharing user’s domain, but sharing into the receiving person’s domain is disabled
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a file is shared using one of the “anyone” options, but sharing or publishing outside of the sharing user’s domain is disabled
What Admins Should Do Now:
Customize the App Launcher
Individual users can now customize the App Launcher by moving app icons between rows and screens.
What Admins Should Do Now:
Educate key users about this new feature.
Whitelist specific Google Apps domains
Apps admins can now easily whitelist certain Google Apps domains to make cross-domain sharing and collaboration possible in Google Docs and Drive as well as in Google Classroom. You can even turn Whitelisted Domains “on” or “off” for specific organizational units.
What Admins Should Do Now:
Refer to this link to learn more about Whitelisted Domains.
New Retention Rules in Google Apps Vault
Going forward, Google Apps Vault admins will be prompted to choose one of the following options when setting up a new rule:
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Expunge the message, but only if it had been deleted during the coverage period.
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Expunge the message, EVEN IF it is presently in a user’s mailbox.
What Admins Should Do Now:
Download Microsoft Office Files Quickly and Easily
A new download functionality has been added to the Office Compatibility Mode Chrome extension that lets users instantly download a local copy of their file.
What Admins Should Do Now:
Create and manage custom maps in Google Drive
My Maps, the tool that lets you create custom maps, is now integrated with Google Drive and is subject to the same permission setting as other Drive files. And as with other Google file formats, maps do not count toward one’s Google Drive storage limit.
What Admins Should Do Now:
More information:
Changes to commenting behavior on YouTube for Google Apps
For Google Apps customers with YouTube enabled, there are few key changes:
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Comments posted on YouTube will now appear only on YouTube, not also on Google+. The “Also share on Google+” check box will be removed from the YouTube commenting interface.
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Individuals in a Google Apps domain will no longer have the ability to restrict comments made on YouTube to be view able only in their domain.
What Admins Should Do Now:
No configuration changes needed. Make sure to relay information to key users.
New privilege in Admin console for transferring data ownership
The new privilege in Admin console will make transferring data ownership easier.
What Admins Should Do Now:
