Google Workspace Changes

New user settings to safeguard Team Drive files.

Users with full access to a Team Drive can now modify settings to restrict whether files can be shared with users outside their domain or non-members of the Team Drive, and prevent commenters and viewers from downloading, copying, or printing files.

Google Drive is updating its web interface to align with Google's latest material design principles.

Google Drive on the web is receiving a visual refresh to create a more responsive and cohesive experience across G Suite. While functionality remains unchanged, updates include a new Google Drive logo in the top left, custom company logos moving to the top right, repositioned Settings and Help Center icons, a white page background, an updated 'New' button, and updated header fonts.

Legacy Google Drive desktop sync client for Mac and PC will shut down starting May 12, 2018.

The legacy Google Drive for Mac/PC sync client will begin a gradual shutdown starting May 12, 2018. After this date, the client may stop syncing files between local computers and Google Drive, although local files will not be deleted. To assist with the transition, Drive File Stream will automatically rename any detected legacy Google Drive folders to include '(Not Syncing)' and display a notification to the user to prevent accidental editing of non-syncing files.

Google Drive updates the Access checker to improve visibility of users needing access, support Team Drive files, and provide intelligent sharing defaults.

Google Drive is updating its Access checker feature to make file sharing more intuitive and secure. The updates include displaying the specific names or email addresses of people who lack access, extending support to files within Team Drives, and changing the default sharing behavior to intelligently suggest sharing with only the necessary recipients rather than simply enabling link sharing. G Suite admins can continue to control the available sharing options for their organization.

Enhanced security and Information Rights Management (IRM) controls for Team Drives.

Google is enhancing Team Drives with new security controls, including Information Rights Management (IRM) to prevent users from printing, downloading, or copying files. Admins will also be able to modify settings to limit file access privileges specifically to Team Drive members or only to users within their domain.

Google Drive is improving the 'Shared with Me' section by intelligently organizing files by the people who shared them using AI.

Google Drive is updating the 'Shared with Me' section to help users find shared content more efficiently. The new interface uses artificial intelligence to predict the people and files a user is most likely to search for, organizing the section to make these predictions more visible. This update aims to streamline the process of finding files shared by specific collaborators.

Admins can now limit the bandwidth used by Drive File Stream.

Administrators now have the ability to limit the bandwidth of Drive File Stream for both uploads and downloads to manage network usage within their organization.

Admins can now customize the content cache location for Drive File Stream.

Administrators can now customize the content cache location for Drive File Stream to any directory on a connected APFS, HFS+, or NTFS file system.

End users can now pause Drive File Stream syncing.

End users now have the ability to pause Drive File Stream syncing. While paused, the application will not upload local changes to Google Drive, and new versions of files made available offline will not be downloaded.

Ability to email all members of a Team Drive.

Google is introducing a feature that allows users to email all members of a Team Drive to improve collaboration. Users can send emails either from the Team Drive's drop-down menu by selecting 'Email members' or from within a file in the Team Drive via the File menu's 'Email Collaborators' option. The tool allows users to customize the recipient list by filtering for members, guests, and specific access levels such as Full, Edit, Comment, and View.

Updated 'Can view' permissions for Microsoft Office files to allow viewing of comments.

Google Drive is updating the 'Can view' permission setting for Microsoft Office files. Users with 'Can view' access will now be able to see any comments added to MS Office files after the launch of this change, although they will remain unable to create new comments or reply to existing ones.

Comment on Microsoft Office files, PDFs, and images in Google Drive preview mode.

Google Drive now allows users to comment directly on Microsoft Office files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), PDFs, and images within the preview pane without needing to convert them into Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides. This update introduces anchored comments—such as drawing rectangles on PDFs/images or selecting specific text and cells—and supports the importing and exporting of comments to and from the underlying OOXML and PDF files.

International language support for Google Drive integration with Slack

Google is launching international language support for the Google Drive integration with Slack. The Google Drive bot will now send messages and respond to users in French, Spanish, German, or Japanese, depending on the user's preferred language setting in Slack.

View Slack activity events within Google Drive

Google Drive is adding activity events that allow users to see when a file is shared or discussed within Slack. Specifically, the activity logs will now record when someone shares a Google Drive file in Slack or comments on a shared Google Drive file within Slack, provided the user has access to both the document and the Slack channel.

Pop-up notifications for Drive for Mac/PC users to transition to Drive File Stream starting January 30

Starting January 30, 2018, G Suite accounts still using the legacy Drive for Mac/PC client will begin seeing pop-up notifications providing instructions on how to install Drive File Stream, provided the domain allows the service and displays download links in the Drive interface.