Search chips in Drive!

Tip: You already know how to star documents so you can easily find them in Drive. Or use advanced search in Drive and see images or listings in the results. Or search Drive right from your Chrome bar (my favorite tip ever!) You even know how to search someone's Drive for them!

But what if you want an even easier way to search Drive for what you're looking for?

How to use: In your Drive home page, start by clicking on the search address bar. From there drop down to filetype and then choose from other search chips to filter/narrow your search even more including who is on the Doc, when it was last updated, etc.. Find exactly what you're looking for!

Additionally, you’ll also notice various other improvements:

You'll see spelling suggestions along with search chips
You can clear search chips on their own, or together with the query
Additional date options for the “Last modified” chip

We hope search chips make it easier to narrow down your search results and find your important files faster.

Text formatting in Chat!

Tip: Are you sending a Chat and wish you could do a little more formatting? Make things BOLD or italic or underline? Or maybe

add
a
bulleted
list?

You can! With formatting in Chat! In addition, we will also introduce a more streamlined and flexible user interface that helps people and groups more easily stay organized and balance focus and multitasking.

How to use: In your chat (in full screen, not small window mode) click on the A icon. From there you can format your text.

Convert a Doc straight to an email!

Tip: You already know that you can draft an email in Docs (my most popular tip of all time!) but what if you are in a Doc and simply decide you want to send it in an email? Or maybe that you want to send it as a PDF attachment?

Don't waste time downloading it first or trying to embed it or copy/paste it yourself in an email...just convert it straight to an email from within the Doc itself!

How to use: In a Doc you're editing go to File > Email > Email this file. From there you can choose to email a file within an email or as various types of attachments. Email a copy to yourself to you can see what it looks like. That's it!

Change image links in Form collection!

Tip: Are you asking people to upload a picture in forms? A picture they'd like to use in the all hands deck? A headshot? An image of their logo submission for your team?

Normally it comes through into a Drive folder and as a link on the form responses spreadsheet. But what if you want the image linked right in the spreadsheet? Want it to look nicer than a long drive link when you share the responses with others?

Click to replace the URL with a link or a chip!

How to use: In the form backend response sheet, click on the link where the file is linked then click to replace with a Chip or a link that others with shared access to the spreadsheet can follow.

Time spent report by calendar event colors!

Tip: Do you color code your Calendar based on the type of event? (Red is your core role, orange is external, green is your 20% project?) Do you want to know more about how much time you spend in each color category and how it changes?

OR, do you not yet use colors but wish you had a quick way to see how much time you spend on your top 3 priorities? After watching the Meetings for Productivity training, are you really energized about having less, better meetings and want to know some data about how you're spending your time??

Label each of your colors and then see automatic insights into how you're spending your time by color category!

How to use: In Calendar, click on *More insights* on your left side panel. From there navigate to "By color" and then edit. You can also create a color label from right within an invite and label/name it there!

Once you color your events and label your color categories, you'll see something like this*:

*The Time Insight graph will change its timeline based on your Calendar view so if you change your view to an entire month it will shift to show you your color breakdown for the entire month! Week view will show week, day view will show day breakdown, etc.

You can drag Keep notes into a Doc in one step!

Tip: Have you taken Keep for Productivity and now you're using Google Keep for your tasks? Have a huge list in Google Keep of all the books you want to read? Have a list of the things you want to do for a project? Want to start editing that list more extensively?

Turn your Keep note into a Doc!

How to use: In a Keep note on desktop click on the three dogs > Copy to a Google Doc. A new Doc will be created with the information from your Keep note. From there you can add checkboxes, assign tasks, and more!

If you want to pull a Google Keep list into an existing Doc you can always access it from the side panel and drag it in instead!

Insert a YouTube video in Slides!

Tip: Are you presenting your slides (maybe using Presenter view!) and want a YouTube video to be part of them? Want to show the video without having to backout and navigate to your browser?? Sending a link to your slides in present mode and want the video to start right away when someone clicks to your slide? Want to keep presenters in your meeting on track with the agenda by nicely showing them a countdown video in the corner of their slides?

Insert a YouTube video right into Slides!

How to use: In Slides go to Insert > Video. Then search YouTube for the video you'd like to include or "5 minute countdown timer". Once you've inserted the video, it will start upon click once you get to the slide (keeping your presenters on track!)

Voting in Docs!

Tip: Are you asking others to review your Doc and want their opinion on something? Are you looking for a consensus on something you've presented? No need to send a form in addition to the Doc to solicit votes - do it right within the Doc instead!

How to use: In a Doc go to Insert > Smart Chips > Voting chips . From there you can choose your emoticon for voting and then readers of your Doc can cast their vote right within the Doc itself by clicking on the emoji.

Snooze to the last snoozed time!

Tip: By now you are probably snoozing emails all the time to come back to your inbox later. You might have even customized your default snooze times. But what if you snooze an email for two weeks and then someone replies before then. What if you want to go right back to that originally snoozed time without having to reschedule?

Just click on "snooze to last time" within your menu!

How to use: In an email that you've snoozed and has come back early - click on the snooze button (or press B) and instead of picking a new time just drop down to "Last time". You can pick the last time that you snoozed that email to and just re-snooze it to then!

Use laptop Meet features from a conference room!

Tip: Are you joining meetings from a conference room these days? Do you miss hand raising and emoticon reactions? Hear everyone else chuckle at a funny chat and feel left out because you can't see it?? Wish you could see captions as someone is talking? Missing your days as "one of the squares" and end up dialing in from your laptop in a conference room?

Use all of these features even when you're dialed in from a conference room GVC unit!

How to use: Join a meeting from the conference room as usual. Then, open your laptop and in your browser go to g.co/companion and click on your meeting. (or click on the meeting from your Calendar and click "Use Companion mode" from the join screen).

Transcription in Meet!

Tip: Do you want to read exactly what happened in a meeting? 👏🏼Word 👏🏼 for👏🏼 word? If you've taken my Effective Meetings training, you may notice that I don't focus too much on a notetaker. That's because many times this role can become one person not paying attention, but only typing out every word that is said! You already know you can take word-for-word notes for yourself by using Dictation in Docs, but what if you want you want your meeting to be taken down word by word?

Let Meet do it for you!

How to use: In a Meet call, click the shapes (Activities) then "Transcripts" > Start transcription. Similar to a recording, the transcription Doc will be sent to the meeting owner's email as a Doc with exact details on who said what!

Add an image placeholder in Slides!

Tip: Are you building a slide presentation that you'd like others to contribute to? Need to indicate where a headshot should be added but don't have the headshot yet? Designing the layout of a few slides and want the image to go the same place every time? Creating a template for your team and need to indicate where the product screenshots should be added?

Add an image placeholder in Slides!

How to use: In a slide presentation you're creating go to View > Theme Builder (similar to Master Slides). From there click Insert > Placeholder > Image and choose a shape.* Exit out of Theme Builder view then resize or move the placeholder or even copy/paste to make more of them. Any editor of the slide can then click on the placeholder and be promoted for options to add the image with the exact shape/location you've set.