New Google Releases Make Collaboration Easier

Google has two updates that are being rolled out this month to help improve collaboration. First, the "Shared with Me" tab in Google Drive is becoming more predictive and will feature documents shared by your most frequent collaborators. Learn more about this feature from Google.

Second, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides will now feature an activity dashboard for more transparency into who has viewed files and when. This will help editors know when to alert collaborators when changes have been made. To learn more about this feature check out Google's post.

Both of these features will become available in the coming weeks.

Slides Carnival

Looking for some quick and easy templates for Google Slides? Slides Carnival offers a large library of templates complete with matching images and icons. The templates will work for PowerPoint as well and come in a large variety of styles that can be used "as-is" or easily customized. Slides Carnival includes directions for making a copy of the templates to use in Google or for downloading as a PowerPoint presentation. The latest template linked below has a holiday theme.

http://www.slidescarnival.com/christmas-2017-free-presentation-template/2117

Set an Expiration Date for Shared Access to Drive Files

Google allows Drive users to set an expiration date for shared access on documents. This is great for when you want to provide temporary commenting or viewing rights on documents. Expiration dates cannot be set for users with editing rights at this time.

Here's how it works:

1. Go to your file's shared settings.
2. Add your collaborators.
3. Mouse over a collaborator whose access you'd like to expire after a set time.
4. The timer icon will appear. Click it and set the expiration date for viewing or commenting rights.
5. Save changes.

For more information, check out the Google Apps Updates Blog.