These Google Docs and Chat Updates Will Make Your Workday Easier

The updates are designed to help companies using Google Workspace save valuable time and boost productivity.

Google has released two updates this week – one for Google Docs and one for Google Chat – that will make life that little bit easier for employees using its cloud software.

The latest update makes Google Workspace – which includes the company’s video conferencing software, Google Meet – an even more attractive proposition for businesses.

Google Changes Text Blocks in Docs

The modification Google has made to the Docs experience – announced just yesterday – will be a godsend for staff who want to shave precious seconds off tasks they complete in their workdays.

Prior to the change, if you wanted to change the font of four different words, all in different bits of a paragraph, you’d have to select each one individually.

Now, that’s a thing of the past. You’ll now be able to select more than one word – or group of words – at once, and apply functions like copying, pasting, changing font, or reformatting to all of them simultaneously.

It’s pretty easy to do – all you’ll have to do is select your first bit of text, hold Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) and then select the other bits of text you’d like to apply the identical change to.

According to Google, the features will be fully rolled out within 15 days of the announcement.

Personal Tasks Now in Google Chat

Google has been making changes to other Workspace applications too, including Google Chat.

“In Google Chat, you can now create personal tasks from individual or group messages” the company explained in a blog post on its workspace updates portal. “These will then be viewable by you in Google Tasks, the quick-access side panel, and Google Calendar if the task has a set date.”

Personal Tasks in Google Chat

The feature is designed for staff who want to track tasks that spontaneously arise out of conversations with co-workers on Google Chat. You can add a deadline and a little description that can be referred back to.

Is Google the best app for work?

Few companies out there offer video conferencing software, a document application, cloud storage, a chat service, a calendar, email, and various other useful tools inside one service plan – to call it the full package is an understatement.

If you like the sound of the new Personal Tasks update – perhaps your team is struggling to keep track of tasks they’re working on – then project management software will be a shrewd investment, both for its organizational and collaborative features.

Whatever your business is struggling with, there’s probably software that can help – and with tech providers like Google constantly adding useful new features, investing in the right applications will ensure you’re never behind the curve.

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Written by:
Aaron Drapkin is Tech.co's Content Manager. He has been researching and writing about technology, politics, and society in print and online publications since graduating with a Philosophy degree from the University of Bristol six years ago. Aaron's focus areas include VPNs, cybersecurity, AI and project management software. He has been quoted in the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, The Daily Mail, Computer Weekly, Cybernews, Lifewire, HR News and the Silicon Republic speaking on various privacy and cybersecurity issues, and has articles published in Wired, Vice, Metro, ProPrivacy, The Week, and Politics.co.uk covering a wide range of topics.
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