Improved Sharing and Publishing Controls for Google Docs

Users of the Premier and Education Editions now have improved controls over access controls and publishing for Google Docs. Administrators can now determine if users are allowed to publish documents, spreadsheets, and presentations to the Internet.

Get the details on how to manage the settings here.

Directory Sync and Suspended Users

Directory Sync allows mid-size and larger organizations to manage Google Apps user accounts through Active Directory or other LDAP servers on the internal network.

The latest Google Apps Directory Sync version (1.6.7) now supports suspend user functionality and other new use cases to make deployment easier such as:

• The ability to sync users as suspended from LDAP
• The ability to suspend a user in Apps, when the user is deleted from LDAP

More info is available here.

Administrators Get More Control Over Chat

Two new features let administrators secure and manage Google Talk chat sessions.

• Enable/disable their user's ability to chat outside the domain.
• Enable a setting to automatically accept chat invitations between users in their domain.

These features are only available in Education and Premier Edition (a few more reasons to upgrade).

Translate Google Docs -- 42 languages

Collaboration across languages and cultures is easier when you speak the language. Google Docs now supports translation across 42 languages.

Learn more here

Manage Email Retention With or Without an Archive

With 25GB of inbox space for each user, managing space is rarely an issue. Company policies related to records retention, however, often create a need to enforce retention policies on email messages.

In Google Apps Premier Edition, you can not set a retention period for email. Once set, Gmail will automatically permanently delete all email messages older than the retention period.

If you want or need to limit user retention of emails, but need to retain corporate access to messages for legal or compliance reasons, we can add Google Message Discovery to your Google Apps service.

Google Message Discovery is an email archive/recovery/e-discovery service that offers secure, audited archives of all messages sent or delivered for up to 10 years. Message Discovery also works with most any in-house email system.

Click Here to learn more about Google Message Discovery or to view a product data sheet (PDF format).

Sending Email from Multiple Addresses

It is no longer uncommon for some users to manage multiple email accounts. Whether covering email addresses for support or customer service, or providing administrative assistance to an executive the "on behalf of" label can be distracting to the email recipient.

Google Apps Premier Edition (and Education Edition) now allow users to send emails from multiple addresses without the "on behalf of" label in the sender address.

Click here to learn more ...

Google Apps and OpenID

With in-house systems, multiple user names and passwords are often an issue as applications and systems have unique security systems and requirements. So too is the case as you move into cloud computing solutions.

By providing an API for OpenID, organizations can allow users to log into OpenID-enabled applications using their Google Apps username and password.

This feature, available for Education and Premier Editions only, improves the end user experience.

Learn more ...

Improved Directory Sync with Google Apps

One of the advantages of the paid versions of Google Apps is the additional integration features provided. Even smaller companies gain when administration time is minimized.

Recently, Google updated the capabilities of Google Apps Directory Sync:

• Google Apps Directory Sync can now help synchronize contact information for non-employees (as well as employees) that are listed in the central LDAP directory, so that employees can look up and contact important customers, partners and vendors.
  
• More contact fields can be synchronized between an LDAP system and Google Apps. Rich user profile information like multiple phone numbers, addresses and job titles are now supported.

With these enhancements, it is now easier to manage your Google Apps user accounts as part of your overall directory (including Active Directory) administration.

Google Releases the Google Apps Connector for Blackberry Enterprise Server

After an extended period in Beta testing, Google has released its connector for Blackberry Enterprise Server.

• Messages sent to your Gmail inbox are pushed to your BlackBerry within 60 seconds.
• Emails read/deleted on your BlackBerry are marked as read/deleted in Gmail, and vice-versa.
• Emails archived/starred on your BlackBerry are archived/starred in Gmail, and vice-versa.
• BlackBerry folders are synchronized with labels in Gmail.
• You can search for contact information of coworkers from the global address list on your BlackBerry.
• Contacts in Gmail are automatically synchronized with your BlackBerry address book.
• You can view your Google Calendar schedule with the native BlackBerry application, with one-way synchronization from Google Calendar to your BlackBerry device.
• Administrators can use the management and security tools that are part of BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

There is One Caveat:

• Two-way calendar sync with the ability to accept, decline and schedule meetings from your BlackBerry device is not available with this release but we are working on it.

Contact us for more information.

Better User Admin for Google Apps

Back in April, Google released Google Apps Directory Sync, a tool that lets Google Apps administrators add, remove, and change Google Apps accounts automatically as changes are made to the directory service on the local network. The tool works with Microsoft Active Directory and Lotus Domino.

A few weeks ago, Google release a significant upgrade that includes:

• The ability to synchronize non-employees (i.e. contacts) kept in the central directory.
• Inclusion of more fields from contact records, including email addresses, phone numbers, etc.

The addition of these features enhances and further simplifies administration of Google Apps in a managed network environment.

Click here to learn more ...

Snap to Grid is Snappy Feature

One of my biggest frustrations with Google Presentations has been the inability to easily align text and images.

With the addition of "snap to grid", this problem is solved. You can now use the Alt, Ctrl, and Shift keys to fine tune object and text placement.

[ALT] while dragging turns off the grid and gives you smooth drag (use [OPTION] on a mac)
[SHIFT] while dragging enables vertical and horizontal dragging guides
[SHIFT] while moving an object with arrow keys enables 1 pixel nudge
[SHIFT] while resizing preserves the aspect ratio of the object
[CTRL] while moving leaves the original object and drops a duplicate in the new location

Click here to learn more ...

Google Adds Scripts to Spreadsheets

Google Spreadsheets now include the ability to use Google Script, a means for running server-side Java script. Already available for Google Sites, the addition of Google Script in Spreadsheets gives you the ability to automate complex or repetitive actions.

Click here to learn more or to read the overview.

Google Features Horizon in Case Study

Today's Google's Enterprise Blog features Horizon Info Services, one of our customers, and the web developer that brought us together.

Access Fitness Management Systems provides consulting and management services to health clubs, as well as being the owner and operator of the Worcester Fitness and Plymouth Fitness clubs here in the Boston area.

Horizon was introduced to the team at Access Fitness Management Systems by Cold Spring Design.

Read the full story Here.

Updates to Google Forms Improves Information Gathering Tools

With the ability to embed Google Forms on web pages and within emails, they are a powerful tool for gathering information. Recent upgrades are addressing some of the limitations of the tool.

• Section headers can be added to give longer forms more structure.
• The editor supports fixed-width
• The ability to edit multiple forms at once
• A new HTML structure is more suited for skinning and Javascript applications
• Forms will display in the user's localized language

Domain-Level Templates in Google Apps

Last fall, Google released a public template gallery for Google Apps. Last week, Google released template galleries for domains using Google Apps Premier and Education Editions.

Now, any user in the domain can submit a template to be shared with all other domain users. Templates exist for Docs, Spreadsheets, Forms, and Presentations.

This feature should improve your ability to standardize the look and feel of corporate documents.

Click Here to learn more ...

Google Contact Updates

Last week, Google added a series of improvements to Google Contacts, primarily targeting business customers.

In addition to additional fields and improvements to the Contacts interface in Gmail and the Contacts screen, Google added new APIs that let administrators add fields and share contacts within the domain.

Click Here to learn more ...

Better Offline Email Access

While Google Apps Premier Edition users can integrate and access email for free on iPhone and Android devices, users may also use the Google Mobile App. Should you be without Internet connections (cell or WiFi), you now have better tools for offline email access.

As part of an update to Google's mobile client app, Gmail gets:

• An updated the user interface,
• Faster message opens
• Batch actions (like archiving multiple messages at once)
• Basic offline support

With these updates, you can still get some work done while on the subway, in a plane, or any disconnected locale.

Google Apps vs Exchange Part 3: Outlook Sync Compatibility

By now, you have heard about Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook. You may also hear rumblings about less than 100% compatibility.

Yes, there are limitations. That said, the ability to use Outlook with Google Apps Premier Edition is an easy, powerful way to help companies transition from Exchange services (in-house or hosted) to Google Apps.

So you know .... the tool does not sync:

• Tasks (a shame since Google Tasks integrate with the inbox and calendar so well)
• Notes
• Journal
• Public Folders

Additionally, installing Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook may change the way searching works within Outlook. According to Microsoft, it disables Outlook's use of Windows Desktop Search, which Outlook uses to "any and all Outlook data".

While the registry bit was not changed by the Google sync tool installation on any of our systems, here is the fix.

1. Run REGEDIT
   
   
2. Browse to: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search"
   
   
3. Reset the value of “PreventIndexingOutlook” to “0” (without the quotes). To do this, right click on the “PreventIndexingOutlook” key, select “Modify…”, then change the value data to “0”.
   
   
4. Exit REGEDIT

Finally, Google is publishing a list of other Outlook Add-ins that may not be compatible with the sync tool. We are reviewing the information and will post an update later this week.

While some companies may find one or more of these limitations a "show stopper", our experience tells us that most companies will still benefit from being able to use Outlook and Google Apps via the MAPI connection.

Google Fusion Tables: Databases in The Cloud

On June 9th, Google quietly announced the Beta availability of Google Fusion Tables. This "Labs" application provides the ability to query multiple databases and data sources, including social media, rss, and other live feeds.

While an early labs release, Google Fusion Tables is a clear indication that Google hears its customers' desire for better data management with Google Apps Premier Edition and the "cloud", in general.

Mixing Google Docs and MS Office 2007

Our position regarding Google Docs -- including docs, spreadsheets, presentation, and forms -- is as follows:

• Google Docs offer great collaboration capabilities but are not mature enough to replace MS Office or Open Open office for most users
• The formatting and controls in Google Docs are not yet mature enough compared to MS Office features used by intermediate and advanced users

That said, the integration between MS Office and Google Docs is elegant and effective. When uploading MS Office documents, Google docs generally read and maintain formatting and document features, even if you could not create those features directly within Google Docs. Once uploaded, the real-time collaboration -- particularly in docs and spreadsheets -- is effective and efficient.

Recently, Google added support for docx and xlsx formats. MS Office 2007 documents now import easily into docs and spreadsheets.

Click here to learn more.