Posted by Chanel Greco, Developer Advocate

Earlier this year, we announced the general availability of third-party smart chips in Google Docs. This new feature lets you add, view, and engage with critical information from third party apps directly in Google Docs. Several partners, including Asana, Atlassian, Figma, Loom, Miro, Tableau, and Whimsical, have already created smart chips so users can start embedding content from their apps directly into Docs. Sourabh Choraria, a Google Developer Expert for Google Workspace and hobby developer, published a third-party smart chip solution called “Link Previews” to the Google Workspace Marketplace. This app adds information to Google Docs from multiple commonly used SaaS tools.

In this blog post you will find out how you too can create your own smart chips for Google Docs.

Understanding how smart chips for third-party services work

Third-party smart chips are powered by Google Workspace Add-ons and can be published to the Google Workspace Marketplace. From there, an admin or user can install the add-on and it will appear in the sidebar on the right hand side of Google Docs.

The Google Workspace Add-on detects a service’s links and prompts Google Docs users to preview them. This means that you can create smart chips for any service that has a publicly accessible URL. You can configure an add-on to preview multiple URL patterns, such as links to support cases, sales leads, employee profiles, and more. This configuration is done in the add-on’s manifest file.

{
  "timeZone": "America/Los_Angeles",
  "exceptionLogging": "STACKDRIVER",
  "runtimeVersion": "V8",
  "oauthScopes": [
    "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/workspace.linkpreview",
    "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/script.external_request"
  ],
  "addOns": {
    "common": {
      "name": "Preview Books Add-on",
      "logoUrl": "https://developers.google.com/workspace/add-ons/images/library-icon.png",
      "layoutProperties": {
        "primaryColor": "#dd4b39"
      }
    },
    "docs": {
      "linkPreviewTriggers": [
        {
          "runFunction": "bookLinkPreview",
          "patterns": [
            {
              "hostPattern": "*.google.*",
              "pathPrefix": "books"
            },
            {
              "hostPattern": "*.google.*",
              "pathPrefix": "books/edition"
            }
          ],
          "labelText": "Book",
          "logoUrl": "https://developers.google.com/workspace/add-ons/images/book-icon.png",
          "localizedLabelText": {
            "es": "Libros"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

The smart chip displays an icon and short title or description of the link’s content. When the user hovers over the chip, they see a card interface that previews more information about the file or link. You can customize the card interface that appears when the user hovers over a smart chip. To create the card interface, you use widgets to display information about the link. You can also build actions that let users open the link or modify its contents. For a list of all the supported components for preview cards check the developer documentation.

function getBook(id) {
// Code to fetch the data from the Google Books API
}

function bookLinkPreview(event) {
 if (event.docs.matchedUrl.url) {
// Through getBook(id) the relevant data is fetched and used to build the smart chip and card

    const previewHeader = CardService.newCardHeader()
      .setSubtitle('By ' + bookAuthors)
      .setTitle(bookTitle);

    const previewPages = CardService.newDecoratedText()
      .setTopLabel('Page count')
      .setText(bookPageCount);

    const previewDescription = CardService.newDecoratedText()
      .setTopLabel('About this book')
      .setText(bookDescription).setWrapText(true);

    const previewImage = CardService.newImage()
      .setAltText('Image of book cover')
      .setImageUrl(bookImage);

    const buttonBook = CardService.newTextButton()
      .setText('View book')
      .setOpenLink(CardService.newOpenLink()
        .setUrl(event.docs.matchedUrl.url));

    const cardSectionBook = CardService.newCardSection()
      .addWidget(previewImage)
      .addWidget(previewPages)
      .addWidget(CardService.newDivider())
      .addWidget(previewDescription)
      .addWidget(buttonBook);

    return CardService.newCardBuilder()
    .setHeader(previewHeader)
    .addSection(cardSectionBook)
    .build();
  }
}

For a detailed walkthrough of the code used in this post, please checkout the Preview links from Google Books with smart chips sample tutorial.

How to choose the technology for your add-on

When creating smart chips for link previewing, you can choose from two different technologies to create your add-on: Google Apps Script or alternate runtime.

Apps script is a rapid application development platform that is built into Google Workspace. This fact makes Apps Script a good choice for prototyping and validating your smart chip solution as it requires no pre-existing development environment. But Apps Script isn’t only for prototyping as some developers choose to create their Google Workspace Add-on with it and even publish it to the Google Workspace Marketplace for users to install.

If you want to create your smart chip with Apps Script you can check out the video below in which you learn how to build a smart chip for link previewing in Google Docs from A – Z. Want the code used in the video tutorial? Then have a look at the Preview links from Google Books with smart chips sample page.

If you prefer to create your Google Workspace Add-on using your own development environment, programming language, hosting, packages, etc., then alternate runtime is the right choice. You can choose from different programming languages like Node.js, Java, Python, and more. The hosting of the add-on runtime code can be on any cloud or on premise infrastructure as long as runtime code can be exposed as a public HTTP(S) endpoint. You can learn more about how to create smart chips using alternate runtimes from the developer documentation.

How to share your add-on with others

You can share your add-on with others through the Google Workspace Marketplace. Let’s say you want to make your smart chip solution available to your team. In that case you can publish the add-on to your Google Workspace organization, also known as a private app. On the other hand, if you want to share your add-on with anyone who has a Google Account, you can publish it as a public app.

To find out more about publishing to the Google Workspace Marketplace, you can watch this video that will walk you through the process.

Getting started

Learn more about creating smart chips for link previewing in the developer documentation. There you will find further information and code samples you can base your solution of. We can’t wait to see what smart chip solutions you will build.

The post Create smart chips for link previewing in Google Docs appeared first on ProdSens.live.

Posted by Chanel Greco, Developer Advocate

Giving Google Workspace users the ability to set their working location and working hours in Google Calendar was an important step in helping our customers’ employees adapt to a hybrid world. Sending a Chat message asking “Will you be in the office tomorrow?” soon became obsolete as anyone could share where and when they would be working within Calendar.

To improve the hybrid working experience, many organizations rely on third-party or company-internal tools to enable tasks like hot desk booking or scheduling days in the office. Until recently, there was no way to programmatically synchronize the working location set in Calendar with such tools.

Robin displays the working location from Google Calendar in their application and updates the user’s Google Calendar when they book a desk in Robin

Programmatically read and write working locations

We are pleased to announce that the Calendar API has been updated to make working locations available and this added functionality is generally available (feature is only available for eligible Workspace editions). This enables developers to programmatically read and write the working location of Google Workspace users. This can be especially useful in three use cases that have surfaced in discussions with customers which we are going to explore together.

Enhancing the Calendar API enables developers to synchronize user’s working location with third-party tools like Robin and Comeen. For example, some companies provide their employees with desk booking tools so they can book their workplace in advance for the days they will be on-site. HR management tools are also common for employees to request and set “Work from home” days. In both situations the user had to set their working location in two separate tools: their desk booking tool and/or HR management system and Google Calendar.

Thanks to the working location being accessible through the Calendar API this duplicate work is no longer necessary since a user’s working location can be programmatically set. And if a user’s calendar is the single source of truth? In that case, the API can be used to read the working location from the user’s calendar and write it to any permissioned third-party tool.

Comeen’s Google Workspace Add-on synchronizes the user’s’ working locations whenever the user updates their working location, either in Google Calendar or in Comeen’s add-on

The API enables the surfacing of the user’s working location in other tools, creating interesting opportunities. For instance, some of our customers have asked for ways to better coordinate in-office days. Imagine you are planning to be at the office tomorrow. Who else from your team will be there? Who from a neighboring team might be on-site for a coffee chat?

With the Calendar API, a user’s working location can be displayed in tools like directories, or a hybrid-work scheduling tool. The goal is to make a user’s working location available in the systems that are relevant to our customers.

The third use case that surfaced from discussions with our customers is analyzing working location patterns. With many of our customers having a hybrid work approach it’s vital to have a good understanding of the working patterns. For example, which days do locations reach maximal legal capacity? Or, when does the on-campus restaurant have to prepare more meals for employees working on-site?

The API answers these and other questions so that facility management can adapt their resources to the needs of their employees.

How to get started

Now that you have an idea of the possibilities the updated Calendar API creates, we want to guide you on how you can get started using it.

Check out the developer documentation for reading and writing a user’s working locations.

Watch the announcement video on the Google Workspace Developers YouTube channel.

Check the original post about the launch of the working location feature for a list of all Google Workspace plans that have access to the feature.

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Posted by Chanel Greco, Developer Advocate Google Workspace

Google Workspace offers tools for productivity and collaboration for the ways we work. It also offers a rich set of APIs, SDKs, and no-code/low-code tools to create apps and integrate workflows that integrate directly into the surfaces across Google Workspace.

Leading software makers like Atlassian, Asana, LumApps and Miro are building integrations with Google Workspace apps—like Google Docs, Meet, and Chat—to make it easier than ever to access data and act right in the tools relied on by more than 3 billion users and 9 million paying customers.

At I/O’23 we had some exciting announcements for new features that give developers more options when integrating apps with Google Workspace.

Third-party smart chips in Google Docs

We announced the opening up of smart chips functionality to our partners. Smart chips allow you to tag and see critical information to linked resources, such as projects, customer records, and more. This preview information provides users with context and critical information right in the flow of their work. These capabilities are now generally available to developers to build their own smart chips.

Some of our partners have built and launched integrations using this new smart chips functionality. For example, Figma is integrated into Docs with smart chips, allowing users to tag Figma projects which allows readers to hover over a Figma link in a doc to see a preview of the design project. Atlassian is leveraging smart chips so users can seamlessly access Jira issues and Confluence pages within Google Docs.

Tableau uses smart chips to show the user the Tableau Viz’s name, last updated date, and a preview image. With the Miro smart chip solution users have an easy way to get context, request access and open a Miro board from any document. The Whimsical smart chip integration allows users to see up-to-date previews of their Whimsical boards.

Google Chat REST API and Chat apps

Developers and solution builders can use the Google Chat REST API to create Chat apps and automate workflows to send alerts, create spaces, and share critical data right in the flow of the conversation. For instance, LumApps is integrating with the Chat APIs to allow users to start conversations in Chat right from within the employee experience platform.

The Chat REST API is now generally available.

Using the Chat API and the Google Workspace UI-kit, developers can build Chat apps that bring information and workflows right into the conversation. Developers can also build low code Chat apps using AppSheet.

There are already Chat apps available from partners like Atlassian’s Jira, Asana, PagerDuty and Zendesk. Jira for Google Chat to collaborate on projects, create issues, and update tickets – all without having to switch context.

Google Workspace UI-kit

We are continuing to evolve the Workspace UI-kit to provide a more seamless experience across Google Workspace surfaces with easy to use widgets and visual optimizations.

For example, there is a new date and time picker widget for Google Chat apps and there is the new two-column layout to optimize space and organize information.

Google Meet SDKs and APIs

There are exciting new capabilities which will soon be launched in preview for Google Meet.

For example, the Google Meet Live Sharing SDK allows for the building of new shared experiences for users on Android, iOS, and web. Developers will be able to synchronize media content across participant’s devices in real-time and offer shared content controls for everyone in the meeting.

The Google Meet Add-ons SDK enables developers to embed their app into Meet via an iframe, and choose between the main stage or the side panel. This integration can be published on the Google Workspace Marketplace for discoverability.

Partners such as Atlassian, Figma, Lucid Software, Miro and Polly.ai, are already building Meet add-ons, and we’re excited to see what apps and workflows developers will build into Meet’s highly-interactive surfaces.

With the Google Meet APIs developers can add the power of Google Meet to their applications by pre-configuring and launching video calls right from their apps. Developers will also be able to pull data and artifacts such as attendance reporting, recordings, and transcripts to make them available for their users post-meeting.

Google Calendar API

The ability to programmatically read and write the working location from Calendar is now available in preview. In the second half of this year, we plan to make these two capabilities, along with the writing of sub-day working locations, generally available.

These new capabilities can be used for integrating with desk booking systems and coordinating in-offices days, to mention just a few use cases. This information will help organizations adapt their setup to meet the needs of hybrid work.

Google Workspace API Dashboard and APIs Explorer

Two new tools were released to assist developers: the Google Workspace API Dashboard and the APIs Explorer.

The API Dashboard is a unified way to access Google Workspace APIs through the Google Cloud Console—APIs for Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Chat, Slides, Calendar, and many more. From there, you now have a central location to manage all your Google Workspace APIs and view all of the aggregated metrics, quotas, credentials, and more for the APIs in use.

The APIs Explorer allows you to explore and test Google Workspace APIs without having to write any code. It’s a great way to get familiar with the capabilities of the many Google Workspace APIs.

Apps Script

The eagerly awaited project history capability for Google Apps Script will soon be generally available. This feature allows users to view the list of versions created for the script, their content, and different changes between the selected version and the current version.

It was also announced that admins will be able to add an allowlist for URLs per domain to help safer access controls and control where their data can be sent externally.

The V8 runtime for Apps Script was launched back in 2020 and it enables developers to use modern JavaScript syntax and features. If you still have legacy scripts on the old Rhino runtime, now is the time to migrate them to V8.

AppSheet

We have been further improving AppSheet, our no-code solution builder, and announced multiple new features at I/O.

Later this year we will be launching Duet AI in AppSheet to make it easier than ever to create no-code apps for Google Workspace. Using a natural-language and conversational interface, users can build an app in AppSheet by simply describing their needs as a step-by-step conversation in chat.

The no-code Chat apps feature for AppSheet is generally available which can be used to quickly create Google Chat apps and publish them with 1-click.

AppSheet databases are also generally available. With this native database feature, you can organize data with structured columns and references directly in AppSheet.

Check out the Build a no-code app using the native AppSheet database and Add Chat to your AppSheet apps codelabs to get you started with these two new capabilities.

Google Workspace Marketplace

The Google Workspace Marketplace is where developers can distribute their Workspace integrations for users to find, install, and use. We launched the Intelligent Apps category which spotlights the AI-enabled apps developers build and helps users discover tools to work smarter and be more productive (eligibility criteria here).

Start building today

If you want early access to the features in preview, sign up for the Developer Preview Program. Subscribe to the Google Workspace Developers YouTube channel for the latest news and video tutorials to kickstart your Workspace development journey.

We can’t wait to see what you will build on the Google Workspace platform.

The post What’s new for developers building solutions on Google Workspace – mid-year recap appeared first on ProdSens.live.

Posted by Mike Rhemtulla, Product Manager

Programmatically manage spaces, memberships, messages, reactions and attachments

Last year, we announced new APIs in Developer Preview that enabled developers to programmatically create Chat spaces and add members on behalf of users. These APIs, in addition to the message, reaction, and attachments APIs are now generally available to all Workspace developers.

Google Chat has become a critical connectivity tool for hybrid organizations as well as a powerful tool for streamlining workflows. The Google Chat API allows developers to build user facing apps that integrate workflows into Chat and provide contextual information right into the conversation. Chat apps let users receive details and link previews directly from connected internal and third-party systems, and allows users to get up to speed asynchronously and solve issues quickly. For example, users can create or manage issues in Jira for Google Chat, all without leaving Chat.

Some developers are already leveraging the new APIs to encourage collaboration for their customers. LumApps, a leading intranet platform, enables its users to start a direct message in Google Chat from their user directory so those who are trying to find others based on job titles, roles, departments, or other attributes, can quickly start messaging each other.

In addition to the above Chat APIs now being generally available for all Workspace developers, existing Developer Preview participants can now access our newest feature: Developing Google Chat apps to import user data. If you currently use other enterprise messaging platforms and would like to bring your data into Google Chat, you can now create a Chat app to import existing messages, attachments, reactions, memberships, and more.

The key feature of the Developer Preview functionality are “import mode” spaces, which allow Chat apps to maintain historical timestamps for spaces and messages, to keep the context and ordering of the imported data as users expect. As well, import mode spaces suppress notifications and do not allow end users to access these spaces while legacy data is being imported.

As more users look to get things done within Google Chat, extending the capabilities of the product with apps will help users save time and get things done quicker. We encourage you to explore what you can do today with these resources:

Google Chat API Overview

Introducing the new Google Chat API – now Generally Available

Import data to Google Chat – Google for Developers

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Posted by Chanel Greco, Developer Advocate Google Workspace

We recently launched the Google Workspace APIs Explorer, a new tool to help streamline developing on the Google Workspace Platform. What is this handy tool and how can you start using it?

The Google Workspace APIs Explorer is a tool that allows you to explore and test Google Workspace APIs without having to write any code. It’s a great way to get familiar with the capabilities of the many Google Workspace APIs.

The Google Workspace APIs Explorer is a web-based tool that allows you to interact with Google Workspace APIs in a visual way.

To use this tool, simply navigate to the Google Workspace APIs Explorer page and select the API that you want to explore. The Google Workspace APIs Explorer will then display a list of all the methods available for that API. You can click on any method to see more information about it, including its parameters, responses, and examples.

To test an API method, simply enter the required parameters and click on the “Execute” button. The Google Workspace APIs Explorer will then send the request to the API and return the response. Please note, the tool acts on real data and authenticates with your Google Account, so use caution when trying methods that create, modify, or delete data.

Click to enlarge

These are some of the benefits of using the Google Workspace APIs Explorer:

You can browse and discover the 25+ different Google Workspace APIs.

The tool can help you create code samples for your integrations or add-ons.

It can assist with troubleshooting problems with Google Workspace APIs.

It is a neat way to see the results of API requests in real time.

You can access the Google Workspace APIs Explorer tool on the Google Workspace for Developers documentation, either through the navigation (Resources > API Explorer), or on its dedicated page. You will need a Google account to use the tool. This account can either be a Google Workspace account or the Google account you use for accessing tools like Gmail, Drive, Docs, Calendar, and more.

We also have a video showing how you can get started using the Google Workspace APIs Explorer – check it out here!

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Posted by Mario Tapia, Product Marketing Manager, Google Workspace

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world, it is more important than ever for developers to be able to work quickly and efficiently. With so many different tools and applications available, it can be difficult to know which ones will help you be the most productive. In this blog post, we will discuss five different DevOps application integrations for Google Chat that can help you improve your workflows and be more productive as a developer.

PagerDuty for Google Chat

The post How to be more productive as a developer: 5 app integrations for Google Chat that can help appeared first on ProdSens.live.

Posted by Matthew Izatt, Product Lead, Google Workspace Platform

For millions of our customers, 2022 brought an abundance of change in the way they connect, collaborate, and get things done. Frontline workers at customers like Globe Telecom and general contractor BHI benefited from digital transformation on all fronts by quickly getting the apps they needed to do their jobs in the field. Office and remote workers, meanwhile, adjusted to hybrid work by leveraging ready-made tools from partners like DocuSign and Asana or they built custom desk booking applications.

2022 was also a year of growth. Google Workspace now has more than 3 billion users and over 8 million paying customers across the globe. And the Google Workspace Marketplace passed a lifetime milestone of driving more than 5 billion app installs. To wrap up a year marked by so much change, we’ve recapped some of the biggest updates that make Google Workspace the most open and extensible platform for users, customers, and developers alike.

1.    Build software with more agility with our DevOps integrations

Google Workspace gives you real-time visibility into project progress and decisions to help you ship quality code fast and stay connected with your stakeholders, all without switching tools and tabs. By leveraging integrated applications from our partners, you can pull valuable information out of silos, making collaborating on requirements docs, code reviews, bug triage, deployment updates, and monitoring operations easy for the whole team. This year we partnered with popular DevOps tools to help you do your job better:

• Asana: Plan and execute together, with Asana integrations you can coordinate and manage everything from daily tasks to cross-functional strategic initiatives.
• GitHub: Teams can quickly push new commits, make pull requests, do code reviews, and provide real-time feedback that improves the quality of their code—all from Google Chat.
• Jira: Accelerate the entire QA process in the development workflow. The Jira for Google Chat app acts as a team member in the conversation, sending new issues and contextual updates as they are reported to improve the quality of your code and keep everyone informed on your Jira projects.
• PagerDuty: Enables developers, DevOps, IT operations, and business leaders to prevent and resolve business-impacting incidents for an exceptional customer experience—all from Google Chat.

2.    Apply to our Developer Preview Program: get early access to upcoming platform features

This year we launched the Google Workspace Developer Preview program to get you access to the new APIs and stay in touch with the latest updates on the Google Workspace platform. Features in developer preview have already completed early development phases, so they’re ready for implementation. This program gives you the chance to shape the final stages of feature development with feedback, get pre-release support, and have your integration ready for public use on launch day. Apply to the Developer Preview Program today.

For Google Chat this year we announced that you could programmatically create new spaces and add members on behalf of users via the Google Chat API. These latest additions to the Chat API unlock some sought-after scenarios for developers looking for new ways to extend Chat. For example, PagerDuty leveraged the API as part of their PagerDuty for Google Chat app. The app allows the incident team to isolate and focus on the problem at hand without being distracted by having to set up a new space, or further distract any folks in the current space who aren’t a part of the resolution team for a specific incident. All of this will be done seamlessly through PagerDuty for Chat as part of the natural flow of working with Google Chat.

PagerDuty for Google Chat keeps the business up to date on service-impacting incidents.

We are adding functionality to Chat apps so developers can soon add widgets like a date time picker, or design their layout with multiple columns to make better use of space. We believe these new layout options will open more ways for developers to build engaging apps for users. To help users find and learn more about apps we’ve added “About pages” for apps and making apps discoverable in the compose bar in Chat. Apply to our Developer Preview Program to get early access to the Google Chat APIs.

We also announced new functionality for app developers to leverage the Google Meet video conferencing product through our new Meet Live Sharing API. Users can now come together and share experiences with each other inside an app, such as streaming a TV show, queuing up videos to watch on YouTube, collaborating on a music playlist, joining in a dance party, or working out together though Google Meet. If you want to try out the APIs, you can apply for access through the Developer Preview Program.

Miro for Google Meet uses the new Meet APIs for an integrated experience within Meet.

3.    Connect your customers with critical information with Smart Chips for Google Docs

We expanded smart chips to our ecosystem of partners, allowing our users to add even more rich data, more context, and critical information right into the flow of their work. With these new third-party smart chips, you will be able to tag and see critical information from partner applications using @-mentions, and easily insert interactive information and previews from third-party apps directly into a Google Doc. Several of our partners, including AO Docs, Atlassian, Asana, Figma, Miro, Tableau, and ZenDesk, are now developing third-party smart chips to add more value to your Google Docs experience. Smart chips will be available to developers to build out their app integrations in 2023.

Smart Chips will be available to third-party developers in 2023.

4.    Grow your business with the Recommended for Google Workspace program

Each year, we evaluate the apps on Google Workspace Marketplace and recommend a select number that are enhancing the Google Workspace experience and helping people work in powerful new ways. Each undergoes reviews by both Google and an independent third-party security firm to ensure they meet our highest standards of integration and security requirements. For 2022 here’s the selection of Recommended for Google Workspace: AODocs, Copper, Dialpad, DocuSign, LumApps, Mailmeteor, Miro, RingCentral, Sheetgo, Signeasy, Supermetrics, and Yet Another Mail Merge. Our application for Recommended for Google Workspace is now open, apply today.

Become an app Recommended for Google Workspace for 2023, apply today.

5.    Manage Google Workspace APIs with ease

We recently added a unified way to access Google Workspace APIs through the Google Cloud Console—APIs for Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Chat, Slides, Calendar, and many more. From there, you now have a central location to manage all your Google Workspace APIs and view all of the aggregated metrics for the API in use. Watch this how-to video to get started.

Developers can now manage their Google Workspace APIs from within the Google Cloud Console.

6.    Create surveys, questionnaires, and quizzes and evaluate the results programmatically

The new Google Forms API joins the large family of APIs available to developers under Google Workspace. The Forms API provides programmatic access for managing forms, acting on responses, and empowering developers to build powerful integrations on top of Forms. Watch this introduction to the Google Forms API to get started.

The new Google Forms API allows you to programmatically create and manage Forms.

7.    Build intelligent business apps with No-Code and Low-Code

Google Apps Script is a low-code, cloud based JavaScript development environment for Google Workspace that makes it easy for anyone to build custom business solutions across several Google products. This year we completed the updates for our new IDE v2, offering a more modern and simplified development experience which makes it quicker and easier to build solutions that make Google Workspace apps more useful for your organization.

If you are new to Apps Script, figuring out where to begin can be a hurdle, this year we released 10 new sample solutions to help you get started to bring our number to more than 30! From data analysis to automated emails, you’ll find sample solutions to get you started quickly.

AppSheet is Google’s platform for building no-code custom apps and workflows to automate business processes. It lets app creators build and deploy end-to-end apps and automations without writing code.

The new Apps Script connector for AppSheet, launched this year, ties everything together: AppSheet, Apps Script, Google Workspace, and Google Workspace’s many developer APIs. This integration lets no-code app developers using AppSheet greatly extend the capabilities of their no-code apps by allowing them to call and pass data to Apps Script functions. One way to think about this integration is that it bridges no-code (AppSheet) with low-code (Apps Script).

AppSheet databases, announced in preview this year, is a built-in database for professional and citizen developers to easily and securely manage their data. AppSheet databases will give users access to an easy to use, first party database for creating and managing data. Get started and try AppSheet for free.

AppSheet databases are now available in preview.

8.    Learn to build amazing solutions on our YouTube channel

This year, we introduced our dedicated YouTube channel for Google Workspace Developers. The channel serves as an ever-growing collection of our most helpful videos, allowing developers of all skill levels and interests to learn about building solutions with Google Workspace.

Our new YouTube channel for Google Workspace developers has dozens of how-to videos for you.

9.    Connect with Cloud experts and community as a Google Cloud Innovator

Community building is one of the most effective ways to support developers, which is why we created Google Cloud Innovators.This new community program was designed for developers and technical practitioners using Google Cloud and everyone is welcome. In 2022, we kicked off the inaugural Innovators Hive, a live, interactive, and virtual event for our global Innovators community. Hive offered rich technical content presented by Champion Innovators and Google engineering leaders. Become a Google Cloud Innovator today.

The Google Cloud Innovators program is open to all levels of creators and developers.

10.    Integrate and extend Google Workspace: top sessions from Google I/O

Learn about the latest innovations and discover how developers can integrate and extend Google Workspace. Here are a few of my favorite sessions from I/O:

• The cloud built for developers: Learn how Google Cloud and Workspace teams are building cloud services to help developers and technologists create transformative applications.
• Learn how to enable shared experiences across platforms with Google Meet: Explore how to enable shared experiences across platforms (Android, iOS, web).
• What’s new in the world of Google Chat apps: Integrate services with Google Chat, explore visual improvements to Google Chat apps, and discover new Google Chat API features.
• Extending Google Workspace with AppSheet’s no-code platform and Apps Script: Learn how to configure the new Apps Script Connector in your AppSheet apps.

11.    Build the future of work: top sessions from Google Cloud Next

Watch on-demand videos from our biggest Cloud event of the year and learn from product experts and partners to level up your skills.

• Top 10 Cloud Technology Predictions: Watch our top 10 cloud technology predictions for the future based on industry trends we’re seeing, customer usage patterns, and some exciting demos we’ve got lined up.
• What’s next in productivity and hybrid work: See how Google Workspace is helping organizations collaborate, create and innovate securely from anywhere, anytime.
• Create modern applications for Google Workspace: Learn about the extensibility opportunities Google Workspace brings to your organization and how it can be instrumental in adding business value.
• Better together: Google Cloud and Google Workspace: Learn how to empower IT teams, developers, knowledge workers and frontline workers with Google Workspace and Google Cloud.
• How to modernize your frontline workforce w/ Google Workspace: Improve collaboration easily, train employees quickly and effectively, and automate simple workflows and processes with Google Workspace.

12.    Engage with the Google Workspace team and ecosystem at our Developer Summits

We also had our inaugural Google Workspace Developer Summit series take place in Paris and London. It was an amazing time meeting developers and IT teams from customers and partners that attended from throughout the EMEA region. Watch out for a summit near you in 2023 to learn more about the latest development features for Google Workspace from our Developer Advocates and build connections with the developer community, subscribe to our newsletter to get notified.

Developers gather at Google Paris for the Google Workspace Developer Summit.

2022 Wrap-up

We are thankful to you in helping make 2022 a great year for the Google Workspace developer community. We look forward to announcing more innovations and having more conversations with you in 2023. To keep track of all the latest announcements and developer updates for Google Workspace please subscribe to our monthly newsletter. Happy holidays and a peaceful New Year!

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Posted by Shirley Ng, Product Manager, Google Cloud

AppSheet is Google’s platform for building no-code custom apps and workflows to automate business processes. It lets app creators build and deploy end-to-end apps and automations without writing code.

Over the past year, we’ve added more functionality to AppSheet, extending how it can maximize the power of Google Workspace through integrations with products such as Gmail, Google Drive and Apps Script. To improve the experience for app creators and users, we’re excited to introduce in public preview AppSheet databases, a built-in database for citizen developers to easily and securely manage their data.

Introducing AppSheet databases

AppSheet databases will give users access to an easy to use, first party database for creating and managing data.

During public preview, access to AppSheet databases will be enabled by default for everyone but it will not affect existing apps. Use of this feature in public preview will be included at no additional cost in your AppSheet subscription plan, but limited to 10K rows per table, 20 tables per database and 20 databases per user. Please note that these limits may change when the feature is generally available.

Using AppSheet databases

To get started, you can create a blank database from the My Apps page.

Since this feature is in public preview, we’re still making improvements and appreciate your patience. Your direct feedback will help us improve it before it becomes generally available next year.

Getting started

Check out the following resources to help get you started with AppSheet databases today!

• For more information on AppSheet databases please see our support page.
• Sign up for our office hours session to see AppSheet databases in action, and to ask questions and receive answers live.
• Explore the AppSheet platform and test your apps with up to 10 users at no cost, get started for free.
• Get inspiration with our how-to video series on Building with AppSheet.

The post Introducing AppSheet databases: Build data driven apps for Google Workspace appeared first on ProdSens.live.

The first of two interviews with GDEs about mental health, during Mental Health Awareness Month

Written by Katie Ginder-Vogel

Reviewed by Kevin Hernandez

“I don’t think I have work-life balance,” says Google Workplace GDE Alice Keeler. “I could use some. I’m not very good at self-care, either…my idea of a good time is coding.”

Alice may be humble, but she juggles numerous responsibilities successfully. In addition to her freelance programming work and the books she has published, she has five children, all of whom have various mental health challenges. An educator known for publishing add-ons, schedulers, and Google Classroom tips, Alice teaches math to high school seniors. She says they also struggle with mental health, often due to poverty and family issues.

“I see firsthand as an employer, mom, and teacher how mental health challenges affect people, yet we expect everyone to suck it up and go to work, attend school, and respond to family events,” she says. “I’ve really been thinking about this a lot, as I see the challenges my family and students are going through. I try to offer lots of grace and flexibility to others.”

She points out that mental health is very personal. “Of the 20 people I feel closest to in my life, no one solution would work for all of them,” she says.

Coding as self-care

In Alice’s experience, tech has provided a means of self-care, professional opportunity, and academic support. “I think one of the benefits of coding is that it doesn’t necessarily have to be done at a certain time and can offer some flexible creative options for people,” she says. “I can code at 3am, and no one cares. It’s not very social, which is helpful for people who struggle with social expectations.”

And during those coding sessions, Keeler builds creative solutions.

“You can make really cool things,” she says. “When I solve a problem with ten lines of code, it’s a nice way for me to feel valued.”

Alice has found the GDE community to be tremendously supportive, even though at first, she worried no one would want to hear from her.

“I post in the GDE chat, and people respond with, ‘Alice!’,” she says. “I teach math; I’m not a full-time coder. I’m self taught; everything I do, I figure out myself. I don’t feel like an imposter anymore. I’ve gotten 14 add-ons approved.”

She has realized over time that even “experts” are still learning.

“You think everyone knows everything, but they don’t, and people may be considered experts, but you can put something out there they hadn’t even thought of,” she says. “You realize quickly that it’s not like a tower, and you’ve reached the top, it’s more like scattered LEGOs: I know some of this, and some of that, and you know this, and it’s scattered.”

Alice’s coding expertise grew out of her desire to create technological solutions for herself and other teachers that simplified their processes and reduced stress. She’s enthusiastic about the educational technology tools that help both teachers and students decrease stress and improve well-being.

Educational technology for improved well-being

Alice appreciates classroom technology that makes life easier for teachers and students. For example, she cites the tablet as “one of the best things that ever happened to special education,” because it provides students with learning challenges an alternative way to share their thoughts and demonstrate their understanding of academic material. Alice explains that tablets and Chromebooks make it easy to give students extra time on assignments and assessments when needed.

“It brought in an enormous amount of inclusivity that had been impossible,” she says. “It literally gives some kids a voice; they can submit questions and responses digitally, without raising their hands.”

Alice’s focus, as an educator, developer, and parent, is on using technology to streamline tasks and balance responsibility, which reduces stress, improves well-being, and benefits her mental health. During the pandemic, she appreciated how technology allowed her to teach online, write code, and also be present for her family. She had more time to go to her kids’ events and was able to dial down her stress. Like all of us, she’s still figuring out what comes next, but she’s committed to supporting her loved ones and students.

Learn more about Alice on her website or on Twitter @alicekeeler

Google Workplace GDE Alice Keeler on balancing responsibilities and using coding as self-care was originally published in Google Developers Experts on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

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