Google is rolling out a brand new update to the comments and discussion UI in Docs, Sheets, and Slides. The changes in question are explicitly geared toward mobile users. That’s based on a recently reported G Suite blog post shared by the search giant.
Google starts changes by making the interface itself larger and more clearly visible. Google is eliminating unused white space to the left- and right-hand side of the comments interface. It’s also resized text and moved associated UI elements around. To begin with, a three-dot menu has been added to comments, and the “resolve” button is now situated in-thread instead of above.
Chevron arrows have been added as well to make navigating between comments easier and there’s a new “view all” button. And comments are now filling more space vertically with the previous reply box and UI being replaced by an “add a reply” button.
In addition to those shortcuts and a new set of gestures for scrolling through or responding to multiple comments, Google has changed how the reply interface works. Not only has it added a quick access button for replies. Users can now tap a clearly visible “@” icon to mention a commenter or assign actions.
And the reply UI is no longer cluttered by the document preview either. Instead, when replies are being typed, the UI takes on a distinctly chat-like aesthetic. Of course, Google still highlights text in the document otherwise to provide context.
The comments update in Docs, Sheets, and Slides follows other G Suite utility changes
More often than not, changes to G Suite tend to favor enterprise and paid users. Each update also has a tendency to be minor, even when they do appear for everybody using Docs, Sheets, or Slides, but comments and discussions aren’t the only things Google is changing. The company also recently rolled out updates to make other parts of the UI clearer for end-users.
By way of example, the company recently rolled out a revision of its save status indicator in G Suite. Files from the associated apps will now show the status of whether a document is saved, saving, or otherwise next to the document name. Moreover, Google has added descriptive text, highlighting exactly where the file is saved. That additionally shows whether the file is saved offline, to the cloud, or locally.
Secondary to that, users no longer need to navigate to the File menu and then click “Make available offline” to accomplish that task either. Instead, they can simply click on the above-mentioned document status icon. And that will enable offline availability regardless of whether that’s a Docs, Sheets, or Slides file.
This is rolling out to everybody right now
Now, the changes outlined here will be appearing for everybody. That includes both G Suite subscribers and personal Google account holders. But it won’t necessarily arrive quickly for everybody all at once. Instead, Google indicates that this is a gradual rollout that started on June 9.
As with every gradual rollout, that means it can take up to 15 days for the feature to become visible to all users. It’ll also be turned on by default. And, since this is presumably a server-side update, as long as users have the latest version of the apps, it shouldn’t require any extra downloads.
Unlike other gradual rollouts though, Google isn’t giving priority to G Suite customers. The 15-day timeframe here applies to all users of Docs, Sheets, and Slides.
