Calendar GData API / Google Calendar Connectors deprecation

Back in November 2011, we announced the deprecation of the Calendar GData API (v1, v2) when the APIv3 was made available. We’ll now be shutting down these older versions on November 17, 2014.

Any service dependent on the Calendar GData API (v1, v2), such as the Google Calendar Connectors (GCC), will no longer work as intended. GCC users should update to use Calendar Interop or their own custom built connectors that sync with v3 of the API.

whatsnew.googleapps.com
Get these product update alerts by email
Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

Gmail Will Remove Calendar Invitation Feature

When you use Gmail's "insert invitation" button, you get this message: "Starting July 2014, this feature will no longer be available. You can continue sending email invitations from Google Calendar."

Probably this feature wasn't used very often, but a small percentage of Gmail users will miss it, especially business users. Adding invitations from Gmail is more convenient than opening Google Calendar in a new tab, creating a new event and inviting guests.

"It (truly!) is always tough choosing which features to continue to support. We make these decisions carefully, so please know that! We'll still be supporting creating invitations, just through different steps. The workaround now is to click into calendar and to create an invitation from there," inform Gmail Community Managers.

{ Thanks, James Sacuan. }

Hangout links in Android Calendar app event views

We are updating the Calendar app on Android devices so that Hangout links are available to those viewing meeting events on mobile devices. A “Join Hangout” link will appear in meeting events if a Hangouts video call was added in Calendar. Named Hangout calls will appear the same as non-named calls. The name of the Hangout will not be visible. The “Join Hangout” link is not not editable from the Android Calendar event view. This change only impacts the Google Calendar app on Android devices.

Editions included: 
Google Apps for Business and Education

For more information:
https://plus.google.com/+googleenterprise/posts/P12cgVZUgmY
https://support.google.com/a/answer/4362302

whatsnew.googleapps.com
Get these product update alerts by email
Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates

No More Google Notifier

Gmail Notifier and Google Notifier will no longer be available. They were two apps for Windows and Mac that displayed notifications for Gmail and Google Calendar (Mac-only) in the system tray, while also allowing you to set Gmail as the default mail client for your computer.

From the description of the Windows app (last updated in 2006): "The Gmail Notifier is an application that alerts you when you have new Gmail messages. It displays an icon in your system tray to let you know if you have unread Gmail messages, and shows you their subjects, senders and snippets, all without your having to open a web browser."

From the description of the Mac app (last updated in 2010): "The Google Notifier is an application that shows you alerts in your menu bar, so you can see when you have new Gmail messages or upcoming Google Calendar events without having to open a web browser."

Google sent this message, which suggests some alternatives:

We're writing to let you know about an important change to Google Notifier Beta. Starting on 31 January, Google Notifier Beta will no longer be supported, meaning that the app will no longer show recent emails and calendar events.

Since Google Notifier Beta was launched in 2005, a lot has changed. Smartphones can now notify us of new messages wherever we are, and improvements to web technology enable similar features to be built right into the browser.

If you want to continue to receive notifications, you can use any of the following alternatives to Google Notifier Beta, using the Chrome browser. To see the number of unread messages in your inbox at a glance, install the Gmail Checker Chrome app. To preview new messages on your desktop, go to Gmail's settings and enable Desktop Notifications. You can uninstall Google Notifier Beta by following these instructions.

It's funny to see that the apps were still in beta.

{ Thanks, Koen. }

Export Gmail and Google Calendar Data

Google Takeout now lets you export your calendars and it will soon add a similar feature for Gmail. The calendar exporting feature is not new - you could find it in the Google Calendar settings, but it's nice to see that Google Takeout gets more comprehensive and adds support for new services.

The Gmail exporting feature is completely new and it will be gradually released next month. It will let you download a big MBOX file you can import in mail clients like Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail. You can also use this feature to backup your Gmail messages and read them offline.

"You can download all of your mail and calendars or choose a subset of labels and calendars. You can also download a single archive file for multiple products with a copy of your Gmail, Calendar, Google+, YouTube, Drive, and other Google data," informs Google.