Google Calendar will now help your co-workers track you down
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Getting some peace at the office might be a little trickier now thanks to a new update for Google Calendar.
The calendar app has received a new tweak that will now let people zero in on your location, even if you’re working on a multi-building campus or office space.
Users will now be able to select a specific office building as their working location, with that information displayed in the relevant Google Calendar marker.
Which building?
As well as offering that bit of extra visibility, Google says that the move will help Calendar provide smarter suggestions for meeting rooms, instead of leaving you having to sprint across to a different building for a call.
It will also help colleagues better understand where you plan to work from on a given day – should you want that, of course. The company says the update could also be helpful for those who manage the calendars of others, such as executive assistants, who can now update the working location of a person’s calendar.
“Whether you’re suggesting a meeting room to your colleagues or want to know where someone might be working for the day, we hope this update makes planning in-person collaboration easier,” a Google Workspace update blog (opens in new tab) announcing the news added.
Companies looking to use the tool should ensure that they have Working Location enabled for Google Calendar, with structured office buildings also needing to be set in the admin console.
The feature is rolling out now, and will be available to Google Workspace Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Fundamentals, Education Plus, and Nonprofits, as well as legacy G Suite Business customers.
However, those with personal Google Accounts, as well as Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Enterprise Essentials, Frontline, and legacy G Suite Basic customers won’t be able to access it.
The update is the latest in a series of tweaks to Google Calendar, which will also now allow users to set their working location by default, rather than having to enable the feature manually, making it easier to know if someone is around for a face-to-face meeting or a video conferencing call.