“This update simplifies and streamlines the process of restricting files in Drive, which was previously only available through the Google Drive API or through file approvals,” Google said.
How it will help users
The feature could certainly come in handy in situations wherein a lot of publicly viewable documents are used and shared. Once a file is locked, it is put in read-only mode, which means that those who access the file can only view it.
Previously, users could lock a document or file when sharing it, or through a Google Drive API call. The new feature simplifies the locking process.
- You can go to Google Drive and When hovering over a file that you want to lock
- Right-click into the context menu and choose “File information”
- Select “Lock” and confirm that you want to lock the document.
- Once locked, no one can make edits to the Doc until it is unlocked.
- You can unlock a file through the context menu as well.
It is to be noted that one must have edit access to the Drive file in order to lock a Drive file
Google Drive lock file availability
The file-locking feature has started to roll out to some Rapid Release domains and will continue over the next 15 days. Furthermore, users on Scheduled Release domains can expect to start seeing the feature on September 20.
Duet AI in Workspace apps
Google recently announced that it is bringing its AI-powered enhancements to Workspace apps. In Gmail and Google Docs, Google Duet AI can help users produce results on the basis of text prompts.
In Google Slides, It can create images on the basis of the descriptive text, create a plan for a project in Google Sheets. In Google Meet, the technology can take notes for those who missed video calls.