Google adds a simpler sharing option to its Workspace apps

What you need to know

• Google is enhancing real-time collaboration in Docs, Sheets, and Slides by streamlining the document-sharing process.

• Instead of a full-screen pop-up, the "Share" button now features a dropdown menu for quick actions like "pending access requests" and "Copy link."

• Google Drive is introducing timestamped links for specific parts of a video, which comes in handy for internal use in companies and schools.

Sharing just got a makeover in Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings. Say goodbye to the pop-up page taking over your screen as Google introduces a new dropdown menu that lets you share documents with ease.

Google Docs and its siblings under the Workspace family are some of the go-to solutions for getting work done online for many people. They're super handy because they let you team up on projects and easily share them with your colleagues. Once a document is out there, everyone can jump in at the same time, making it a real-time party of adding, editing, and updating.

Currently, when you hit the "Share" button in those Workspace apps, a full-screen pop-up takes over to let you choose with whom to share a certain document and adjust access to it.

Now, Google is giving it a makeover with a new dropdown menu that'll give you speedy options, like checking out "pending access requests" or just straight-up copying the link. And, of course, Google will inform you about who's got permission to open that link.

We're already seeing the latest minor change to the Workspace apps in our devices. That said, the full-screen pop-up remains an option when you click the Share button itself instead of the dropdown option.

The feature is gradually making its way to both the Rapid Release and Scheduled Release domains. In the next few weeks, it's set to arrive for all Google Workspace users and personal Google account owners.

Google also tossed in a new trick to the Google Drive sharing button. Now you can share a link that takes users straight to a specific time in a video. This coincides with a new feature for sharing docs and files in Google Drive with users invited to your Google Calendar meeting.

If you're the video creator, just hit pause at the right moment. Then, click the dropdown option on the Share button in the top-right corner and choose "Copy link to this time." This feature is rolling out on the web right now for all free and enterprise account holders.