Google Sites release notes

Post date: Jun 11, 2014 4:24:45 PM

February 2015

• A tweak to the header in the Ski theme that will allow the site name/logo to take up more space, instead of half of the header being given to the search bar (or to empty space, when the search bar is hidden).

• Provide a more informative message when attachment upload fails due to the user running out of storage quota on the site.

• Fixed a bug that caused the sidebar to open automatically on some mobile devices in vertical mode.

• Make sure the site notice message ("cookie notice") doesn't overflow in narrow screens (mainly mobile) by making it's width fluid.

December 2014

• Allow specifying box-shadow in style elements when editing the HTML of pages.

• Example:

  • INSTALL

• Improve the usability of list pages & file cabinets with screen readers, by providing valid row & column labels.

• Fix a bug with inserting images from "apps for work" drive which are displayed incorrectly with multiple sign on with other accounts from outside the corporate domain.

August 2014

Hangout button embeds

Bug fix:

The pagination buttons at the bottom of the Site Map page can now be used to go to the next page of results if the site has over 50 pages. Previously, only pagination buttons at the top of the Site Map page worked and the bottom ones were disabled.

July 2014

Option for site owner to add a link to more details on site cookie notice. This option is set by checking a box and choosing a url on the "manage site" form. Once done, the site notice displays a "More details" button directing to that url.

Better keyboard handling of the page picking control. Now pressing on ENTER when a page is highlighted will select the page and perform the required operation as if the "OK" button of the dialog was pressed.

This changes the behavior of the following:

1. Link Insertion (Insert -> Link).

2. Move Page operation (Gear Menu -> Move Page)

3. Save Template default location (clicking on "change" on the "Save as page template" dialog)

4. Adding page to horizontal navigation bar (Edit Site Layout->Horizontal Navigation Bar->Add Page)

5. Sub Page Insertion (Insert->SubPage Listing-> choose a page...)

6. Moving Attachment to a different page (Manage Site -> Attachments -> Move)

A "Ctrl+S" shortcut was added to the Save button in the Insert Text Box dialog to improve accessibility.

June 2014

Improvements to mobile site viewing

• The horizontal navigation is now collapsible, and collapsed by default.

• Sidebar expand/collapse button was moved up so it takes less space.

• Some themes were modified to use less margins and thus show better on mobile.

Learn more

Support for Universal analytics

Google Analytics support on Sites has been improved to support Universal analytics. This mostly assures that Google Analytics will continue to work on Google Sites (as Universal analytics is the new standard).

More ways to resize images

Image width can now be set to 100% of the screen width (especially useful when you are using a 2 or 3 columns layout for your page).

Other enhancements

• Sites can now embed Google Maps Engine Lite, so custom maps you have created can now be shared side-by-side with your content.

• Google Sites has continued to launch several accessibility improvements, ranging from new keyboard shortcuts (like Alt+Shift+F for opening the editor toolbar) for editors to better viewing experiences for readers.

• Copying a site will include a progress bar.

May 2014

Improved headers

You can now customize the color and font of H2, H3, and H4 headers in Sites. This gives you more control over the appearance of Sites.

In your Site’s settings, select Manage Sites, and go to the Themes, Colors, and Fonts section.

You’ll see that the area dedicated to the Content Area now has a new Headers option.

Learn more

April 2014

Gadgets moving under Sites framework

With this launch, the formerly iGoogle hosted gadgets are moving under the Sites framework. Users will see their gadgets under the "My hosted Gadgets". They can download the gadget XML but they can't edit or upload any new gadgets. Users that need to edit their gadgets would need to host them.

This change is mostly to be sure that the iGoogle shutdown does not impact existing Google Sites (gadgets such as Awesome Tables continue to work).

Better copying for List Pages

Copying a list page will now copy its contents as well (as opposed to just copying the list's template).

Embedding of Google Sites in IFRAME in other sites is not allowed any more

This is done to protect the site from click hijacking attack. A new option was added to the site's settings page that let the site owner manually allow the embedding of the site in IFRAMEs.

March 2014

Ability for viewers / site readers to leave comments

Google Sites now provides Viewer Comments for Google Apps based sites.

Learn more

Dismissible Site Notice

Use the Site Notice to provide a dismissible message your site visitors will see the first time they visit arrive at the site (a warning about cookies for example).

Learn more

Sort File Cabinets and Display Collapsed Folders

Now you can both sort your Google Sites file cabinet page and display the folders collapsed by default.

Learn more

Index the correct address (Canonical URL)

You can tell Google Search which web address you prefer to index.

Learn more

Contextual Help

The More button now shows a Gear icon, instead of the text "More" and with this change comes improved in-site contextual help, so you will see the help articles relevant to the current page when you use the Gear button then Sites help.

Learn more

February 2014

Embed a Google+ Post

You can now easily embed public Google+ posts in site pages.

Learn more

January 2014

Copy page

You can now make copies of existing site pages.

Learn more

Open Navigation Link in a New Window

The navigation gadget received an upgrade with the new "open this link in a new window" checkbox option. This is great for opening external website in a new tab or window, since you don't always want visitor to navigate away from your site.

Learn more