Google Docs receives dropdown chips and table templates, making Smart Canvas even smarter

Ever since Google took Docs to the next level with the Smart Canvas update, it’s become capable of so much more than just being a word editor. By tapping the “@” sign on your keyboard, you’ll be presented with a whole load of Notion-style block tools that can help turn your boring, old document into something truly exciting and interactive.

Today on the Google Workspace Updates blog, the company introduced two more Smart Canvas features – dropdown chips and table templates. These additions mean that Workspace users can push the envelope much further than before, even tracking project status and completion, for example.

As you can see above, typing “@dropdown” will let you inject smart chips with specific colors and titles that can be modified at will. There are some already blocks here, such as “Project Status”, which includes presets for “Not started”, “Blocked”, “In Progress”, and “Complete” so you can kick things off with minimal setup. Additionally, the “Review Status” dropdown preset includes options for “Not Started”, “In Progress”, “Under Review”, and “Approved”.

One of the biggest updates today though, is the introduction of table templates! As someone who has used Notion for a long time, these will help me and others transition over to Google Docs for storing data more dynamically. Some use cases include creating a content tracker, a table for storing project assets, a review tracker, or a product roadmap.

One could even move over from Trello to Docs using this workflow so long as they weren’t utilizing any of the power-ups the service provides. It’s not exactly a Kanban board, but it’s pretty darn cool regardless. As of right now, I’ve already received the dropdown chips, but the table templates remain absent on my Workspace account.

We hope these features help you to create highly customized and organized documents in Google Docs, making it easier to collaborate and drive your project forward. 

Workspace Updates Blog

Rapid Release domains will receive Dropdown chips and Table Templates over the next two weeks starting yesterday, May 2, 2022. Scheduled Release domains will receive Dropdown chips within the same time frame as well, but anyone set up in this way will have to wait for the Table Templates for two weeks following May 9, 2022. This update will apply to all Workspace customers and person Google Account holders alike, as well as those with G Suite Basic and Business licenses.