Welcome back for Part III on the new features of Google Apps! In Part I and Part II, we introduced six new features of Google Groups. Now, we continue with an additional three features. We are going to explore Question & Answer Groups, Taking and Assigning Topics, as well as the new group type called Collaborative Inbox. Taking some time to fully understand these nine new features can help benefit your understanding of Google Groups and the effective ways you are your group or team can implement successful work flows.
Question & Answer Groups
Me Too! Button:
The Me too! button displayed in a topic lets authorized users indicate that they have the same question as the topic’s creator.
The Me Too! button is located directly within the question post.
When you recognize a question you are also seeking an answer for, simply select the Me Too! option. This will indicate hot topics without cluttering discussion threads posting the same question over and over.
Mark as Best Answer:
A response to a question can be marked as the best answer by authorized users. This also marks the entire topic as answered.
Marking best answers will help other members easily find the best answer without spending time browsing the listed responses.
Question Template:
You can create a default question template that users fill in when they create a new topic. This can be useful if you are going to assign a small group of individuals with the responsibility of capturing questions. This way, you can be sure that all essential information is captured the first time.
To create the template, navigate to the ‘Information’ section under the group management. Then select ‘Web View Customization’.
You can now create the template and save. Upon saving, this template will appear upon each new posting that is generated within the group.
In this example, let’s assume that I have assigned three individuals with capturing questions about requests for information. I have generated a template to be sure that all necessary information is captured.
Please enjoy this instructional video on Question & Answer Groups.
Taking and Assigning Topics
How to Change the settings to allow assigning topics:
How to Assign Topics Within Groups:
Collaborative Inbox