How to bulk update Google Group settings

Sometimes, the Google Admin needs to bulk update group settings in Google Groups. This needs to be done so that communication and collaboration can be customized or enhanced as per the requirements of an organization. But doing it one by one can be time-consuming and takes a lot of effort. Moreover, the Google Admin Console cannot update some specific group settings. In that case, you need an automation tool like Foresight to help you update your groups in bulk.

Update a group’s settings 

Group owners and managers can view and edit the details of their groups in the Google Groups interface. But they can do it individually and not in bulk because there is no option. 

But to know how to update Google group settings, we must understand what it is all about. So for that purpose, we have elaborated the entire thing in this blog.

What settings can we change in Google Groups?

• Group name 
• Group email
• Group description
• Who Can Join Group
• Who Can View Members
• Who Can View Conversations
• Allow external members
• Who can post
• Allow Web Posting
• Group Email Language

A Google Group Settings template is provided in CSV. You can download and use it in Foresight. Also, the Google Group Help Doc is linked to learn about Google Group settings.

How to change Google group settings?

1. Sign in to Google Groups
2. Click the name of a group
3. On the left, click Group settings.
4. Enter information and choose settings for the group
5. Click Save changes.

How do bulk update group settings in Google Groups?

By default, there is no option to bulk update Google Group settings in Google Admin Console. But you can solve that with ease by adding Foresight to your armory, it's an automation tool for Google Workspace, that makes the time-taking routine tasks for Google Workspace Admin, and users very easy.

How to bulk update group settings using Foresight?

Demo Video

For this, we need a Google sheet with all the settings that need to be modified. So first, we will create a Google sheet with all the settings we need updated and fed into the columns. After that, you need to download this as a CSV. Download the Google Groups settings CSV template by xFanatical from the below button.

Then you need to carry out the following procedure with the help of Foresight:

Rule creation

1. Log in to Foresight with the help of your Google Admin account.
2. Click on the New Rule button and start creating a new rule.
3. Select the Data uploaded trigger.
4. Then you need to upload the CSV you have created for modifying the settings.
5. After the CSV is uploaded and parsed, the fields appear on the Edit Trigger interface. Once you observe this, go and click on Next.
6. Now you need to select the Update group settings action.
7. Grant permissions to Foresight by clicking the Sign in with Google button, After access is granted, you will see the status changed to green label.
8. Now we will select the different options from different dropdowns. Please do not select the values like ANYONE_CAN_POST, or ANYONE_CAN_JOIN, only select variables that popup, or type {{ if you don't see any variable. Now let's start filling in those fields.
9. In the Group email setting, you need to select the Group email variable from the drop-down menu.
10. In the Group name field, select Group Name, In case you don’t see a drop-down menu type in {{, and a drop-down automatically appears. Select the Group name variable.
11. In the Group description field,  repeat the same process, and select Group Description.
12. In the Who can join group field, you need to select Who can join group from the drop-down menu.
13. In the Who can view members field, you need to select the Who can view members variable from the options.
14. You can repeat the same process for all the fields. 
15. Most of the fields are optional. But some fields are compulsory, and you need to fill them. One of them is the Include a custom footer setting, where you need to select the Include a custom footer variable. In the Custom Footer Text box, fill in the custom text that you want to show.
16.  After filling in all the settings fields as you according to your needs, click on Review to confirm your actions.
17. After that, give a Rule name. Then click on Create.

Rule triggering

1. As you can see the rule is created. Now click on the Upload icon on the rule card and Upload the same CSV file to trigger the rule.
2. Now, look at the Notifications. Click on the bell icon and you will see that the rule has been executed successfully. Click on VIEW LOG or SHOW ALL.
   • You can also see logs from the Logs page. The logs page shows successful rule execution for all users.

Verifying Rule

1. To verify the results, check whether the settings have been modified in the Google Groups. You need to verify it from the Google Groups console. In the below screenshots. I am verifying Customer Services Interns group settings. You can see and match the settings from left and right.
2. Likewise, you can check all the settings and see that they have been modified in bulk. The changes have been made according to the settings mentioned in the CSV sheet.

Final words

So, you can see how you can bulk update Google Group settings with the help of Foresight. Foresight is one of the best automation tools that can help you simplify your Google Workspace tasks with zero coding. Learn how to bulk create Google groups with the help of Foresight. Just click on the link provided in this content.