Google Workspace glossary: plain-English Google Workspace terms

Updated October 22, 2026

12 Google Workspace terms explained in plain English: what each one means, why it matters, a worked example with real numbers and the terms it gets confused with. Each one links to the free google workspace lessons where you use it.

A D F G I S V

A

Assigned comment (action item): An assigned comment is a comment in Google Docs, Sheets or Slides that is given to a specific person as an action item. You mention their email with @ or + and tick "Assign to"; they get an email, the item shows in their follow-ups and it stays open until someone marks it Done.

D

Data validation (drop-down lists): Data validation is a rule on a cell or range in Google Sheets that limits what people can enter, most often a drop-down list of allowed values (Booked, Done, Paid), but also numbers in a range, valid dates or checkboxes. Entries that break the rule are rejected or flagged with a warning.

F

Filter view (Google Sheets): A filter view is a saved set of sort and filter settings in Google Sheets that changes only what you see. Several people can each use a different filter view on the same shared sheet at the same time, and each view can be named and shared as a link.
Freeze rows and columns: Freezing rows or columns in Google Sheets keeps them fixed on screen while the rest of the sheet scrolls, so the header row (or a name column) stays visible. You set it from View > Freeze, choosing how many rows or columns to pin.

G

Google Drive: Google Drive is Google’s cloud storage. It holds uploaded files such as PDFs and photos, and it is where every Google Doc, Sheet and Slides file lives. Your own files sit in My Drive, files others share with you appear under Shared with me, and team files can live in shared drives.
Google Workspace: Google Workspace is Google’s bundle of cloud apps for work: Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Meet and Chat. Anyone can use the core apps with a free Google account; a paid Workspace plan adds email on your own domain, pooled storage, shared drives and admin controls.

I

IMPORTRANGE: IMPORTRANGE is a Google Sheets function that pulls a range of cells from another spreadsheet into the current one and keeps it in sync. It takes the source spreadsheet’s URL and a range, for example =IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/…", "Jobs!A1:E200").

S

Shared drive: A shared drive is a Google Drive space owned by a team or organization instead of one person. Members get one of several access levels, every member can see the files by default, and files stay in place when the person who added them leaves. Shared drives need a work or school account.
Sharing permissions (Viewer, Commenter, Editor): Sharing permissions decide who can open a Google Drive file and what they can do. Named people can be Viewers (read only), Commenters (read and comment) or Editors (change the file). A separate general access setting says whether anyone else can open it: Restricted, your organization, or anyone with the link.
Smart Fill (Google Sheets): Smart Fill is a Google Sheets feature that notices a pattern in the values you are typing based on a neighboring column, such as first names pulled from full names or domains from email addresses, and offers to fill in the rest of the column for you with a formula.
SUMIF: SUMIF is a spreadsheet function that adds up only the values whose row meets one condition. Its form is SUMIF(range to check, condition, range to add), for example =SUMIF(D2:D100, "Done", E2:E100) to total the Amount column for jobs marked Done.

V

Version history (Google Docs, Sheets, Slides): Version history is the record Google keeps of every saved state of a Doc, Sheet or Slides file. Editors can open it to see who changed what and when, name important versions and restore an earlier one. In Sheets you can also see the edit history of a single cell.

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