In the blink of an eye, we have left 2022 behind. In the past year alone, we've seen over 10 version iterations, hundreds of new features, and thousands of feature optimizations. In the process, Lark has grown to serve more individuals, teams, and organizations around the world with a focus on empowering collaboration.
- Messenger: Small steps quickly cover long distances. On average, Messenger added one new feature every two weeks over the past year. The all-new three column layout minimizes distractions while making essential tools more accessible.
- Docs: Making great strides. A complete reimagining of Docs saw the humble forward slash become the key to efficiency. Turn your inspiration and imagination into reality, and it all starts with a single key tap.
- Sheets and Base: Unlock the power of data. Whoever said you can't have everything never tried Lark. Now, you can use pivot tables and dashboards to analyze data in greater depth, and from more angles. Plus, a range of automation tools are at your disposal, so you can let the bots take care of all the tedious tasks.
- Video meetings: Anywhere, anytime. Video meetings have become indispensable in helping people stay connected, no matter the location. Continual improvements have seen Lark become the video meeting platform of choice, offering the best user experience.
- ...
Let's take a more detailed look at all the features that have amazed and delighted users in 2022.
Messenger
Three columns for more intuitive messaging
- Now, there are three columns that you can resize, hide, and expand as you see fit. Add labels to chats to organize important information to make it easy to find.
- Labeled chats now have their own tab, making it easy to collect different categories of messages in one place. Flag/unflag chats or individual messages, and never worry about missing something important again.
Manage chats and messages the way you want. 🥑
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Noise reduction and focus: Silence is golden
Do you ever feel like your messenger is flooded with messages and notifications every day? Let's get rid of the noise and focus on what's truly important with these new features.
- Clip to top to make important messages stand out.
- Reply to messages in a thread for better conversation flow.
- Custom sort your messages to put things exactly where they need to be, or mute notifications to focus on the task at hand.
Unread messages piling up? Handle them with ease. 🧀
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So what exactly are "productivity tools" anyway?
Do you find yourself using Lark on your phone a lot? Then, add the Lark Calendar widget, Tasks widget, Frequently-used widget, and Docs widget to your phone's home screen to get to what you need in just one tap! On the desktop app, you can record your screen and create rolling screenshots, quickly extract text from images to translate it, and translate messages in conversations.
That's a lot of improvements in just one year. What will 2023 bring? 🍉
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Docs
All-new Docs
This year, Docs has been completely revamped from the ground up. There are so many new features for you to try!
- Set a cover that's just right for you (Try one of the cool dynamic covers!).
- Enter a forward slash "/" to insert an image, table, and many more, in just one click.
- Organize content in columns, set a background color, add a mix of images and text, and personalize each document to your exact needs.
- Do you ever wonder who's read your documents? Wonder no more because you can check statistics and view history in Docs to see who has accessed and made changes to the document.
- Easily switch between edit mode and view mode, so you can read without worrying about unintentional edits.
- With version management, you can save multiple versions of a document and only send the version you need. Say goodbye to countless copies.
- You can also change the page width of the document and follow its comments to stay up to date at all times. Finally, we've also added dark mode...
Still missing something? We're not finished! More features and upgrades are on the way. ⛵ ️
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Permissions and Wiki: Management and sharing
Docs management and sharing has always been a sticking point. So it's lucky that we love a challenge... Here are some new features to make management and sharing easier:
- When you share a document that contains mentioned docs in a chat, you can grant access to all the mentioned docs in just a few clicks with batch authorization.
- When reading a document on your phone, @mention someone in a comment to quickly grant them access.
- Wiki spaces can also be shared externally through links. Visitors can even access them without logging in!
We're always looking for ways to make sharing easier without compromising data security. 🥁
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Base
Dashboards are here!
Dashboards are important tools for data visualization, allowing you to view and analyze data from different angles. There are column, bar, line, and combo charts, to name a few, to present data in a variety of ways. Click different data modules in the charts to view greater details, and to quickly locate the source of issues.
In short, whether you want to get an overview of performance metrics or need to compose real-time data reports, dashboards can help get the job done! 🎸
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The "time-saver award" goes to...
Everyone loves process automation! In 2022, we further improved and upgraded the following automated capabilities:
- Use automated messages — send reports to groups and configure the message cards to keep your team in the loop.
- Use automate HTTP requests to call third-party APIs.
- Use automated dashboard sending to easily send and sync data reports on a regular basis.
Automation is no longer just a dream—In fact, it's just a few clicks away. ⚡ ️
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More field types for more scenarios
Fields are the columns you see in the table. And now, there are more field types that make more data calculations possible.
This year, we have added:
- Numbering field: Generate unique incremental values, or create your own custom formats.
- Location field: Manually select a location from a map or use your real-time location from the mobile app.
- Barcode field: Use the mobile app to scan a barcode or QR code, extract its numbers, text, or links, and enter them into a table.
Existing field types have also been upgraded:
- Attachment field: All files in the field can be downloaded in bulk with a single click. You can also quickly rename downloaded files based on the index field so they'll be easier to find.
- When text fields are converted to two-way links, fields can automatically identify and match data in a linked table. You can choose whether or not to keep any unlinked content.
- Single and multiple option fields can reference other table data as option values, as well as set conditions to link multiple options.
2023 is no different. More exciting capabilities are coming! ⏰
Sheets
Pivot tables, your secret tool for handling data
Pivot tables are here! Building pivot tables in Sheets is simple: Drag and drop fields to the right area to summarize complex data by category. You can not only sum, count, and find the average, but also manipulate data to sort, analyze, and display it however you want to uncover meaningful insights. It's never been easier to manage vast amounts of data.
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Video meetings
Countless improvements for a better experience
Video meetings have become the new normal in today's workplaces, so we've put in a lot of work to make meetings more secure, more convenient, and more focused...
More refined meeting settings
- Before a meeting: When creating an event, you can configure meeting settings, including specifying the host and setting permissions for who can start the meeting, leave comments, share the meeting, automatically record the meeting, and more.
- During a meeting: You can change your name, enable voice mode to turn off your camera, hide yourself, and hide participants with their cameras off.
Better view options:
- Desktop: The size of the newly added Side by Side view can be adjusted, and you can view both shared content and other participants' videos at the same time. You can also switch between the speaker and content in the minimized window.
- Mobile: The participant screen has been completely updated, and you can now switch to a horizontal layout. You can also send messages and emojis from a floating chat window!
More improvements:
- Focus video: The host can set a participant's video as the focus for all participants in the meeting.
- 1-click call: Hosts can call all participants at once and check unanswered or declined calls.
- Reactions: Use the "Raise Hand" and "Be Right Back" reactions to interact with other participants.
You can look forward to even better video meetings in 2023... 💻
Minutes: More than just note-taking
Minutes, the super-efficient audio/video to text tool got some handy upgrades in 2022:
- Identification: Minutes can recognize different speakers and mark this in the notes.
- Clip: Create a clip of a specific section and share it with others to cut out the fluff.
- Embed: When the link is inserted into a document, you can watch the video and read the text directly in the document.
- Share: Share Minutes cards with other participants with just one click.
Keep an eye out for more amazing Minutes features in 2023! 📸
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Lingo and Subscriptions
Learning resources at your fingertips
Knowledge accumulation is key to the success of any team and organization. Lingo can help them do just that. Organizations can use Lingo to gather their internal knowledge in one location while allowing members to edit and contribute, creating their own online encyclopedia in the process. Organizations can also batch import entries to quickly increase the number of Lingo entries.
Knowledge doesn't do much if it's not shared. Here, Subscriptions allows users to share content (with the option to attach captivating images) and interact with subscribers, a great way to improve information flow and foster company culture.
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Tasks
Never miss a deadline again
In 2022, we released an all-new version of Tasks! Tasks can now be broken down into sub-tasks, making it easier to track tasks with numerous people involved. You can put tasks into different groups, and sort them into different priorities and categories. The multi-function toolbar also makes it easier to sort, group, and filter as needed.
Got a lot of to-dos and deadlines? Stay on top of them all with Tasks. 🧸
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Open platform
A Workplace that better understands you
In 2022, we launched a lightweight portal solution—Custom Workplace. You can easily customize Workplace with modules, blocks, and editors to create a one-stop solution that meets your exact needs. What's more, you can add your organization's visuals to truly make it your own.
- Customization across multiple devices: Adapt your Workplace to your organization's desktop, mobile, and tablet needs and workflows.
- Greater flexibility: Choose from a wide range of components and development solutions to create a Workplace that is tailored to your needs.
- Comprehensive functions: Cover all your organization's needs, including administration, corporate culture, and knowledge management, while also improving team efficiency.
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All integrations in one place with AnyCross
2022 also saw the introduction of our integration platform—AnyCross. Organizations can integrate their different systems for HR, Finance, Admin, and more onto one platform through a visual process.
- More efficient: Use standard connectors to turn existing business systems into nodes on Lark AnyCross. AnyCross makes the 2-system, single-line development method, which involves considerable technical work, more standardized.
- More secure: Allows convenient management and real-time monitoring of the integration lifecycle, supports operational statistics and logs, and offers full interoperability while guaranteeing data security and auditability.
- Low cost: Provides application connectors and solution templates for mainstream business systems and shrinks the system integration delivery cycle for mainstream scenarios down to just days, lowering the overall cost of implementation.
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But wait, there's more...
There's also so much more we haven't mentioned: Emails are easier to upload and download, searches are more accurate, Calendar settings and reservations are more flexible, more languages can be translated, account security has been improved, administrators can fine-tune more Admin features, and the Approval and Attendance apps have been upgraded. We're just getting started—many more new features await in 2023!
That brings us to the end of our 2022 recap. We would like to thank everyone, from individuals to teams and organizations who have used, are using, or are considering switching to Lark. In 2023, we will continue to work alongside you to find more ways to work efficiently and intelligently.
The possibilities ahead are endless.