10 Game-Changing Notion Updates You Need to Know (July 2024)

Did you know Notion recently released game-changing updates that enhance functionalities and streamline user experience? Let’s dive right in!

Update 1: Sidebar Improvements

The first small improvement that stands out to us is the modification of the sidebar feature. Users now have the flexibility to sort their sidebar by either manual arrangement or based on the last edited documents. This allows for a more customized experience, tailored to individual user preferences. Furthermore, the user interface now allows for a choice in how many pages or documents you want to display within your sidebar, giving you more control over your dashboard's appearance.

In addition to these, you can also move sections around within the sidebar for a more streamlined and user-friendly organization. This feature is particularly beneficial for users who handle a large number of pages and often struggle to locate specific documents. With this new feature, Notion has made navigation and organization within the application noticeably more efficient and user-friendly.

Source: The Organized Notebook, 2024

Update 2: Floating Table of Contents

Moving on to the next feature, we have the floating table of contents. With this, you can conveniently access your table of contents from any location on the page, without the need to scroll back to the top. This is not only intuitive but also immensely useful, especially for lengthier texts. It provides a seamless way to navigate through different sections of the document, making it easy to refer back and forth without losing your current position.

Source: The Organized Notebook, 2024

If you wish to activate or deactivate this floating table of contents, you'll need to follow a simple process. Start by locating the three dots situated on the right-hand side of your screen. These dots are more than just a design element, they represent a menu of additional options. Within this menu, you'll find the control to toggle this particular function on or off. By toggling this function, you can customize your viewing experience to suit your personal preferences.

Update 3: URL Link Previews

URL link previews have also been improved. Previously, pasted links would just look like text, but now you have the option to paste as mentioned which pulls up the icon and gives an overall better look to links.

In the past, when you pasted a link into the chat, it would merely appear as plain text, offering no visual clues as to the content it led to. However, with this update, there's an option that significantly changes this experience. You can now choose to 'paste as mentioned.' What this does is, it pulls up the icon associated with the link, whether it's a logo or an image from the page, and displays it alongside the link. This feature not only gives an overall better look to links but also provides some context about the link before it is clicked, thereby enhancing the overall user experience.

Update 4: Notion Calendar Updates

Updates have also been made to the Notion calendar. If you're in the Notion calendar and you want to schedule a focus time or out of office, you can simply change this event type into either out of office or focus, as long as you have a Google workspace or school account.

There have been significant updates to the Notion calendar to improve its functionality and user experience. Now, if you are actively utilizing the Notion calendar and find yourself needing to schedule a period of uninterrupted work time, known as focus time, or indicate when you'll be out of the office, you can conveniently modify this event type. You have the option to switch the event to either 'out of office' or 'focus' depending on your needs. However, it's important to note that this feature is only available to those who are using a Google workspace or school account. This update aims to make scheduling and time management more streamlined and efficient for users.

Source: Notion, 2024

Update 5: Pin Tabs

This feature is incredibly easy to use and highly convenient. To pin a tab, all you have to do is right-click on the tab that you would like to pin. After right-clicking, a menu will appear with different options. Among these options, you will see the 'pin tab'. Simply select it and the tab will automatically move to the top of your tab bar and stay there, allowing you to have constant access to it. No matter how many tabs you open afterward, your pinned tab will always remain at the top, easily accessible whenever you need it. This feature allows you to keep the most used or most important pages readily available, enhancing your productivity and efficiency.

Update 6: Faster Loading Database Views

Another update to Notion has improved is the loading speed of database views grouped by the "select", "status", "multi-select", or "personal relation" properties. If your database is grouped by a relation property, you may notice faster loading times.

Update 7: Filter with a Locked Database

So the next update is that if you have a locked database if you go to the top right hand corner and then turn on the lock you can still add different filters by going to the filter here and adding what you need like this.

Update 8: Changes to the Plus Plan

Changes are also coming to the Plus Plan pricing. If you're already subscribed to the Plus Plan or considering it, be sure to review the new pricing structure. The changes are likely due to Notion's upcoming updates, which will expand its features. These include unlimited team spaces, custom domain websites, visual tools, and automation enhancements.

Read more here: https://www.notion.so/releases/2024-06-26

Update 9: Notion AI and Slack Integration

The upcoming update pertains to Notion AI. Notion had not previously disclosed the technology behind its AI, but it now reveals that it's partially powered by GPT-4. An exciting development with the Notion AI is its new ability to connect with Slack, and more integrations are on the horizon.

If you have Notion AI within a Notion page, you can refine your searches through your Q&A. You can also connect it with Slack by clicking on the three dots. This means you can search through your Slack channels without leaving Notion, making it a more comprehensive tool.

Read more here: https://www.notion.so/releases/2024-06-18

Update 10: Notion Sites Changes

Lastly, one of the exciting updates is the modifications to Notion sites. Now, if you subscribe to the Plus plan and attempt to share a page, you can access a feature called site customization. This feature allows you to select the theme, favicon header, Google Analytics settings, and more.

In site customization, you can select a theme (light or dark mode), choose the favicon, and header, and set up Google Analytics. You can also add pages to the navigation, disable breadcrumbs, search, or the 'duplicate as template' option. The latter is particularly crucial for template creators or those who wish to maintain privacy when sharing.

We're excited about the direction this is going and if you've been wondering about publishing your website through Notion, this might be a great time to start doing that!

Read more here: https://www.notion.so/releases/2024-06-25

Source: The Organized Notebook, 2024

Coming Soon: Charts and Dashboards

There will be a huge update coming soon with new charts and dashboards. This will allow you to visualize data with unlimited charts and graphs to track progress and goals.

Don’t forget to check out our video right here - we include a step-by-step guide on these recent updates to make it easy for you to catch up.