Notion has launched a suite of new features at Make With Notion, the company’s first global conference held at Pier 27 in San Francisco. The new tools include Forms, Layouts, a new Marketplace, and more connected, customisable automations. Notion has also previewed its upcoming email solution, Notion Mail, designed to reimagine the email app. These features are designed to enhance Notion’s flexible, streamlined, and intuitive user experience for its community of builders and creators and enhances productivity.
Forms:
Notion’s new native form tool enables users to capture responses directly within the platform. It provides everything needed in a ‘forms’ tool while leveraging the power of Notion to organise, analyse, and track information in one place. Users can now:
- Capture everything in one place: Whether that’s feedback, bug reports, campaign requests or event RSVPs
- Kick off work in one step: Teams can be more efficient with forms connected to workflows. Once a form is submitted, it can automatically create a task, assign it to the appropriate team members, and notify stakeholders of progress
All users will have unlimited access to forms for free.
Layouts:
Layouts allows users to more easily customise the look and feel of their Notion pages. Different use-cases, such as tasks, projects or meeting notes can each have their own layouts, which can be configured easily by dragging and dropping properties and modules. This includes the ability to:
- ‘Pin’ key database properties for easy access and organise others into collapsible sections
- Organise files, media, and large text fields to match how you work
- Use a simple drag-and-drop builder for customising layouts
All users will have access to layouts for free.
Improvements to automations:
Automations within Notion are now more connected and customisable, with three new action capabilities being introduced.
- Connecting workflows in Notion and Gmail: Users are now able to use an automation to notify people via Gmail quickly and easily. This could include instances like a form being submitted or the status of a project changing
- Customising automations with formulas: Database and button automations now support formulas that can complete steps in the background when an action is triggered. For instance, when a task is marked as done, it can automatically show how long it took to finish. Many repetitive workflows can now be fully automated in this way
- Web request actions: This enables users to automate actions in other tools using simple low-code / no-code platforms based on real-time triggers in Notion. This functionality is coming soon
These automations will be available in all paid Notion plans.
Marketplace:
The new Marketplace is a redesigned website experience and accessible within the Notion app via the sidebar. Marketplace serves as a trusted place to find and get inspired by what’s possible in Notion, with templates made by a community of experts, designers, and everyday users. Templates are a quick and easy way to get started with Notion, a source of inspiration, and a way to learn the product or a new use case.
The new Marketplace includes several tools to help creators list and sell their templates more effectively. These include:
- Native payments and refunds for template creators, with a fee paid to Notion, so that creators can monetise their templates more easily
- Ratings and reviews, so users and creators can see clear feedback on templates
- Access locking, to protect templates for being shared outside of the workplaces where it was initially added
- Template analytics, for creators to see how their templates are performing
Notion Mail [preview]
Notion Mail, which is coming soon, is a new take on email apps. It syncs with Gmail and allows users to move away from the old ways of a rigid inbox and embrace a new way—where email works for you and your workflows. With Notion Mail, users can expect to:
- Craft timely, beautiful emails: Notion users get to take advantage of the typical Notion experience, but in email
- Have a view for every need: Notion Mail distils email down to its building blocks, enabling users to create tailored views, layouts and actions for every type of use case and workflow
- Put email on autopilot: With Notion AI, users can simply set a prompt, and emails are automatically organised, drafted and archived. Users can even let Notion AI handle the tedious back-and-forth such as scheduling and follow-ups
- Schedule with Notion Calendar: Users can easily book time directly with others, with a scheduling button that already knows their availability