When you start the authoring environment with a new workspace you are presented with a number of prompts as you start working. For example, the first time you make a change to an item you are prompted if you want to check this item out. These prompts are numerous and annoying enough that you are trained to check the box that says to always perform this action. Are there any cases where this is bad though? Well…

After you have been using the authoring environment for some time you will eventually want to delete an instance. You will get the same prompt that you have seen for numerous other actions and will absentmindedly click through to always perform this action. What you have just done is get rid of the "Did you really mean to delete this?" prompt. This is bad enough already, but it is compounded by the following fact.

Yes, that is a commonly used refresh button right next to your now irreversible delete button. Now, for example, if you are debugging a process in production and accidentally hit delete instead of refresh you are screwed. Somebody needs to take a remedial class in UI design. This problem exists in both Teamworks 6 and 7.

First impressions are important and Teamworks 7 makes a terrible one. When you install the express edition it defaults to creating a directory at the top level of your C: drive. No problem you think, I’ll just move it into Program Files where it belongs. After installation completes you will be in for a surprise though. You won’t be able to login and there will a very odd error in the security log. It turns out that one of the batch files to populate the database at the end of the installation does not escape the install path to allow for spaces. You only get one chance to make a first impression and when that chance is blown it requires more effort to overcome it. We’ll see how Teamworks 7 goes from here.