Should we be modifying the system dashboard?

[Joel Parker]

We want to customize the dashboards that our developers see. What's the recommended practice here? Should we modify the default system dashboard to show our customizations, or create an additional dashboard and set that as the default for everyone?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist- · Accepted solution]

Neither - the default system dashboard already is the default for everyone - you can't create a new default!

The system default dashboard defines what people see until they decide they want their own. They can continue to see it even after they start creating their own, and they can use it as a base for their own. The off-the-shelf config is fine to get you started, but everyone needs something slightly different, so go ahead and change it. The weakness - if people have copied the default, they won't get updated, because the copy is a separate entity (but if they've simply flagged the default as one they want to see, then they will)

[Joel Parker]

My only concern here: if we mess up the system dashboard, is there a way to reset it to its default state?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I don't think there is, but you can just delete everything and then re-add five gadgets (from memory) - assigned to me, watching, introduction, in-progress and project list. I've never been too worried about the defaults.