Discontinued features and modified functionality in SharePoint Workspace 2010

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If you are familiar with Microsoft Office Groove 2007 or earlier versions of Groove (such as Groove Virtual Office 3.x), the following list describes features and functionality that have been discontinued or changed in Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010.

• SharePoint Workspace product    Microsoft Office Groove is now called Microsoft SharePoint Workspace.

• Tools location    The list of tools in workspaces in SharePoint Workspace 2010 now appears in a navigation pane on the left side of the window. In earlier releases, the list of tools appeared as tabs across the bottom of the window. In the new design, you can no longer reorder tools using drag and drop. However, you can sort tools in the navigation pane either by type or alphabetically.

• Log-in password and Smartcard    In SharePoint Workspace 2010, you are no longer required to enter a password or use SmartCard media to access your account. Instead, your account data is protected by your Windows log-in credentials.

• Workspace Manager    Earlier releases provided a Workspace Manager window that showed a list of all your workspaces with status information such as last unread date and time. This feature is removed in SharePoint Workspace 2010. However, you can see all relevant workspace information in the Workspaces pane of the SharePoint Workspace Launchbar.

• Alerts on contacts    In SharePoint Workspace 2010 you can no longer set alerts on contacts. Additionally, any alerts set on contacts in earlier releases are removed. Instead of setting alerts on contacts, you can "tag" contacts as you would in Microsoft Office Communicator.

• E-mail invitation now limited to Outlook    In earlier releases, users could send e-mail invitations using e-mail clients other than Outlook directly from the application. In SharePoint Workspace 2010, users who want to send e-mail invitations using a different e-mail client will need to copy and paste the invitation, or send it as a file attachment. Users running Outlook 2010 can continue to send e-mail invitations seamlessly from the application. The checkbox Send e-mail invitations using Microsoft Outlook is removed from the Preferences dialog box.

• Groove Forms and InfoPath Forms Designer    Any custom tools developed using the Groove 2007 Forms and InfoPath Forms tools will continue to function in Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010. However, the new Lists tool replaces these tools as the standard for developing new custom tools. As a result, the Forms Designer in the 2007 Forms and InfoPath Forms tools is disabled. Design updates in existing Groove 2007 Forms or InfoPath Forms tools will need to be accomplished by workspace members who are still running Groove 2007.

• Add Custom Tool or Tool Set    The option to add a Custom Tool or create custom groupings of tools is removed in the release. Users can still browse for tools saved as tool templates using Add Tool.

• Contact List in the Workspace Explorer    Users can no longer access their contact list from the Workspace Explorer. However, users can continue to access their contact list from the Launchbar.

• Workspace List in the Workspace Explorer    Users can no longer access their workspace list from the Workspace Explorer. However, users can continue to access their workspace list from the Launchbar.

• Lite chat invitations    Microsoft Office Communicator is integrated into Microsoft Office 2010. Because Communicator supports multi-user chat, support for Lite Chat invitations in SharePoint Workspace 2010 is removed as a redundant feature.

• Navigate Together    The Navigate Together feature on the Options menu is removed in Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010. With this feature, all members of a Groove workspace who had Navigate Together enabled could be led through a workspace user interface (UI) by one workspace member. For example, when the "leader" entered a tool, all other members would automatically enter the same tool. In SharePoint Workspace 2010, workspace members must coordinate their navigation in a workspace using other means, such as by using the chat window, instant messaging, or the telephone.

• Audio chat    In earlier releases, members of a Groove workspace who had microphones plugged into their computers could use audio-chatting features in addition to the text chatting features found in a Groove workspace. This feature is discontinued in the current release.

• Ink chat features    Earlier releases provided an Ink mode in the chat area of a Groove workspace. With Ink mode enabled, users could select drawing tools for use in creating chat entries. This feature is discontinued in the current release.

• Voice messages    In earlier releases, users could record voice messages to be sent with instant messages or workspace invitations. This feature is discontinued in the current release.

• Multiple identities    In earlier releases, users could create additional, unique identities to be used in a single account. The purpose for creating an additional identity was to allow the user to communicate using different personas. This feature is discontinued in the current release. If you have upgraded from an earlier release in which you created additional identities, you can continue to use these identities. However, you can no longer create new identities.

• Office Messenger and Communicator integration    The Windows API-based Office Messenger/Office Communicator integration is removed in Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010 and is replaced by Microsoft Office -based integration. This provides a richer, more robust, and consistent experience across all Microsoft Office 2010 applications. Users can see information and actions available on SharePoint Workspace 2010 contacts.

• Suspended icon overlay    When user accounts are suspended in a Microsoft Office Groove 2007 workspace, they are grouped into the Suspended user interface group and a Suspended overlay icon is displayed on the presence indicator. In Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010, the Suspended overlay icon is removed. Suspended users are still grouped as they are in Office Groove 2007, with the group name visible in the user interface.

• Tool tip status information about members entering tools in workspaces     In Microsoft Office Groove 2007, every time that a member enters a tool in any workspace, a tooltip opens for all other members to notify them about this status change. This feature is removed in SharePoint Workspace 2010. However, workspace members can still point at the numbered presence indicator on the tool name to see the names of members currently using the tool.

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