Is there a way to make a default layout the starting layout for all users when they first log in and open the line items view?

I find the new layout feature very useful to predefine specific ways to organize data, and I have been able to define layouts that are available for all my users. In order for users to land on the default layout they need to open the layout menu, and select "revert" (with the following heads up menu) to land on the default layout that has been defined for the enterprise. It would be preferable to make the first landing layout the default layout instead of the last layout the user was using in the previous engagement.

I assume you are talking about changing the Default Layout for a specific line item table (which only BPOs can modify).

Users need to Revert in order to pickup up your Default Layout changes because they have likely modified their Default Layout in some way (e.g., resized, hid or re-ordered columns, etc).  A user accessing the line item table for the first time should automatically pickup the latest Default Layout.

We debated whether to automatically override any local customization of the Default Layout on publish.  This has the drawback of throwing out customizations the user may have made without giving them a chance to save those to a personal Layout.  We opted to show the Default Layout as modified so that the user would have the chance to save their changes. 

Do you feel we should do something different?  Some choices are:

1. give BPO the optional choice of overriding user customizations when publishing an updated Default Layout
2. notify users (e.g., with a popup dialog) that the Default Layout has changed and give them an option save their changes to a local Layout.  This experience would be  similar to when a user switches to different layout and they have unsaved changes in their current layout.
3. make the "layout modified" indicator (asterisk next to layout name) more noticeable.  E.g., put an indicator (exclamation icon) on the Layouts tab itself so that the user knows that there is a new Default Layout available without having to expand the Layouts menu.

Thank you for the explanation Pete. It does help me in explaining why things work they way they do.

The logic you present makes sense. I can see how an end user would not like to see their previous view  overridden by the default, and having the option to go to the default on demand is a good approach.

There are trade outs with the options you present, and at this point I'm not advocating for any of them. I will explain why it works the way it does now. I'll keep you informed of how users react