odoo-views

name	odoo-views
description	Create and edit Odoo 18 XML views — form, list, kanban, search, calendar, pivot, graph, and inherited views. Use this skill when the user wants to create, modify, or fix any Odoo backend view. Trigger on: "create view", "form view", "list view", "kanban view", "search view", "edit view", "fix view", "XML view", "Odoo view", "upravit view", "vytvořit view", "formulářový pohled", "seznam", "kanban", "pohled", "Odoo pohled", "nový pohled", "opravit pohled", "zděděný pohled", "inherit view", "rozšířit pohled".
version	0.1.0

Odoo 18 Views

Create and modify all types of Odoo 18 backend XML views. Every view you produce is valid Odoo XML, follows naming conventions, and uses Odoo 18 patterns.

Read references/view-patterns.md for exact XML patterns and examples before writing any view code.

Core Principles

1. Odoo 18 syntax

Odoo 18 introduced changes:

• Use <list> instead of <tree> for list views
• Use <search> with <searchpanel> for advanced filtering
• New widget names and attributes — check the reference

2. Consistent XML IDs

Every view, action, and menu needs a unique XML ID following the pattern:

• Views: view_{model_underscore}_{type} (e.g., view_sale_order_form)
• Actions: action_{model_underscore} (e.g., action_sale_order)
• Menus: menu_{section} (e.g., menu_sale_order_main)

3. Proper inheritance

When extending views from other modules, use inherit_id with xpath expressions. Never copy-paste the entire parent view.

View Creation Workflow

Step 1: Identify the view type

Type	Tag	Purpose
Form	<form>	Detail/edit view for single record
List	<list>	Table view for multiple records (NOT <tree>)
Kanban	<kanban>	Card-based board view
Search	<search>	Filter and group-by definitions
Calendar	<calendar>	Date-based timeline view
Pivot	<pivot>	Pivot table analysis
Graph	<graph>	Chart visualization
Activity	<activity>	Activity scheduling view

Step 2: Write the view

Follow patterns in references/view-patterns.md. Every view is wrapped in:

<record id="view_xml_id" model="ir.ui.view">
    <field name="name">model.name.view.type</field>
    <field name="model">model.name</field>
    <field name="arch" type="xml">
        <!-- view content -->
    </field>
</record>

Step 3: Create the window action

<record id="action_model_name" model="ir.actions.act_window">
    <field name="name">Action Display Name</field>
    <field name="res_model">model.name</field>
    <field name="view_mode">list,form,kanban</field>
    <field name="help" type="html">
        <p class="o_view_nocontent_smiling_face">
            Create your first record
        </p>
    </field>
</record>

Step 4: Add menu items

<!-- Top-level menu (app menu) -->
<menuitem id="menu_root"
    name="App Name"
    web_icon="module_name,static/description/icon.png"
    sequence="10"/>

<!-- Sub-menu -->
<menuitem id="menu_section"
    name="Section"
    parent="menu_root"
    sequence="10"/>

<!-- Action menu item -->
<menuitem id="menu_model_name"
    name="Model Name"
    parent="menu_section"
    action="action_model_name"
    sequence="10"/>

Step 5: Validate

• All XML files wrapped in <odoo> root element
• XML IDs are unique within the module
• <list> used instead of <tree> (Odoo 18)
• Form views have <sheet> wrapper for content
• Statusbar uses widget="statusbar" with statusbar_visible
• <chatter/> at the bottom of forms for mail-enabled models
• Search views define at least basic field searches and group-by options
• Menu items are ordered with sequence attribute
• List views for content models are non-editable (no editable attribute) — editing happens in form view

List View Best Practices

Editable vs read-only lists

• Use editable="bottom" or editable="top" only for simple data-entry models (e.g. tags, categories) where inline editing saves time.
• For content management models (slides, pages, articles) with multiple fields including images, rich text, or complex relationships — use a non-editable list that opens a form view on click. This prevents user confusion from accidentally editing in the list.
• To make a list non-editable (click opens form detail), simply omit the editable attribute from <list>:

<list>
    <field name="sequence" widget="handle"/>
    <field name="name"/>
    <field name="image" widget="image" options="{'size': [80, 50]}"/>
    <field name="active"/>
</list>

• Use open_form_view="True" on <list> to explicitly force form-view opening behavior.
• Show only overview columns in the list (name, thumbnail, status) — detailed fields belong in the form view.

Inheritance Patterns

Adding fields to existing views

<record id="view_partner_form_inherit_custom" model="ir.ui.view">
    <field name="name">res.partner.form.inherit.custom</field>
    <field name="model">res.partner</field>
    <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
    <field name="arch" type="xml">
        <xpath expr="//field[@name='email']" position="after">
            <field name="custom_field"/>
        </xpath>
    </field>
</record>

xpath position options

Position	Effect
after	Insert after the matched element
before	Insert before the matched element
inside	Append inside the matched element
replace	Replace the matched element entirely
attributes	Modify attributes of the matched element

Modifying attributes

<xpath expr="//field[@name='partner_id']" position="attributes">
    <attribute name="required">1</attribute>
    <attribute name="readonly">state != 'draft'</attribute>
</xpath>

Output Format

Save views in views/ directory. Use separate files for:

• Model views: views/{model_name}_views.xml
• Menus: views/menu.xml
• Inherited views: views/{model_name}_views.xml (in the extending module)

All XML files must start with <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> and use <odoo> as root element. (Note: this is for backend view XML files, NOT for QWeb website templates which have different rules.)