9 As all data of the program is stored in objects, as explained in the Objects
10 section, how are these objects exposed to the user ? We will try to answer this
11 question in this section.
13 First of all, let's note that every resource type uses its own interface. For
14 example, the screen to modify a partner's data is not the same as the one to
17 Then, you have to know that the OpenERP user interface is dynamic, it means
18 that it is not described "statically" by some code, but dynamically built from
19 XML descriptions of the client screens.
21 From now on, we will call these screen descriptions views.
23 A notable characteristic of these views is that they can be edited at any
24 moment (even during the program execution). After a modification to a displayed
25 view has occurred, you simply need to close the tab corresponding to that
26 'view' and re-open it for the changes to appear.
31 Views describe how each object (type of resource) is displayed. More precisely, for each object, we can define one (or several) view(s) to describe which fields should be drawn and how.
33 There are two types of views:
38 .. note:: Since OpenERP 4.1, form views can also contain graphs.
43 The field disposition in a form view always follows the same principle. Fields are distributed on the screen following the rules below:
45 * By default, each field is preceded by a label, with its name.
46 * Fields are placed on the screen from left to right, and from top to bottom, according to the order in which they are declared in the view.
47 * Every screen is divided into 4 columns, each column being able to contain either a label, or an "edition" field. As every edition field is preceded (by default) by a label with its name, there will be two fields (and their respective labels) on each line of the screen. The green and red zones on the screen-shot below, illustrate those 4 columns. They designate respectively the labels and their corresponding fields.
49 .. .. figure:: images/sale_order.png
54 Views also support more advanced placement options:
56 * A view field can use several columns. For example, on the screen-shot below, the zone in the blue frame is, in fact, the only field of a "one to many". We will come back later on this note, but let's note that it uses the whole width of the screen and not only one column.
58 .. .. figure:: images/sale_order_sale_order_lines.png
62 * We can also make the opposite operation: take a columns group and divide it in as many columns as desired. The surrounded green zones of the screen above are good examples. Precisely, the green framework up and on the right side takes the place of two columns, but contains 4 columns.
64 As we can see below in the purple zone of the screen, there is also a way to distribute the fields of an object on different tabs.
66 .. .. figure:: images/sale_order_notebook.png
73 The on_change attribute defines a method that is called when the content of a view field has changed.
75 This method takes at least arguments: cr, uid, ids, which are the three classical arguments and also the context dictionary. You can add parameters to the method. They must correspond to other fields defined in the view, and must also be defined in the XML with fields defined this way::
77 <field name="name_of_field" on_change="name_of_method(other_field'_1_', ..., other_field'_n_')"/>
79 The example below is from the sale order view.
81 You can use the 'context' keyword to access data in the context that can be used as params of the function.::
83 <field name="shop_id" on_change="onchange_shop_id(shop_id)"/>
85 .. code-block:: python
87 def onchange_shop_id(self, cr, uid, ids, shop_id):
92 shop=self.pool.get('sale.shop').browse(cr,uid,shop_id)
93 v['project_id']=shop.project_id.id
94 if shop.pricelist_id.id:
96 v['pricelist_id']=shop.pricelist_id.id
98 v['payment_default_id']=shop.payment_default_id.id
103 When editing the shop_id form field, the onchange_shop_id method of the sale_order object is called and returns a dictionary where the 'value' key contains a dictionary of the new value to use in the 'project_id', 'pricelist_id' and 'payment_default_id' fields.
105 Note that it is possible to change more than just the values of
106 fields. For example, it is possible to change the value of some fields
107 and the domain of other fields by returning a value of the form:
108 return {'domain': d, 'value': value}
110 :returns: a dictionary with any mix of the following keys:
113 A mapping of ``{field: domain}``.
115 The returned domains should be set on the fields instead of the
119 A mapping of ``{field: value}}``, the values will be set on the
120 corresponding fields and may trigger new onchanges or attrs
123 ``warning`` A dict with the keys ``title`` and ``message``. Both
124 are mandatory. Indicate that an error message should be
125 displayed to the user.
131 These views are used when we work in list mode (in order to visualize several resources at once) and in the search screen. These views are simpler than the form views and thus have less options.
133 .. .. figure:: images/tree_view.png
140 Search views are a new feature of OpenERP supported as of version 6.0
141 It creates a customized search panel, and is declared quite similarly to a form view,
142 except that the view type and root element change to ``search`` instead of ``form``.
144 .. .. image:: images/search.png
148 Following is the list of new elements and features supported in search views.
153 Unlike form group elements, search view groups support unlimited number of widget(fields or filters)
154 in a row (no automatic line wrapping), and only use the following attributes:
156 + ``expand``: turns on the expander icon on the group (1 for expanded by default, 0 for collapsed)
157 + ``string``: label for the group
161 <group expand="1" string="Group By...">
162 <filter string="Users" icon="terp-project" domain="[]" context="{'group_by':'user_id'}"/>
163 <filter string="Project" icon="terp-project" domain="[]" context="{'group_by':'project_id'}"/>
164 <separator orientation="vertical"/>
165 <filter string="Deadline" icon="terp-project" domain="[]" context="{'group_by':'date_deadline'}"/>
168 In the screenshot above the green area is an expandable group.
172 Filters are displayed as a toggle button on search panel
173 Filter elements can add new values in the current domain or context of the search view.
174 Filters can be added as a child element of field too, to indicate that they apply specifically
175 to that field (in this case the button's icon will smaller)
177 In the picture above the red area contains filters at the top of the form while
178 the blue area highlights a field and it's child filter.
182 <filter string="Current" domain="[('state','in',('open','draft'))]" help="Draft, Open and Pending Tasks" icon="terp-project"/>
183 <field name="project_id" select="1" widget="selection">
184 <filter domain="[('project_id.user_id','=',uid)]" help="My Projects" icon="terp-project"/>
192 <filter string="Project" icon="terp-project" domain="[]" context="{'group_by':'project_id'}"/>
194 Above filters groups records sharing the same ``project_id`` value. Groups are loaded
195 lazily, so the inner records are only loaded when the group is expanded.
196 The group header lines contain the common values for all records in that group, and all numeric
197 fields currently displayed in the view are replaced by the sum of the values in that group.
199 It is also possible to group on multiple values by specifying a list of fields instead of a single string.
200 In this case nested groups will be displayed::
202 <filter string="Project" icon="terp-project" domain="[]" context="{'group_by': ['project_id', 'user_id'] }"/>
207 Field elements in search views are used to get user-provided values
208 for searches. As a result, as for group elements, they are quite
209 different than form view's fields:
211 * a search field can contain filters, which generally indicate that
212 both field and filter manage the same field and are related.
214 Those inner filters are rendered as smaller buttons, right next to
215 the field, and *must not* have a ``string`` attribute.
217 * a search field really builds a domain composed of ``[(field_name,
218 operator, field_value)]``. This domain can be overridden in two
221 * ``@operator`` replaces the default operator for the field (which
224 * ``@filter_domain`` lets you provide a fully custom domain, which
225 will replace the default domain creation
227 * a search field does not create a context by default, but you can
228 provide an ``@context`` which will be evaluated and merged into the
229 wider context (as with a ``filter`` element).
231 To get the value of the field in your ``@context`` or
232 ``@filter_domain``, you can use the variable ``self``:
236 <field name="location_id" string="Location"
237 filter_domain="['|',('location_id','ilike',self),('location_dest_id','ilike',self)]"/>
243 <field name="journal_id" widget="selection"
244 context="{'journal_id':self, 'visible_id':self, 'normal_view':False}"/>
246 Range fields (date, datetime, time)
247 """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
249 The range fields are composed of two input widgets (from and two)
252 This leads to peculiarities (compared to non-range search fields):
254 * It is not possible to override the operator of a range field via
255 ``@operator``, as the domain is built of two sections and each
256 section uses a different operator.
258 * Instead of being a simple value (integer, string, float) ``self``
259 for use in ``@filter_domain`` and ``@context`` is a ``dict``.
261 Because each input widget of a range field can be empty (and the
262 field itself will still be valid), care must be taken when using
263 ``self``: it has two string keys ``"from"`` and ``"to"``, but any of
264 these keys can be either missing entirely or set to the value
267 Actions for Search view
268 +++++++++++++++++++++++
270 After declaring a search view, it will be used automatically for all tree views on the same model.
271 If several search views exist for a single model, the one with the highest priority (lowest sequence) will
272 be used. Another option is to explicitly select the search view you want to use, by setting the
273 ``search_view_id`` field of the action.
275 In addition to being able to pass default form values in the context of the action, OpenERP 6.0 now
276 supports passing initial values for search views too, via the context. The context keys need to match the
277 ``search_default_XXX`` format. ``XXX`` may refer to the ``name`` of a ``<field>`` or ``<filter>``
278 in the search view (as the ``name`` attribute is not required on filters, this only works for filters that have
279 an explicit ``name`` set). The value should be either the initial value for search fields, or
280 simply a boolean value for filters, to toggle them
284 <record id="action_view_task" model="ir.actions.act_window">
285 <field name="name">Tasks</field>
286 <field name="res_model">project.task</field>
287 <field name="view_type">form</field>
288 <field name="view_mode">tree,form,calendar,gantt,graph</field>
289 <field eval="False" name="filter"/>
290 <field name="view_id" ref="view_task_tree2"/>
291 <field name="context">{"search_default_current":1,"search_default_user_id":uid}</field>
292 <field name="search_view_id" ref="view_task_search_form"/>
298 As of v6.0, all search views also features custom search filters, as show below.
299 Users can define their own custom filters using any of the fields available on the current model,
300 combining them with AND/OR operators. It is also possible to save any search context (the combination
301 of all currently applied domain and context values) as a personal filter, which can be recalled
302 at any time. Filters can also be turned into Shortcuts directly available in the User's homepage.
304 .. .. image:: images/filter.png
309 In above screenshot we filter Partner where Salesman = Demo user and Country = Belgium,
310 We can save this search criteria as a Shortcut or save as Filter.
312 Filters are user specific and can be modified via the Manage Filters option in the filters drop-down.
318 A graph is a new mode of view for all views of type form. If, for example, a sale order line must be visible as list or as graph, define it like this in the action that open this sale order line. Do not set the view mode as "tree,form,graph" or "form,graph" - it must be "graph,tree" to show the graph first or "tree,graph" to show the list first. (This view mode is extra to your "form,tree" view and should have a separate menu item):
322 <field name="view_type">form</field>
323 <field name="view_mode">tree,graph</field>
327 tree = (tree with shortcuts at the left), form = (switchable view form/list)
331 tree,graph : sequences of the views when switching
333 Then, the user will be able to switch from one view to the other. Unlike forms and trees, OpenERP is not able to automatically create a view on demand for the graph type. So, you must define a view for this graph:
338 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="view_order_line_graph">
339 <field name="name">sale.order.line.graph</field>
340 <field name="model">sale.order.line</field>
341 <field name="type">graph</field>
342 <field name="arch" type="xml">
343 <graph string="Sales Order Lines">
344 <field name="product_id" group="True"/>
345 <field name="price_unit" operator="*"/>
353 A view of type graph is just a list of fields for the graph.
358 The default type of the graph is a pie chart - to change it to a barchart change **<graph string="Sales Order Lines">** to **<graph string="Sales Order Lines" type="bar">** You also may change the orientation.
364 <graph string="Sales Order Lines" orientation="horizontal" type="bar">
369 The first field is the X axis. The second one is the Y axis and the optional third one is the Z axis for 3 dimensional graphs. You can apply a few attributes to each field/axis:
371 * **group**: if set to true, the client will group all item of the same value for this field. For each other field, it will apply an operator
372 * **operator**: the operator to apply is another field is grouped. By default it's '+'. Allowed values are:
377 + min: minimum of the list
378 + max: maximum of the list
380 :Defining real statistics on objects:
382 The easiest method to compute real statistics on objects is:
384 1. Define a statistic object which is a postgresql view
385 2. Create a tree view and a graph view on this object
387 You can get en example in all modules of the form: report\_.... Example: report_crm.
390 Controlling view actions
391 ------------------------
393 When defining a view, the following attributes can be added on the
394 opening element of the view (i.e. ``<form>``, ``<tree>``...)
397 set to ``false`` to hide the link / button which allows to create a new
401 set to ``false`` to hide the link / button which allows to remove a
405 set to ``false`` to hide the link / button which allows to
409 These attributes are available on form, tree, kanban and gantt
410 views. They are normally automatically set from the access rights of
411 the users, but can be forced globally in the view definition. A
412 possible use case for these attributes is to define an inner tree view
413 for a one2many relation inside a form view, in which the user cannot
414 add or remove related records, but only edit the existing ones (which
415 are presumably created through another way, such as a wizard).
421 Calendar view provides timeline/schedule view for the data.
426 Here is an example view:
430 <calendar color="user_id" date_delay="planned_hours" date_start="date_start" string="Tasks">
432 <field name="project_id"/>
435 Here is the list of supported attributes for ``calendar`` tag:
438 The title string for the view.
441 A ``datetime`` field to specify the starting date for the calendar item. This
442 attribute is required.
445 A ``datetime`` field to specify the end date. Ignored if ``date_delay``
446 attribute is specified.
449 A ``numeric`` field to specify time in hours for a record. This attribute
450 will get preference over ``date_stop`` and ``date_stop`` will be ignored.
453 An ``integer`` value to specify working day length. Default is ``8`` hours.
456 A field, generally ``many2one``, to colorize calendar/gantt items.
459 A string value to set default view/zoom mode. For ``calendar`` view, this can be
460 one of following (default is ``month``):
471 .. .. figure:: images/calendar_month.png
477 .. .. figure:: images/calendar_week.png
485 Gantt view provides timeline view for the data. Generally, it can be used to display
486 project tasks and resource allocation.
488 A Gantt chart is a graphical display of all the tasks that a project is composed of.
489 Each bar on the chart is a graphical representation of the length of time the task is
492 A resource allocation summary bar is shown on top of all the grouped tasks,
493 representing how effectively the resources are allocated among the tasks.
495 Color coding of the summary bar is as follows:
497 * `Gray` shows that the resource is not allocated to any task at that time
498 * `Blue` shows that the resource is fully allocated at that time.
499 * `Red` shows that the resource is overallocated
504 Here is an example view:
508 <gantt color="user_id" date_delay="planned_hours" date_start="date_start" string="Tasks">
509 <level object="project.project" link="project_id" domain="[]">
514 The ``attributes`` accepted by the ``gantt`` tag are similar to ``calendar`` view tag. The
515 ``level`` tag is used to group the records by some ``many2one`` field. Currently, only
516 one level is supported.
518 Here is the list of supported attributes for ``gantt`` tag:
521 The title string for the view.
524 A ``datetime`` field to specify the starting date for the gantt item. This
525 attribute is required.
528 A ``datetime`` field to specify the end date. Ignored if ``date_delay``
529 attribute is specified.
532 A ``numeric`` field to specify time in hours for a record. This attribute
533 will get preference over ``date_stop`` and ``date_stop`` will be ignored.
536 An ``integer`` value to specify working day length. Default is ``8`` hours.
539 A field, generally ``many2one``, to colorize calendar/gantt items.
542 A string value to set default view/zoom mode. For ``gantt`` view, this can be
543 one of following (default is ``month``):
555 The ``level`` tag supports following attributes:
558 An openerp object having many2one relationship with view object.
561 The field name in current object that links to the given ``object``.
564 The domain to be used to filter the given ``object`` records.
569 The left side pane displays list of the tasks grouped by the given ``level`` field.
570 You can reorder or change the group of any records by dragging them.
572 The main content pane displays horizontal bars plotted on a timeline grid. A group
573 of bars are summarized with a top summary bar displaying resource allocation of all
574 the underlying tasks.
576 You can change the task start time by dragging the tasks horizontally. While
577 end time can be changed by dragging right end of a bar.
581 The time is calculated considering ``day_length`` so a bar will span more
582 then one day if total time for a task is greater then ``day_length`` value.
587 .. .. figure:: images/gantt.png
595 The files describing the views are of the form:
601 <?xml version="1.0"?>
608 The view definitions contain mainly three types of tags:
610 * **<record>** tags with the attribute model="ir.ui.view", which contain the view definitions themselves
611 * **<record>** tags with the attribute model="ir.actions.act_window", which link actions to these views
612 * **<menuitem>** tags, which create entries in the menu, and link them with actions
614 New : You can specify groups for whom the menu is accessible using the groups
615 attribute in the `menuitem` tag.
617 New : You can now add shortcut using the `shortcut` tag.
624 name="Draft Purchase Order (Proposals)"
625 model="purchase.order"
629 Note that you should add an id attribute on the `menuitem` which is referred by
634 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="v">
635 <field name="name">sale.order.form</field>
636 <field name="model">sale.order</field>
637 <field name="priority" eval="2"/>
638 <field name="arch" type="xml">
639 <form string="Sale Order">
645 Default value for the priority field : 16. When not specified the system will use the view with the lower priority.
652 You can specify the columns to include in the list, along with some details of
653 the list's appearance. The search fields aren't specified here, they're
654 specified by the `select` attribute in the form view fields.
658 <record id="view_location_tree2" model="ir.ui.view">
659 <field name="name">stock.location.tree</field>
660 <field name="model">stock.location</field>
661 <field name="type">tree</field>
662 <field name="priority" eval="2"/>
663 <field name="arch" type="xml">
665 colors="blue:usage=='view';darkred:usage=='internal'">
667 <field name="complete_name"/>
668 <field name="usage"/>
671 invisible="'product_id' not in context"/>
674 invisible="'product_id' not in context"/>
679 That example is just a flat list, but you can also display a real tree structure
680 by specifying a `field_parent`. The name is a bit misleading, though; the field
681 you specify must contain a list of all **child** entries.
685 <record id="view_location_tree" model="ir.ui.view">
686 <field name="name">stock.location.tree</field>
687 <field name="model">stock.location</field>
688 <field name="type">tree</field>
689 <field name="field_parent">child_ids</field>
690 <field name="arch" type="xml">
692 <field icon="icon" name="name"/>
698 On the `tree` element, the following attributes are supported:
701 Conditions for applying different colors to items in the list. The default
704 Set this to 1 if you want a tree structure to list the top level entries
705 in a separate toolbar area. When you click on an entry in the toolbar, all
706 its descendants will be displayed in the main tree. The value is ignored
716 Adds a separator line
722 <separator string="Links" colspan="4"/>
724 The string attribute defines its label and the colspan attribute defines his horizontal size (in number of columns).
729 <notebook>: With notebooks you can distribute the view fields on different tabs (each one defined by a page tag). You can use the tabpos properties to set tab at: up, down, left, right.
735 <notebook colspan="4">....</notebook>
740 <group>: groups several columns and split the group in as many columns as desired.
742 * **colspan**: the number of columns to use
743 * **rowspan**: the number of rows to use
744 * **expand**: if we should expand the group or not
745 * **col**: the number of columns to provide (to its children)
746 * **string**: (optional) If set, a frame will be drawn around the group of fields, with a label containing the string. Otherwise, the frame will be invisible.
752 <group col="3" colspan="2">
753 <field name="invoiced" select="2"/>
754 <button colspan="1" name="make_invoice" states="confirmed" string="Make Invoice"
761 Defines a new notebook page for the view.
767 <page string="Order Line"> ... </page>:
769 * **string**: defines the name of the page.
777 :guilabel:`attributes for the "field" tag`
779 * ``select="1"``: mark this field as being one of the search criteria for
780 this resource's search view. A value of 1 means that the field is
781 included in the basic search, and a value of 2 means that it is in
784 * ``colspan="4"``: the number of columns on which a field must extend.
786 * ``readonly="1"``: set the widget as read only
788 * ``required="1"``: the field is marked as required. If a field is marked as required, a user has to fill it the system won't save the resource if the field is not filled. This attribute supersede the required field value defined in the object.
790 * ``nolabel="1"``: hides the label of the field (but the field is not hidden in the search view).
792 * ``invisible="True"``: hides both the label and the field.
794 * ``password="True"``: replace field values by asterisks, "*".
796 * ``string=""``: change the field label. Note that this label is also used in the search view: see select attribute above).
798 * ``domain``: can restrict the domain.
799 + Example: domain="[('partner_id','=',partner_id)]"
801 * ``widget``: can change the widget.
802 + Example: widget="one2many_list"
813 * ``mode``: sequences of the views when switching.
814 + Example: mode="tree,graph"
816 * ``on_change``: define a function that is called when the content of the field changes.
817 + Example: on_change="onchange_partner(type,partner_id)"
818 + See ViewsSpecialProperties for details
820 * ``attrs``: Permits to define attributes of a field depends on other fields of the same window. (It can be use on page, group, button and notebook tag also)
821 + Format: "{'attribute':[('field_name','operator','value'),('field_name','operator','value')],'attribute2':[('field_name','operator','value'),]}"
822 + where attribute will be readonly, invisible, required
824 + Example: (in product.product)
828 <field digits="(14, 3)" name="volume" attrs="{'readonly':[('type','=','service')]}"/>
830 * ``eval``: evaluate the attribute content as if it was Python code (see :ref:`below <eval-attribute-link>` for example)
832 * ``default_focus``: set to ``1`` to put the focus (cursor position) on this field when the form is first opened.
833 There can only be one field within a view having this attribute set to ``1`` **(new as of 5.2)**
837 <field name="name" default_focus=”1”/>
842 Here's the source code of the view of a sale order object. This is the same object as the object shown on the screen shots of the presentation.
848 <?xml version="1.0"?>
851 <record id="view_partner_form" model="ir.ui.view">
852 <field name="name">res.partner.form</field>
853 <field name="model">res.partner</field>
854 <field name="type">form</field>
855 <field name="arch" type="xml">
856 <form string="Partners">
857 <group colspan="4" col="6">
858 <field name="name" select="1"/>
859 <field name="ref" select="1"/>
860 <field name="customer" select="1"/>
861 <field domain="[('domain', '=', 'partner')]" name="title"/>
862 <field name="lang" select="2"/>
863 <field name="supplier" select="2"/>
865 <notebook colspan="4">
866 <page string="General">
867 <field colspan="4" mode="form,tree" name="address"
868 nolabel="1" select="1">
869 <form string="Partner Contacts">
870 <field name="name" select="2"/>
871 <field domain="[('domain', '=', 'contact')]" name="title"/>
872 <field name="function"/>
873 <field name="type" select="2"/>
874 <field name="street" select="2"/>
875 <field name="street2"/>
877 <field name="zip" select="2"/>
878 <field name="city" select="2"/>
880 <field completion="1" name="country_id" select="2"/>
881 <field name="state_id" select="2"/>
883 <field name="phone"/>
886 <field name="mobile"/>
887 <field name="email" select="2" widget="email"/>
889 <tree string="Partner Contacts">
893 <field name="country_id"/>
894 <field name="phone"/>
895 <field name="email"/>
898 <separator colspan="4" string="Categories"/>
899 <field colspan="4" name="category_id" nolabel="1" select="2"/>
901 <page string="Sales & Purchases">
902 <separator string="General Information" colspan="4"/>
903 <field name="user_id" select="2"/>
904 <field name="active" select="2"/>
905 <field name="website" widget="url"/>
906 <field name="date" select="2"/>
907 <field name="parent_id"/>
910 <page string="History">
911 <field colspan="4" name="events" nolabel="1" widget="one2many_list"/>
913 <page string="Notes">
914 <field colspan="4" name="comment" nolabel="1"/>
921 action="action_partner_form"
922 id="menu_partner_form"
923 parent="base.menu_base_partner"
928 .. _eval-attribute-link:
933 The **eval** attribute evaluate its content as if it was Python code. This
934 allows you to define values that are not strings.
936 Normally, content inside *<field>* tags are always evaluated as strings.
938 .. describe:: Example 1:
942 <field name="value">2.3</field>
944 This will evaluate to the string ``'2.3'`` and not the float ``2.3``
946 .. describe:: Example 2:
950 <field name="value">False</field>
952 This will evaluate to the string ``'False'`` and not the boolean
953 ``False``. This is especially tricky because Python's conversion rules
954 consider any non-empty string to be ``True``, so the above code will
955 end up storing the opposite of what is desired.
957 If you want to evaluate the value to a float, a boolean or another
958 type, except string, you need to use the **eval** attribute:
962 <field name="value" eval="2.3" />
963 <field name="value" eval="False" />
968 Adds a button to the current view. Allows the user to perform various
969 actions on the current record.
971 After a button has been clicked, the record should always be reloaded.
973 Buttons have the following attributes:
976 Defines the type of action performed when the button is activated:
978 ``workflow`` (default)
979 The button will send a workflow signal [#]_ on the current model
980 using the ``@name`` of the button as workflow signal name and
981 providing the record id as parameter (in a list).
983 The workflow signal may return an action descriptor, which should
984 be executed. Otherwise it will return ``False``.
987 The button will execute the method of name ``@name`` on the
988 current model, providing the record id as parameter (in a
989 list). This call may return an action descriptor to execute.
992 The button will trigger the execution of an action
993 (``ir.actions.actions``). The ``id`` of this action is the
994 ``@name`` of the button.
996 From there, follows the normal action-execution workflow.
999 Only has one possible value currently: ``cancel``, which indicates
1000 that the popup should be closed without performing any RPC call or
1004 Only meaningful within a popup-type window (e.g. a
1005 wizard). Otherwise, is a noop.
1009 ``@special`` and ``@type`` are incompatible.
1012 The button's identifier, used to indicate which method should be
1013 called, which signal sent or which action executed.
1016 A confirmation popup to display before executing the button's
1017 task. If the confirmation is dismissed the button's task *must not*
1021 The label which should be displayed on the button [#]_.
1024 Display an icon on the button, if absent the button is text-only
1027 ``@states``, ``@attrs``, ``@invisible``
1028 Standard OpenERP meaning for those view attributes
1031 If set to a truthy value (``1``), automatically selects that button
1032 so it is used if ``RETURN`` is pressed while on the form.
1034 May be ignored by the client.
1036 .. versionadded:: 6.0
1042 <button name="order_confirm" states="draft" string="Confirm Order" icon="gtk-execute"/>
1043 <button name="_action_open_window" string="Open Margins" type="object" default_focus=”1”/>
1048 Adds a simple label using the string attribute as caption.
1054 <label string="Test"/>
1059 Force a return to the line even if all the columns of the view are not filled in.
1067 .. [#] via ``exec_workflow`` on the ``object`` rpc endpoint
1069 .. [#] in form view, in list view buttons have no label
1071 .. [#] behavior in list view is undefined, as list view buttons don't
1075 Inheritance in Views
1076 --------------------
1078 When you create and inherit objects in some custom or specific modules, it is better to inherit (than to replace) from an existing view to add/modify/delete some fields and preserve the others.
1084 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="view_partner_form">
1085 <field name="name">res.partner.form.inherit</field>
1086 <field name="model">res.partner</field>
1087 <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
1088 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1089 <notebook position="inside">
1090 <page string="Relations">
1091 <field name="relation_ids" colspan="4" nolabel="1"/>
1097 This will add a page to the notebook of the ``res.partner.form`` view in the
1100 The inheritance engine will parse the existing view and search for the root nodes of
1104 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1106 It will append or edit the content of this tag. If this tag has some attributes,
1107 it will look in the parent view for a node with matching attributes (except
1110 You can use these values in the position attribute:
1112 * inside (default): your values will be appended inside the tag
1113 * after: add the content after the tag
1114 * before: add the content before the tag
1115 * replace: replace the content of the tag.
1122 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="view_partner_form1">
1123 <field name="name">res.partner.form.inherit1</field>
1124 <field name="model">res.partner</field>
1125 <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
1126 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1127 <page string="Extra Info" position="replace">
1128 <field name="relation_ids" colspan="4" nolabel="1"/>
1133 Will replace the content of the Extra Info tab of the notebook with the ``relation_ids`` field.
1135 The parent and the inherited views are correctly updated with ``--update=all`` argument like any other views.
1140 To delete a field from a form, an empty element with ``position="replace"`` attribute is used. Example:
1144 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="view_partner_form2">
1145 <field name="name">res.partner.form.inherit2</field>
1146 <field name="model">res.partner</field>
1147 <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
1148 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1149 <field name="lang" position="replace"/>
1156 To add a field into a form before the specified tag use ``position="before"`` attribute.
1160 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="view_partner_form3">
1161 <field name="name">res.partner.form.inherit3</field>
1162 <field name="model">res.partner</field>
1163 <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
1164 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1165 <field name="lang" position="before">
1166 <field name="relation_ids"/>
1171 Will add ``relation_ids`` field before the ``lang`` field.
1173 To add a field into a form after the specified tag use ``position="after"`` attribute.
1177 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="view_partner_form4">
1178 <field name="name">res.partner.form.inherit4</field>
1179 <field name="model">res.partner</field>
1180 <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
1181 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1182 <field name="lang" position="after">
1183 <field name="relation_ids"/>
1188 Will add ``relation_ids`` field after the ``lang`` field.
1194 To make changes in more than one location, wrap the fields in a data element.
1198 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="view_partner_form5">
1199 <field name="name">res.partner.form.inherit5</field>
1200 <field name="model">res.partner</field>
1201 <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
1202 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1204 <field name="lang" position="replace"/>
1205 <field name="website" position="after">
1206 <field name="lang"/>
1212 Will delete the ``lang`` field from its usual location, and display it after
1213 the ``website`` field.
1215 .. _xpath-element-inheritance:
1220 Sometimes a view is too complicated to let you simply identify a target field
1221 by name. For example, the field might appear in two places. When that happens,
1222 you can use an ``xpath`` element to describe where your changes should be
1227 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="view_partner_form6">
1228 <field name="name">res.partner.form.inherit6</field>
1229 <field name="model">res.partner</field>
1230 <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
1231 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1234 expr="//field[@name='address']/form/field[@name='email']"
1239 expr="//field[@name='address']/tree/field[@name='email']"
1247 Will add the ``age`` field after the ``email`` field in both the form and tree
1248 view of the address list.
1251 Specify the views you want to use
1252 ---------------------------------
1254 There are some cases where you would like to specify a view other than the default:
1256 - If there are several form or tree views for an object.
1257 - If you want to change the form or tree view used by a relational field
1258 (one2many for example).
1260 Using the priority field
1261 ++++++++++++++++++++++++
1263 This field is available in the view definition, and is 16 by default. By
1264 default, OpenERP will display a model using the view with the highest priority
1265 (the smallest number). For example, imagine we have two views for a simple model.
1266 The model *client* with two fields : **firstname** and **lastname**. We will define
1267 two views, one which shows the firstname first, and the other one which shows
1274 Here is the first view for the model 'client'.
1275 We don't specify a priority field, which means
1278 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="client_form_view_1">
1279 <field name="name">client.form.view1</field>
1280 <field name="model">client</field>
1281 <field name="type">form</fiel>
1282 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1283 <field name="firstname"/>
1284 <field name="lastname"/>
1289 A second view, which show fields in an other order.
1290 We specify a priority of 15.
1292 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="client_form_view_2">
1293 <field name="name">client.form.view2</field>
1294 <field name="model">client</field>
1295 <field name="priority" eval="15"/>
1296 <field name="type">form</fiel>
1297 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1298 <field name="lastname"/>
1299 <field name="firstname"/>
1303 Now, each time OpenERP will have to show a form view for our object *client*, it will have the choice between two views.
1304 **It will always use the second one, because it has a higher priority !** Unless you tell it to use the first one !
1306 Specify per-action view
1307 +++++++++++++++++++++++
1309 To illustrate this point, we will create 2 menus which show a form view for this *client* object :
1315 This action open the default view (in our case,
1316 the view with the highest priority, the second one)
1319 model="ir.actions.act_window"
1320 id="client_form_action">
1321 <field name="name">client.form.action</field>
1322 <field name="res_model">client</field>
1323 <field name="view_type">form</field>
1324 <field name="view_mode">form</field>
1328 This action open the view we specify.
1331 model="ir.actions.act_window"
1332 id="client_form_action1">
1333 <field name="name">client.form.action1</field>
1334 <field name="res_model">client</field>
1335 <field name="view_type">form</field>
1336 <field name="view_mode">form</field>
1337 <field name="view_id" ref="client_form_view_1"/>
1340 <menuitem id="menu_id" name="Client main menu"/>
1343 name="Here we don't specify the view"
1344 action="client_form_action" parent="menu_id"/>
1347 name="Here we specify the view"
1348 action="client_form_action1" parent="menu_id"/>
1350 As you can see on line *19*, we can specify a view. That means that when we open
1351 the second menu, OpenERP will use the form view *client_form_view_1*, regardless
1356 Remember to use the module name (*module.view_id*) in the *ref* attribute if
1357 you are referring to a view defined in another module.
1359 Specify views for related fields
1360 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1365 The *view_id* method works very well for menus/actions, but how can you specify the view to use for a one2many
1366 field, for example? When you have a one2many field, two views are used, a tree view (**in blue**), and a form view when
1367 you click on the add button (**in red**).
1369 .. .. figure:: images/one2many_views.png
1373 When you add a one2many field in a form view, you do something like this :
1377 <field name="order_line" colspan="4" nolabel="1"/>
1379 If you want to specify the views to use, you can add a *context* attribute, and
1380 specify a view id for each type of view supported, exactly like the action's
1381 *view_id* attribute, except that the provided view id must always be
1382 fully-qualified with the module name, even if it belongs to the same module:
1386 <field name="order_line" colspan="4" nolabel="1"
1387 context="{'form_view_ref': 'module.view_id',
1388 'tree_view_ref': 'module.view_id'}"/>
1392 You *have to* put the module name in the view_id, because this
1393 is evaluated when the view is displayed, and not when the XML file
1394 is parsed, so the module name information is not available. Failing
1395 to do so will result in the default view being selected (see
1398 If you don't specify the views, OpenERP will choose one in this order :
1400 1. It will use the <form> or <tree> view defined **inside** the field (see below)
1401 2. Else, it will use the views with the highest priority for this object.
1402 3. Finally, it will generate default empty views, with all fields.
1406 The context keys are named <view_type>_view_ref.
1410 By default, OpenERP will never use a view that is not defined for your object. If you have two models, with the
1411 same fields, but a different model name, OpenERP will never use the view of one for the other,
1412 even if one model inherit an other.
1414 You can force this by manually specifying the view, either in the action or in the context.
1419 In the case of relational fields, you can create a view directly inside a field :
1423 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="some_view">
1424 <field name="name">some.view</field>
1425 <field name="type">form</field>
1426 <field name="model">some.model.with.one2many</field>
1427 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1430 <!-- <=== order_line is a one2many field -->
1431 <field name="order_line" colspan="4" nolabel="1">
1443 If you or another developer want to inherit from this view in another module,
1444 you need to inherit from the parent view and then modify the child fields.
1445 With child views, you'll often need to use an :ref:`xpath-element-inheritance`
1446 to describe exactly where to place your new fields.
1450 <record model="ir.ui.view" id="some_inherited_view">
1451 <field name="name">some.inherited.view</field>
1452 <field name="type">form</field>
1453 <field name="model">some.model.with.one2many</field>
1454 <field name="inherit_id" ref="core_module.some_view"/>
1455 <field name="arch" type="xml">
1458 expr="//field[@name='order_line']/form/field[@name='qty']"
1460 <field name="size"/>
1463 expr="//field[@name='order_line']/tree/field[@name='qty']"
1465 <field name="size"/>
1470 One down side of defining a subview like this is that it can't be inherited on
1471 its own, it can only be inherited with the parent view. Your views will be more
1472 flexible if you define the child views separately and then specify which child
1473 view to use as part of the one2many field.