--- /dev/null
+.. highlight:: xml
+
+.. _form-view-guidelines:
+
+Form Views Guidelines
+=====================
+
+.. sectionauthor:: Aline Preillon, Raphael Collet
+
+This document presents functional and technical guidelines for
+creating/organizing form views in Odoo. For each item, both the functional and
+technical aspects are explained. The goal of the new style of forms is to make
+Odoo easier to use, and to guide users through the system.
+
+Business Views
+--------------
+
+Business views are targeted at regular users, not advanced users. Examples
+are: Opportunities, Products, Partners, Tasks, Projects, etc.
+
+.. image:: forms/oppreadonly.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+In general, a business view is composed of
+
+1. a status bar on top (with technical or business flow),
+2. a sheet in the middle (the form itself),
+3. a bottom part with History and Comments.
+
+Technically, the new form views are structured as follows in XML::
+
+ <form>
+ <header> ... content of the status bar ... </header>
+ <sheet> ... content of the sheet ... </sheet>
+ <div class="oe_chatter"> ... content of the bottom part ... </div>
+ </form>
+
+The Status Bar
+''''''''''''''
+
+The purpose of the status bar is to show the status of the current record and
+the action buttons.
+
+.. image:: forms/status.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+The Buttons
+...........
+
+The order of buttons follows the business flow. For instance, in a sale order,
+the logical steps are:
+
+1. Send the quotation
+2. Confirm the quotation
+3. Create the final invoice
+4. Send the goods
+
+Highlighted buttons (in red by default) emphasize the logical next step, to
+help the user. It is usually the first active button. On the other hand,
+:guilabel:`cancel` buttons *must* remain grey (normal). For instance, in
+Invoice the button :guilabel:`Refund` must never be red.
+
+Technically, buttons are highlighted by adding the class "oe_highlight"::
+
+ <button class="oe_highlight" name="..." type="..." states="..."/>
+
+The Status
+..........
+
+Uses the ``statusbar`` widget, and shows the current state in red. States
+common to all flows (for instance, a sale order begins as a quotation, then we
+send it, then it becomes a full sale order, and finally it is done) should be
+visible at all times but exceptions or states depending on particular sub-flow
+should only be visible when current.
+
+.. image:: forms/status1.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+.. image:: forms/status2.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+The states are shown following the order used in the field (the list in a
+selection field, etc). States that are always visible are specified with the
+attribute ``statusbar_visible``.
+
+``statusbar_colors`` can be used to give a custom color to specific states.
+
+::
+
+ <field name="state" widget="statusbar"
+ statusbar_visible="draft,sent,progress,invoiced,done"
+ statusbar_colors="{'shipping_except':'red','waiting_date':'blue'}"/>
+
+The Sheet
+'''''''''
+
+All business views should look like a printed sheet:
+
+.. image:: forms/sheet.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+1. Elements inside a ``<form>`` or ``<page>`` do not define groups, elements
+ inside them are laid out according to normal HTML rules. They content can
+ be explicitly grouped using ``<group>`` or regular ``<div>`` elements.
+2. By default, the element ``<group>`` defines two columns inside, unless an
+ attribute ``col="n"`` is used. The columns have the same width (1/n th of
+ the group's width). Use a ``<group>`` element to produce a column of fields.
+3. To give a title to a section, add a ``string`` attribute to a ``<group>`` element::
+
+ <group string="Time-sensitive operations">
+
+ this replaces the former use of ``<separator string="XXX"/>``.
+4. The ``<field>`` element does not produce a label, except as direct children
+ of a ``<group>`` element\ [#backwards-compatibility]_. Use :samp:`<label
+ for="{field_name}>` to produce a label of a field.
+
+Sheet Headers
+.............
+
+Some sheets have headers with one or more fields, and the labels of those
+fields are only shown in edit mode.
+
+.. list-table::
+ :header-rows: 1
+
+ * - View mode
+ - Edit mode
+ * - .. image:: forms/header.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+ - .. image:: forms/header2.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+Use HTML text, ``<div>``, ``<h1>``, ``<h2>``… to produce nice headers, and
+``<label>`` with the class ``oe_edit_only`` to only display the field's label
+in edit mode. The class ``oe_inline`` will make fields inline (instead of
+blocks): content following the field will be displayed on the same line rather
+than on the line below it. The form above is produced by the following XML::
+
+ <label for="name" class="oe_edit_only"/>
+ <h1><field name="name"/></h1>
+
+ <label for="planned_revenue" class="oe_edit_only"/>
+ <h2>
+ <field name="planned_revenue" class="oe_inline"/>
+ <field name="company_currency" class="oe_inline oe_edit_only"/> at
+ <field name="probability" class="oe_inline"/> % success rate
+ </h2>
+
+Button Box
+..........
+
+Many relevant actions or links can be displayed in the form. For example, in
+Opportunity form, the actions "Schedule a Call" and "Schedule a Meeting" take
+an important place in the use of the CRM. Instead of placing them in the
+"More" menu, put them directly in the sheet as buttons (on the top right) to
+make them more visible and more easily accessible.
+
+.. image:: forms/header3.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+Technically, the buttons are placed inside a <div> to group them as a block on
+the right-hand side of the sheet.
+
+::
+
+ <div class="oe_button_box oe_right">
+ <button string="Schedule/Log Call" name="..." type="action"/>
+ <button string="Schedule Meeting" name="action_makeMeeting" type="object"/>
+ </div>
+
+Groups and Titles
+.................
+
+A column of fields is now produced with a ``<group>`` element, with an
+optional title.
+
+.. image:: forms/screenshot-03.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+::
+
+ <group string="Payment Options">
+ <field name="writeoff_amount"/>
+ <field name="payment_option"/>
+ </group>
+
+It is recommended to have two columns of fields on the form. For this, simply
+put the ``<group>`` elements that contain the fields inside a top-level
+``<group>`` element.
+
+To make :ref:`view extension <reference/views/inheritance>` simpler, it is
+recommended to put a ``name`` attribute on ``<group>`` elements, so new fields
+can easily be added at the right place.
+
+Special Case: Subtotals
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+Some classes are defined to render subtotals like in invoice forms:
+
+.. image:: forms/screenshot-00.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+::
+
+ <group class="oe_subtotal_footer">
+ <field name="amount_untaxed"/>
+ <field name="amount_tax"/>
+ <field name="amount_total" class="oe_subtotal_footer_separator"/>
+ <field name="residual" style="margin-top: 10px"/>
+ </group>
+
+Placeholders and Inline Fields
+..............................
+
+Sometimes field labels make the form too complex. One can omit field labels,
+and instead put a placeholder inside the field. The placeholder text is
+visible only when the field is empty. The placeholder should tell what to
+place inside the field, it *must not* be an example as they are often confused
+with filled data.
+
+One can also group fields together by rendering them "inline" inside an
+explicit block element like `<div>``. This allows grouping semantically
+related fields as if they were a single (composite) fields.
+
+The following example, taken from the *Leads* form, shows both placeholders and
+inline fields (zip and city).
+
+.. list-table::
+ :header-rows: 1
+
+ * - Edit mode
+ - View mode
+ * - .. image:: forms/placeholder.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+ - .. image:: forms/screenshot-01.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+::
+
+ <group>
+ <label for="street" string="Address"/>
+ <div>
+ <field name="street" placeholder="Street..."/>
+ <field name="street2"/>
+ <div>
+ <field name="zip" class="oe_inline" placeholder="ZIP"/>
+ <field name="city" class="oe_inline" placeholder="City"/>
+ </div>
+ <field name="state_id" placeholder="State"/>
+ <field name="country_id" placeholder="Country"/>
+ </div>
+ </group>
+
+Images
+......
+
+Images, like avatars, should be displayed on the right of the sheet. The
+product form looks like:
+
+.. image:: forms/screenshot-02.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+The form above contains a <sheet> element that starts with::
+
+ <field name="product_image" widget="image" class="oe_avatar oe_right"/>
+
+Tags
+....
+
+Most :class:`~openerp.fields.Many2many` fields, like categories, are better
+rendered as a list of tags. Use the widget ``many2many_tags`` for this:
+
+.. image:: forms/screenshot-04.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+::
+
+ <field name="category_id"
+ widget="many2many_tags"/>
+
+Task-based forms
+----------------
+
+Configuration Forms
+'''''''''''''''''''
+
+Examples of configuration forms: Stages, Leave Type, etc. This concerns all
+menu items under Configuration of each application (like Sales/Configuration).
+
+.. image:: forms/nosheet.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+For those views, the guidelines are:
+
+1. no header (because no state, no workflow, no button)
+2. no sheet
+
+Regular Wizards (dialog)
+''''''''''''''''''''''''
+
+Example: "Schedule a Call" from an opportunity.
+
+.. image:: forms/wizard-popup.png
+ :class: img-responsive
+
+The guidelines are:
+
+1. avoid separators (the title is already in the popup title bar, so another
+ separator is not relevant)
+2. avoid cancel buttons (user generally close the popup window to get the same
+ effect)
+3. action buttons must be highlighted (red)
+4. when there is a text area, use a placeholder instead of a label or a
+ separator
+5. like in regular form views, put buttons in the <header> element
+
+Configuration Wizard
+''''''''''''''''''''
+
+Example: Settings / Configuration / Sales. The guidelines are:
+
+1. always in line (no popup)
+2. no sheet
+3. keep the cancel button (users cannot close the window)
+4. the button "Apply" must be red
+
+.. [#backwards-compatibility] for backwards compatibility reasons
projects / odoo / odoo.git / commitdiff
