Views - Form, List, Kanban, and More

What Are Views?

Views determine how data is displayed to users. The same data can be shown in different ways.

Views are defined in XML files and control:

Which fields are visible
How fields are arranged
What buttons and actions are available
Conditional formatting and visibility

Same Data, Different Views

A Sales Order can be viewed as:

Form View: Detailed editing of one order
List View: Table of all orders
Kanban View: Cards grouped by stage
Calendar View: Orders on a calendar by date
Pivot View: Sales analysis by dimension

View Types in Odoo

View Type	XML Tag	Purpose	Best For
Form	`<form>`	View/edit one record	Detailed data entry
List	`<list>`	Table view of multiple records	Quick overview, bulk actions
Kanban	`<kanban>`	Cards in columns	Pipeline/stage management
Calendar	`<calendar>`	Records on calendar	Scheduling, deadlines
Graph	`<graph>`	Charts and graphs	Data visualization
Pivot	`<pivot>`	Pivot table analysis	Business intelligence
Gantt	`<gantt>`	Timeline view	Project planning (Enterprise)
Map	`<map>`	Geographic map	Location-based data (Enterprise)
Cohort	`<cohort>`	Cohort analysis	Retention, churn (Enterprise)
Activity	`<activity>`	Activity scheduling	Task/follow-up management
Search	`<search>`	Filter definitions	Defining search options

Note on Terminology

List views use the <list> XML tag. You may see older documentation or code using <tree> - both work, but <list> is the current standard.

Form View - Editing a Single Record

Form View Structure

Every form view in Odoo follows a consistent structure:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [HEADER] Status bar: Draft → Confirmed → Done    [Buttons]  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│ │ [SHEET] Main content area                             │   │
│ │                                                       │   │
│ │  [Avatar/Image]  Order Reference: SO001               │   │
│ │                  Customer: Acme Corp                  │   │
│ │                                                       │   │
│ │  ┌─────────────────┐  ┌─────────────────┐            │   │
│ │  │ [GROUP]         │  │ [GROUP]         │            │   │
│ │  │ Invoice Address │  │ Delivery Address│            │   │
│ │  │ ...            │  │ ...            │            │   │
│ │  └─────────────────┘  └─────────────────┘            │   │
│ │                                                       │   │
│ │  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │   │
│ │  │ [NOTEBOOK] Order Lines | Other Info | Notes     │ │   │
│ │  ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │   │
│ │  │ Product    │ Qty │ Price │ Subtotal             │ │   │
│ │  │ Laptop     │ 2   │ $999  │ $1998                │ │   │
│ │  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │   │
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ [CHATTER] Messages, Activities, Followers                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Form View Elements

What You See	XML Element	Purpose
Status bar with stages	`<header>`	Workflow buttons and status
White card area	`<sheet>`	Main content container
Fields in columns	`<group>`	Organizes fields side-by-side
Tabs at bottom	`<notebook>` + `<page>`	Tabbed sections
Message/activity panel	`<chatter>`	Communication history

Form View XML Example

xml

<form string="Sales Order">
    <header>
        <button name="action_confirm" string="Confirm"
                type="object" invisible="state != 'draft'"/>
        <field name="state" widget="statusbar"
               statusbar_visible="draft,sent,sale"/>
    </header>
    <sheet>
        <div class="oe_title">
            <h1><field name="name"/></h1>
        </div>
        <group>
            <group>
                <field name="partner_id"/>
                <field name="date_order"/>
            </group>
            <group>
                <field name="user_id"/>
                <field name="company_id"/>
            </group>
        </group>
        <notebook>
            <page string="Order Lines">
                <field name="order_line">
                    <list editable="bottom">
                        <field name="product_id"/>
                        <field name="product_uom_qty"/>
                        <field name="price_unit"/>
                        <field name="price_subtotal"/>
                    </list>
                </field>
            </page>
        </notebook>
    </sheet>
    <chatter/>
</form>

List View - Viewing Multiple Records

List views show records in a table format with sortable columns.

List View Features

Feature	What It Does	How to Request
Row colors	Highlight rows by condition	"Make overdue items red"
Default sorting	Initial sort order	"Sort by date descending"
Inline editing	Edit in place	"Allow editing without opening form"
Column totals	Sum/average at bottom	"Show total amount at bottom"
Optional columns	User can show/hide	"Let users choose which columns"
Multi-edit	Edit multiple selected	"Change status of multiple at once"

Row Color Options (Decorations)

Color	Attribute	Typical Use
Green	`decoration-success`	Completed, positive
Blue	`decoration-info`	Draft, information
Orange	`decoration-warning`	Attention needed
Red	`decoration-danger`	Error, cancelled, overdue
Gray	`decoration-muted`	Inactive, archived
Bold	`decoration-bf`	Important items
Italic	`decoration-it`	Special cases

Example: "Make overdue invoices red"

xml

<list decoration-danger="date_due &lt; current_date and state == 'posted'">

List View XML Example

xml

<list string="Sales Orders"
      decoration-info="state == 'draft'"
      decoration-success="state == 'sale'"
      decoration-muted="state == 'cancel'">
    <field name="name"/>
    <field name="partner_id"/>
    <field name="date_order"/>
    <field name="amount_total" sum="Total"/>
    <field name="state"/>
</list>

Kanban View - Pipeline Management

Think of a Kanban view like a Trello board or sticky notes on a whiteboard:

Each column represents a stage (New, In Progress, Done)
Each card is a record (a task, a lead, an opportunity)
Drag and drop moves records between stages

Kanban Features

Feature	What It Does	Example
Quick Create	Add new record in column	"+" button at top of column
Progress Bar	Shows status at column header	Green/yellow/red indicator
Card Colors	Visual priority/status	Red border for urgent items
Folded Columns	Hide completed stages	"Done" column collapsed
Card Actions	Quick actions on cards	Archive, Edit, Delete
Aggregates	Column totals	"Total Revenue: $50,000"

Common Kanban Use Cases

Module	Grouped By	Cards Show
CRM Pipeline	Stage (New → Won)	Opportunity name, revenue, contact
Project Tasks	Stage (To Do → Done)	Task name, assignee, deadline
Recruitment	Stage (New → Hired)	Applicant name, job position
Helpdesk	Stage (New → Solved)	Ticket subject, priority, customer

Calendar View

Calendar views display records on a date-based calendar.

Calendar View Attributes

Attribute	Purpose	Example
`date_start`	Start date/time field	`date_start="start_datetime"`
`date_stop`	End date/time field	`date_stop="stop_datetime"`
`date_delay`	Duration in hours	`date_delay="duration"`
`color`	Color coding field	`color="user_id"`
`mode`	Default view (day/week/month)	`mode="month"`

Example:

xml

<calendar string="Meetings" date_start="start" date_stop="stop" color="user_id">
    <field name="name"/>
    <field name="partner_ids"/>
</calendar>

Graph and Pivot Views

Graph View

For visual charts and graphs:

Type	Use Case
`bar`	Comparing quantities (Sales by month)
`line`	Trends over time (Revenue growth)
`pie`	Proportions (Sales by category)

xml

<graph string="Sales Analysis" type="bar">
    <field name="date_order" type="row"/>
    <field name="amount_total" type="measure"/>
</graph>

Pivot View

For business intelligence analysis:

xml

<pivot string="Sales Analysis">
    <field name="partner_id" type="row"/>
    <field name="product_id" type="col"/>
    <field name="amount_total" type="measure"/>
</pivot>

Search View

The search view defines what filters and groupings are available:

xml

<search>
    <!-- Searchable fields -->
    <field name="name"/>
    <field name="partner_id"/>

    <!-- Predefined filters -->
    <filter name="my_orders" string="My Orders"
            domain="[('user_id', '=', uid)]"/>
    <filter name="this_month" string="This Month"
            domain="[('date_order', '>=', (context_today() - relativedelta(day=1)).strftime('%Y-%m-%d'))]"/>

    <!-- Separator between filter groups -->
    <separator/>

    <!-- Group By options -->
    <group expand="0" string="Group By">
        <filter name="group_partner" string="Customer"
                context="{'group_by': 'partner_id'}"/>
        <filter name="group_state" string="Status"
                context="{'group_by': 'state'}"/>
    </group>
</search>

Key Points

Fields in search view = what you can type to search
Filters = predefined filter buttons (can be starred as favorites)
Group By = grouping options in the dropdown
Filters can be combined with AND/OR logic

View Inheritance

Views can be extended by other modules:

xml

<!-- Original view in base module -->
<record id="view_partner_form" model="ir.ui.view">
    <field name="name">res.partner.form</field>
    <field name="model">res.partner</field>
    <field name="arch" type="xml">
        <form>
            <field name="name"/>
        </form>
    </field>
</record>

<!-- Inherited view adding fields -->
<record id="view_partner_form_custom" model="ir.ui.view">
    <field name="name">res.partner.form.custom</field>
    <field name="model">res.partner</field>
    <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
    <field name="arch" type="xml">
        <field name="name" position="after">
            <field name="custom_field"/>
        </field>
    </field>
</record>

Inheritance Positions

Position	Effect
`after`	Add after the element
`before`	Add before the element
`inside`	Add inside the element (at end)
`replace`	Replace the element entirely
`attributes`	Modify element attributes

Common View Requests

User Request	View Type	Developer Action
"Add field X to the form"	Form	Add `<field name="x"/>` to form XML
"Show field X in the list"	List	Add `<field name="x"/>` to list XML
"Make cancelled orders gray"	List	Add `decoration-muted="state == 'cancel'"`
"Add filter for my records"	Search	Add filter with `domain="[('user_id', '=', uid)]"`
"Let me group by category"	Search	Add group filter with `context="{'group_by': 'categ_id'}"`
"Hide field when status is done"	Form	Add `invisible="state == 'done'"` to field

Knowledge Check

Q1: User sees field on form but not in list. Why?

Answer: The field is in the Form view XML but not in the List view XML

Each view type has its own XML definition that specifies which fields to display. A field can exist in one view but not another.

Q2: Want Sales Orders as visual cards grouped by stage. Which view?

Answer: Kanban View

Kanban views display records as cards organized into columns (typically by a stage or status field). They're ideal for visual pipeline management.

Q3: What does the invisible attribute do?

Answer: It hides the field from display (conditionally or always)

The field still exists and stores data - it's just not shown. Can be conditional: invisible="state != 'draft'".

Q4: How to make overdue invoices appear red in the list?

Answer: Add decoration-danger with a condition

xml

<list decoration-danger="date_due &lt; current_date">

This highlights rows where the due date has passed.

Q5: What's the difference between <list> and <tree>?

Answer: They're the same - <list> is the current standard

Older Odoo versions used <tree> for list views. Both still work, but <list> is preferred in modern Odoo.

Views - Form, List, Kanban, and More ​

What Are Views? ​

View Types in Odoo ​

Form View - Editing a Single Record ​

Form View Structure ​

Form View Elements ​

Form View XML Example ​

List View - Viewing Multiple Records ​

List View Features ​

Row Color Options (Decorations) ​

List View XML Example ​

Kanban View - Pipeline Management ​

Kanban Features ​

Common Kanban Use Cases ​

Calendar View ​

Calendar View Attributes ​

Graph and Pivot Views ​

Graph View ​

Pivot View ​

Search View ​

View Inheritance ​

Inheritance Positions ​

Common View Requests ​

Knowledge Check ​