Is there any interest in guides / tutorials about Odoo?

Hey guys

Would there be any interest in guides / tutorials about Odoo?
I honestly think there are too little good guides and resources. So I'm wondering if there would be any interest in them and what they should explain.

I might make some if there is enough interest. So please do write down what you'd like and what you think is missing..

Update 1/12/2014: as this had more reaction then I thought and it looks like there is a big need I've decided to write some guides/tutorials. I've started writing my first guide, which will be about creating your own module with custom models/fields.
Update 31/12/2014: Finished three tuts, the newest is the biggest. This will learn you how to create custom QWeb reports from scratch in Odoo 8.

Update 19/07/2015: I've written over 17 tutorials so far and decided to list them in a comment on this post. Please see my answer.

Hamid Darabi

We are evaluating Odoo and we really need content about development.

@Yenthe, I think there is a great need for this, not only for beginner developers starting out learning the basics of Odoo, but also user guides for specific actions. One tutorial I can see being very useful is security tips for securing your Odoo install and for hardening your Odoo server (I think Ubuntu 14.04 would be the best platform to write this for). Basic website theme modification would be another tutorial that many are interested in. Basic module development tips could be another very useful tutorial. For example creating custom fields in a module (eg. adding custom fields to the contact form or customer profile in Sales >> Customer). Perhaps the correct way to update your Odoo instance from github (including module/database updates) would be another useful tutorial. A basic backup/restore method for your Odoo instance would also be useful. One thing that I have not yet found a clear analogy or explanation for that I understand is the field types and how they work. For example what is many2one, how can I use it in a custom module, and what are some examples of it being used in a custom module.

Author

@Hamid, what kind of content would you need then? I'm really curious about what the average needs are.. @Luke, thanks for the detailed explanation! For security I'll have to pass (for now) since I haven't gotten in to this yet myself. There is VERY little documentation about this too honestly.. I agree that all the ones you mention are good ones and a tutorial about field types and writing custom modules would probably be one of my first guides. Its very easy and straight-forward if you get the concept honestly. If you have any other ideas post them away and thanks for the response!

@Yenthe, Great. Thank you for spearheading this. I think it's a great idea, and is sorely needed. Will you be creating a blog for these tutorials, or doing Q&A format in the forums?

Author

@Luke I'm not sure if I should do this in Q&A or in blog style.. Both have their pre's and con's. If I post it here there are limitations in formatting, linking, pictures, ... but on an own blog I might get less people to find the tutorials and use it. So I'm not sure what I should do with this.

@Yenthe, perhaps both? I'd suggest maybe running your own blog (as you can modify it however you like) and then post the tutorials to the forum in a Q&A format with a link back to the complete blog/tutorial. That way you can add basic instructions in the forum with a link back for people who want a more complete tutorial, or something along those lines.

Author

@Luke, that sounds like an option too yes! Thanks for the input and ideas. Just leave a new post if you have any new ideas. I'd like as much community input in this as I can.

I support Luke's suggestions and would like to amend module development with an end-to-end sample (local development, uploading to github, testing with runbot, implementing and updating on the own odoo server).

Author

@Ermin, thanks for your reply. So you'd basicly like a guide that explains you how to make a new module from scratch and the whole proces from there on until it being implemented on a live server?

@Yenthe: Exactly. This would non-professional developers like me save the hell a lot of time. On the other hand, I'm customizing an odoo installation at the moment from scratch and I would be more than happy to contribute.

Billiard R Made

Basic module development, calling javascript functions and qweb

Any form is a good form, be it the forum or your own blog. Convenience is the issue, Google will find it anyway ;-)

Hamid Darabi

I guess Youtube + source code to download from somewhere is the best training methodology

michel Guénard

creating a module: https://www.odoo.com/forum/help-1/question/creating-a-module-53357

Author

Hmm I didn't even know they had one for that. Anyways, I'll continue writing mine as I explain it much shorter with screenshots. Just the essence, nice and clear for everybody.

@Yenthe, do you have any tips/examples on how to use t-foreach with one2many? I'm currently building this: https://github.com/OdooCommunityWidgets/website_multi_image however I'm trying to figure out how to add a t-foreach to allow me to output various fields in a one2many so that I can display those multiple images on the website product page as a carousel. I want to output all available rows in the one2many as a t-foreach loop so that I can wrap the necessary HTML around each field (or t-attr) as required for the product image carousel. Here's the view i'm working on: https://github.com/OdooCommunityWidgets/website_multi_image/blob/master/views/website_product_image_carousel.xml and here's the python: https://github.com/OdooCommunityWidgets/website_multi_image/blob/master/product_images.py However the I can't find any examples of how to create a t-foreach from a one2many. Any hints or tips would be very much appreciated.

Author

@Luke I'm sorry but I haven't personally worked with one2many in t-foreaches yet.. Perhaps this is something you could look at? http://odoo-80.readthedocs.org/en/latest/howtos/website.html#templates By the way.. what you're building is a great idea! Be sure to keep us updated with your progress and to share it when its finished! :) Create a question about this if you don't find it here to be honest. I'm sure there are people here that know how to do it!

@Yenthe, I have just finished the first (alpha) version of the module here: https://github.com/OdooCommunityWidgets/website_multi_image/tree/8.0 I have pushed an un-styled version to the 8.0 branch of the module that includes support for 'synced sliders' using OwlCarousel2. I will be adding support later for youtube and vimeo slides (with thumbnail previews) and lazy-loading among other features. Please comment back if you have any suggestions or feedback.

Author

@Luke this looks interesting! If I find me some spare time I'll have a look and it and check it out. Credit for sharing this, quite a few people are looking for this. :)

Stephen Mack

congrats on 1000 karma milestone however only one down vote is kind of pathetic. I must piss of more people than you. Seriously thought, I would love to have you help with some chapters of my beginners guide to odoo. There is a chapter on reports... Or if you are not up to that then I will write it and use you as a source (if you don't mind). https://www.odoo.com/forum/help-1/question/71298

Author

@Stephen thanks. I try to keep my answers very neutral and try not to pick sides.. that tends to piss people of hah. Sadly I do have one downvote, which is unjusticed in my opinion but nothing to do about that. As for your chapter about reports. What exactly would you like to write out there and what should be explained? I might be able to help you with this. I've just finished a tutorial about reports on my blog too (as you've probably saw). So reply back with some more details please? :)

Ray Carnes

Automated actions and server actions.

Dr Obx

Awesome stuff Yanthe

http://learnopenerp.blogspot.com/

Author

Thanks Dr Obx! I was missing some in the list since my last update so I've updated the list again. :)

Sehrish

Niyas Raphy (Walnut IT)

Hope it helps someone looking for same: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDepk0LhVuI&list=PLqRRLx0cl0hoJhjFWkFYowveq2Zn55dhM

Author Best Answer

Hi guys,

It has been a while since I last posted and I've written quite a few tutorials since the last time. You can find all my tutorials at the following links:

Creating custom QWeb reports: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-custom-reports-odoo-8/
Remove Odoo support from chat: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/remove-odoo-support-odoo-chat
Change the numbering of invoices: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/change-invoice-numbering-odoo-8/
Configure incoming mail servers: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/configure-incoming-mailservers/
Configure outgoing mail server: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/configure-outgoing-mailservers/
Translating reports in Odoo 8: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/translating-reports-in-odoo-8/
Install Odoo 8 on Ubuntu 14.04: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/install-odoo-8-on-ubuntu-14-04/
Install Wkhtmltopdf on Ubuntu: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/install-wkhtmltopdf-on-ubuntu/
Automated backups in Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/automated-backups-in-odoo/
Default value in Many2One: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/default-value-many2one-in-odoo-8/
On_change events in Odoo 8: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/on_change-event-in-odoo-8/
Xpath expressions in Odoo 8: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/xpath-expressions-in-odoo-8/
Saving and resizing images in Odoo 8: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/saving-and-resizing-images-in-odoo-8/
Installing and configuring your own runbot: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/installing-and-configuring-your-own-runbot/
Installing default data in Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/installing-default-data-in-odoo-module/
Automatically fill many2many in Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/automatically-fill-many2many-in-odoo/
Creating many2many drag and drop (handle) widget in Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-many2many-drag-and-drop-handle-widget-in-odoo/
Logging data in Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/logging-in-odoo/
‎Adding custom colors to agenda and kanban views: ‎http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/adding-custom-colors-to-agenda-and-kanban-views
Install Odoo V9 on Ubuntu 14.04: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/installing-odoo-9-on-ubuntu-14-04/
Inheriting and modifying QWeb reports: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/inheriting-and-modifying-qweb-reports
Creating form buttons and actions: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-form-buttons-and-actions
Creating and managing statusbars (selections) in Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-and-managing-statusbars-selections-in-odoo
Creating automated actions in Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-automated-actions-in-odoo/
Adding static resources (CSS and JavaScript to Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/adding-static-resources-css-and-javascript-to-odoo/
Installing Odoo 9 Enterprise on Ubuntu 14.04: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/installing-odoo-9-enterprise-on-ubuntu-14-04
Create and manage Odoo databases with ERPpeek or XML-RPC: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-and-managing-databases-with-erppeek-or-xml-rpc
Update your Odoo from Github: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/update-odoo-environment-github
Creating security groups in Odoo: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-security-groups-odoo
Installing Odoo 10 (enterprise) on Ubuntu 16.04: http://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/installing-odoo-10-ubuntu-16-04
Adding fields to quick search views: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/adding-fields-quick-search-views/
Adding filters to existing search views: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/adding-filters-existing-search-views/
Creating e-mail templates in Odoo: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-mail-templates/
Finding and sending e-mail templates in Odoo: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/sending-mail-templates-odoo/
Connecting PowerBI and Odoo for BI reporting: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/connecting-powerbi-odoo/
Override create functions in Odoo: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/override-create-functions-odoo/
Creating webpages and controllers in Odoo 10: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-webpages-controllers-odoo10/
Extend existing selection with selection_add in Odoo 10: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/extend-selection-odoo-10/
Installing and configuring Odoo on DigitalOcean: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/installing-configuring-odoo-digitalocean/
Installing Odoo 11 (enterprise) on Ubuntu: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/installing-odoo-11-enterprise-ubuntu/
Configuring app settings with erppeek in Odoo 11: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/configuring-app-settings-erppeek-odoo-11/
Creating a tour in Odoo: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-user-tour-odoo/
Creating automated tests in Odoo: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/creating-automated-tests-odoo/
Configuring and using Odoo.sh: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/configuring-using-odoosh/
Installing Odoo frontend and backend on different servers: https://www.odoo.yenthevg.com/installing-odoo-different-servers/

Last update: 20/01/2018

Yenthe

I would say there is a need. Especially for basic users.

Also setting up the inventory, doing purchase orders, using the "warehouse" would be helpful. It's honestly all a bit intimidating for a new user.

I do understand odoo can scale and be used for large organizations but I think it could just as easily be used in a very small business.

Author

I agree! I know i could've used more guides with detailed information when I started Odoo.. What is something where you think of it would be usefull?

michel Guénard

No doubt all users need a complete documentation; With almost 2 years of periodic screening of questions and answers on the Odoo forum, it is clear (to me) that different needs have to be covered; some are already documented but the numerous questions on the forum seems to demonstrate that it is not sufficient. 1 . for users who need to modify the standard current release to fit their specific needs (modifications on workflows, on forms, on reports, translations etc...; including the creation of a new module); 2 . for users who only need to understand how the standard functions work for daily operations (for each single processus). This includes how to set up the numerous parameters which are spread over multiple menus and screens. This should also cover how to use the several external functions like Google API, Thunderbird etc.... 3. for users who need to install an Odoo database on their own servers. A clear and detailed documentation on the email function is mandatory, specifically when Odoo is claiming for a disruptive vision on these functions. I would also recommend that the Odoo "system" uses terms and wordings that are internationaly accepted; for instance the so called "Deferral method" referred to in the accounting module should be changed to "Carry forward"; . As far as the documentation tool is concerned, I would recommend the one used for Ubuntu system which I found to be very efficient. http://community.ubuntu.com/help-information/

Author

@Ad thanks for the detailed information. You're right that there is a big need for documentation on all topics really. I'm amazed that there is so little documentation for Odoo seeing as it is already around for years. I guess its no point of interest for Odoo itself and that most other people don't bother..

michel Guénard

One cannot guess that Odoo team has no interest in properly documenting their system; because without an adequate doc they will not be able to massively convince the market nor to effectively compete with the ERP leaders. We must convince them to allocate more resources to "massively" enhance the current documentation; I feel that they should move from a computer oriented team to a more business focused one! The open source caracteristic and the low pricing strategy should not results in considering that the users have all the technical tools to run with only a basic set of explanations. Odoo developped a network of partners; some of them are sharing their work including documentation on their own web site. This should be encouraged and be given more visibility. Odoo makes reference to a list of their large customers; they also publish some testimonials of happy ones; these customers should be encouraged to explain what they did to make the Odoo system being effectively deployed within their organisations; they most probably setup their own documentation which could be of great interest for the whole Odoo community.

Zac Tomas

It would be great to see more documentation for DIY business owners and users who are not developers. I am finding it difficult to make decisions around hosting in house vs odoo.com or other paid hosting providers with only freely available resources. Security concerns as mentioned above are important, and a general outline of how difficult it would be for a business with minimal technical experience to install, customize, use, and manage Odoo. I understand the paid consulting services are what make Odoo possible, and I hope developers continue to earn money for their services, but I think the manuals/documentation/tutorials you suggest could provide non-biased answers to many potential users. While the sofware is free and open source, information and knowledge about how to use and customize the software seems to be less open and still a bit expensive for consulting services.

This may be beyond just documentation, but I think there is a demand for customized forms; something like google forms integrated with odoo, or replacing the current contact form with custom forms that do not require any xml or coding experience. Something that is very easy for any user to build.

Author

@Zac, thank you for the detailed answer. Perhaps this is something that deserves attention too. There are very little details about the resources and VM parts. Honestly you do not need to many technical knowledge to install and maintain Odoo in house. There is an automated Odoo V8 script which will automaticly boot up Odoo whenever the VM goes on and you can buy a VPS from Digitalocean for as little as 10$ which will do the job. So perhaps this is something I should write a topic about too, I'll keep this in mind! Be sure to post more suggestions or ideas if you have them. :)

Fnordbedarf

Well, Yenthe, in irc.freenode.net #openobjects, the joke was made, that odoo runs on port 8069, because that's the year documentation, guides and tutorials will be published :D

I would like to know how to go from development/testing to production of odoo.

Author

Haha awesome :D There is so little documentation, help and tutorials though.. So what are things that you think that are missing and what kind of guides would you like to see?

Pascal Tremblay

Documentation for Odoo is poor an incomplete.

http://learnopenerp.blogspot.com/

Author

I completely agree, especially for Odoo V8. So the question is.. what do you think is missing or where would you like tutorials about?

Billiard R Made

We also need user tutorials or list of useful modules free and commercial ones. For example I just installed odoo accounting but I do not see where to print statements or debtors aged analysis report

Alejandro Perez Cosio

Hello @Yenthe, thank you for your interest.. My personal opinion is that the big leak is on POS development documentation/tutorials

Sehrish

I have create some tutorials related to business development in Odoo, have a look please: http://learnopenerp.blogspot.com/

Sehrish

Patrick Belton

I would love some mechanism to have a integrations tutorial based on the modules I have. The training and videos are all excellent, but when the entire suite is used I have little understanding of what I may not have.

This is mostly useful for me as we have not finished our install yet and I need to prepare to setup the inventory and manufacturing systems after IT finishes the install. The answers to the questions I have are not found in the existing material due to the excess modules typical to training systems.

Dr Obx

Agree, would be nice have it in english, so Yanthe ...... here the perfect opportunity for you to pass all your knowledge as a video tutorials.

Already like it :)

Author

Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm not sure about video tutorials though, I'm not native English so my pronouncing isn't the best really. :) It is on the list of to consider hehe.

OdooBot

Do not worry about the english ;)

Many people are not native english as well so will be ok ;)

On 20 January 2016 at 16:51, Yenthe <yenthespam@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for the positive feedback! I'm not sure about video tutorials though, I'm not native English so my pronouncing isn't the best really. :) It is on the list of to consider hehe.

--
Yenthe

After weeks of customizing odoo 8 and dozens of restarts from the beginning, what about a beginner's document of major pitfalls, such as:

never create a new company, do overwrite "Your Company" first
never delete a default pricelist
never try to set up a chart of accounts from scratch using templates, it doesn't work and messes up your system seriously.
before you touch anything on your system, even before you install any other modules, set up your accounts properly.
deleting the preinstalled chart of accounts using the module "Template of Charts of Accounts" seems to do nothing, it doesn't help.
Use the HTML editor with care, your changes will be saved to the database.
When you already have data in the system, make a backup everytime before you do any kind of customizing, because the slightest change of settings can screw up your whole system for non-obvious reasons.
....

Rizky Prihanto

thanks. :-) ~ I've been there.

Anand

hai yenthe..

you have done a great help.. thank you..

please create some tutorials about mailing template and mailing window creation in openerp using python code or in xml.. becoz that is a demand in all customized modules...

Also webservice connections... that is also a demanding.. one.. sometime i feel very bad about odoo becoz of no documentation on webservices...

Author

@Anand thanks! What kind of tutorials would you like to see about mailing templates and mailing windows then? Could you be a bit more specific? As for the webservice.. There are A LOT of webservices to be used. Are you talking about Android, PHP, Python, ??. The options are very wide but sadly the documentation is very small. It sometimes makes me feel bad too hehe ;)

Anand

1st is to create a mailing template using xml file and send them using a pop up box like "send by mail" option in sale module. 2nd is webservice connection with amazon, magento like websites,,...(i prefer python connection)

Author

Hmm I see. For now I'll have to leave those two open sadly as I haven't worked with either of them yet.. So I'll have to leave those two open for somebody else or for later on I'm afraid. Sorry!

Anand

k... no prob... but i think i will do the 1st ASAP.. so if i have dont it i will ping you....

https://www.youtube.com/user/ingadhoc/videos

Author

@Anand a little update. I will soon create a blogpost about mailing templates and attachments in them. I'll let you know when its finished. :)

Fransis L. Yoas

Hi Yenthe, can you also make a tutorial about how attendance work and how to make it automatically generate payslip?

Juan José Scarafía

Hi everybody,

In our channel we have many video tutorials in spanish, may be you can take advantage of this material.

Regards,

Juan José - Ing ADHOC

Author

Woha, quite a lot of video's there! Too bad they're in Spanish ;)

Tim Norton

I would love more user tutorials - Video format is my favourite

Author

Hmm, I haven't even thought about video format yet. This might be quite handy too.. What kind of tutorials would you like to see then Tim?

Hamid Darabi

My suggestions are: 1- Samples for existing tutorial specially for reference section. 2- Tutorials about business logic in modules. for example to add a new variant to a product what should you do? how to load the list of different prices of a product? product's relation with accounting, warehouse, etc. 3- website-builder tutorials. for example modifying and creating blocks, new apps for website builder