Hi there,

You have hit a very common roadblock in Odoo development. The reason you cannot simply call a Python method to "download the pivot table" is because the pivot table export is generated client-side by JavaScript, not server-side by Python.

When a user clicks that download button, Odoo's frontend JavaScript reads the current matrix on their screen and sends a formatted dictionary to a web controller (usually /web/pivot/export_xls), which then returns the file. Because your automated action (cron job) runs entirely in the backend without a browser interface, it cannot trigger that JavaScript process.

To achieve this automatically via code, you have to recreate the data pull and the Excel file generation in Python. Here is the standard architectural approach to do this using Odoo's built-in xlsxwriter library:

1. The Python Logic

You will need to write a Python method (which your scheduled action will call) that does three things:

1. Queries the data using read_group() (this is the same ORM method the pivot view uses).

2. Writes that data into a virtual Excel file using xlsxwriter and io.BytesIO.

3. Encodes the file to Base64 and creates an ir.attachment.

2. Example Code Template

Here is a boilerplate template using sale.order as an example. You will need to adapt the read_group parameters and the worksheet loops to match your specific model and columns.

Python

import io
import base64
import xlsxwriter
from odoo import models, fields, api

class DailyPivotReport(models.Model):
    _name = 'daily.pivot.report'
    _description = 'Automated Pivot Excel Generator'

    @api.model
    def generate_and_send_pivot_excel(self):
        # 1. Fetch the aggregated data (simulate the pivot backend)
        domain = [('state', 'in', ['sale', 'done'])]
        fields_to_read = ['amount_total']
        groupby = ['user_id']
        
        # read_group returns a list of dictionaries with your grouped data
        pivot_data = self.env['sale.order'].read_group(domain, fields_to_read, groupby)

        # 2. Create the Excel file in memory
        output = io.BytesIO()
        workbook = xlsxwriter.Workbook(output, {'in_memory': True})
        worksheet = workbook.add_worksheet('Daily Report')

        # Formatting (Optional)
        bold = workbook.add_format({'bold': True})

        # Write Headers
        worksheet.write(0, 0, 'Salesperson', bold)
        worksheet.write(0, 1, 'Total Sales', bold)

        # Write Data
        row = 1
        for record in pivot_data:
            # Handle cases where user_id might be False
            user_name = record['user_id'][1] if record.get('user_id') else 'Undefined'
            total = record.get('amount_total', 0.0)
            
            worksheet.write(row, 0, user_name)
            worksheet.write(row, 1, total)
            row += 1

        # Close and prepare the file for attachment
        workbook.close()
        output.seek(0)
        excel_data = output.read()
        excel_base64 = base64.b64encode(excel_data)

        # 3. Create the Attachment
        attachment = self.env['ir.attachment'].create({
            'name': 'Daily_Sales_Pivot.xlsx',
            'type': 'binary',
            'datas': excel_base64,
            'mimetype': 'application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet',
        })

        # 4. Attach to your email template and send
        template = self.env.ref('your_module.your_mail_template_id')
        
        # Temporarily link attachment to template, send, then clean up
        template.attachment_ids = [(4, attachment.id)]
        template.send_mail(self.id, force_send=True)
        template.attachment_ids = [(3, attachment.id)] 

Summary of Next Steps

Since you already have the email automation figured out, you just need to drop this logic into your cron job's target method. Adjust the domain, fields_to_read, and groupby variables to match the exact filters and groupings you have set up in your frontend pivot view.

It takes a bit of manual formatting to get the Python-generated Excel file to look exactly like the Odoo UI version, but this io.BytesIO method is the cleanest, most standard way to generate backend .xlsx files in Odoo without relying on third-party apps.

Hello! You've done it? I also want to automatically send a pivot report.

Hi Tintuk Tomin,

Please review this module https://apps.odoo.com/apps/modules/13.0/pivot_scheduler, I hope it would help you.