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Master Odoo: Tips and tricks you must know for optimal use

Duration: 25:22


PART 1 — Analytical Summary 🚀

Context 💼

This closing session of the event showcases hands-on tips and tricks in the latest version of Odoo, with a playful, investigative demo centered on a customer’s negative rating. The presenter uses a single storyline to traverse multiple apps—Helpdesk, Sales, Accounting, and Knowledge—highlighting what’s new and what’s faster in Odoo 19. The talk focuses on productivity shortcuts, mobile UX upgrades, multi-currency clarity, and safer, smarter bulk editing.

Core ideas & innovations 🧠

The demo starts with navigation mastery. The global search and the Command Palette (Ctrl+K) now act as a universal launcher: type “/” to reach any menu, “@” to jump into conversations, and “?” to open Knowledge. Tapping Alt reveals on-screen shortcut hints and digit keys to open menus; keyboard arrows, Delete to clear filters, and an improved group-and-sort experience make list exploration far more fluid. Middle-click opens records in new tabs—tiny, but time-saving.

Record selection is notably better across views. In Kanban, you can enter selection mode (Alt+click on desktop) and export selected records directly from the Actions menu. On mobile, long-pressing a card selects it, and a new bottom sheet surfaces context actions and view controls where your thumb is—an intentional mobile-first UX refinement.

For data operations, list views now allow more forgiving selection (click anywhere in a row after the first selection), support Shift+click ranges, and introduce formula-based mass edits on numeric fields (e.g., *= 1.1, +=, -=, /=). This makes price updates or corrections dramatically faster. The demo underscores a caution: mass edits aren’t undoable with Ctrl+Z; use inverse formulas or data re-imports if needed.

Investigating the negative rating leads through Helpdesk chatter (to see who handled the case), then into Sales Orders via the Command Palette, where chatter reveals pricing mix-ups. To prevent recurrence, the presenter creates an activity using natural language date shortcuts: +1D (tomorrow), =Tuesday (this week’s Tuesday), +Tuesday (next Tuesday), =9 months (September). Odoo 19 also supports standalone activities (not tied to a specific record), great for personal reminders.

Knowledge capture is embedded in the flow. From Command Palette (with “?”), a new Knowledge article is authored using common editor conventions: double brackets [[ ]] for instant checkboxes, inline code blocks, and a contextual “Create link” command. Permissions are adjusted by moving the article to a shared workspace, and a Knowledge button in record chatter gives staff quick access to procedures in context. The story ends with a twist: the customer admits the bad rating was accidental—closing the loop without further escalation.

On the finance side, the multi-currency rollups in lists are clearer. Sums still display in the company currency, but a discreet question-mark icon reveals conversions into all active currencies—only appearing once multi-currency data exists. It’s a simple but effective way to reconcile totals across locales without leaving the list.

Impact & takeaways ⚙️💬

This session’s throughline is speed with confidence. The Command Palette centralizes navigation and actions, cutting clicks. Selection and export improvements—especially the mobile bottom sheet—tighten the mobile/desktop parity. Formula-based mass editing brings spreadsheet-like agility directly into Odoo, while Knowledge is increasingly woven into daily operations, reducing firefighting by encoding responses into checklists and guides. The multi-currency tooltip avoids context switching, and natural date parsing makes scheduling feel intuitive. Two sensible cautions: bulk edits demand discipline (no one-click undo), and power-user shortcuts reward training. Overall, Odoo 19 amplifies everyday workflows with thoughtful polish that compounds across teams.

Key clarifications from Q&A: - You can now create standalone activities from the Activities app (not tied to any record). - There’s no single universal “Select all” keyboard shortcut; use view-level selection controls and paging awareness. - Mass edit supports +, –, ×, ÷ (division by zero is not meaningful—avoid). - Currency conversions reflect active company rates and only show for currencies actually used in the dataset. - Enable Developer Mode via Ctrl+K; to find a view/report, search by content in the View architecture (especially useful for portal/front-end templates).

PART 2 — Viewpoint: Odoo Perspective

Disclaimer: AI-generated creative perspective inspired by Odoo's vision.

When we remove friction, people discover new ways to work. The Command Palette, mobile bottom sheets, and natural date inputs are small features, but together they make Odoo feel instantaneous. That’s the bar we aim for: less searching, more doing.

I’m particularly proud of how Knowledge and Activities blend into the flow. You shouldn’t have to leave a ticket or an order to create a guide or set a reminder. Simplicity at the surface with depth underneath—this is how we keep Odoo powerful yet approachable, and how the community continues to thrive.

PART 3 — Viewpoint: Competitors (SAP / Microsoft / Others)

Disclaimer: AI-generated fictional commentary. Not an official corporate statement.

Odoo 19’s usability gains—especially the command palette and mobile action sheets—are compelling for teams that value speed and self-service. The inline formulas for mass edits are clever and will resonate with spreadsheet-native users. The challenge will be governance at scale: approvals, bulk change audits, and rollback strategies are critical in highly regulated industries.

Multi-currency cues and Knowledge integration are smart differentiators for SMBs and midsize firms. For larger enterprises, the test remains consistent—role-based security, compliance frameworks, and lifecycle controls across apps. If Odoo continues hardening these areas while refining the UX, the gap with traditional enterprise suites will keep narrowing.

Disclaimer: This article contains AI-generated summaries and fictionalized commentaries for illustrative purposes. Viewpoints labeled as "Odoo Perspective" or "Competitors" are simulated and do not represent any real statements or positions. All product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.

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