1. Graph and pivot views​

Almost every list in Odoo can switch to a graph or pivot view with the icons at the top right. Choose the measure (amount, quantity, count), group by up to several fields, and filter. Save the result as a favorite so it opens the same way next time, and share the favorite with other users if they need it.

This answers most one-off questions ("sales by salesperson this quarter") without any setup.

2. My Dashboard​

The Dashboards module of Odoo Community adds a personal My Dashboard page. From a graph, pivot or list view, choose Add to my dashboard in the search options; the view then appears as a block on your own dashboard. It is simple and personal: each user builds their own.

3. The Dashboards app (spreadsheet dashboards)​

The Dashboards app shows ready-made dashboards that come with the apps you install, such as Sales, Accounting or Point of Sale. In Odoo Community you can open and filter them. Building or editing dashboards in the spreadsheet editor, and inserting your own pivots and charts into them, uses Odoo Spreadsheet, which is part of Odoo Enterprise.

4. Reports built for a purpose​

Several apps have their own analysis menus (for example Sales > Reporting), with the right measures already chosen. Check them before building something new; they often already contain the number you are after.

When the built-in tools are not enough​

You may need more when:

• Several sources on one screen. Sales, cash and stock side by side, for a meeting or a wall screen.
• Numbers compared to a target or a previous period, with a clear up or down.
• Many users who should see the same dashboard, defined once by someone else.
• A dashboard that refreshes on its own on a screen in the office or the warehouse.
• A summary by email for people who do not open Odoo every day.

Questions to ask before adding a dashboard app​

1. Does it respect access rights? A dashboard should show each user only the records they are allowed to see. Totals computed with elevated rights can leak information.
2. Does it read live data or copies? Live data is always current; copied data needs a schedule and can be out of date.
3. Who maintains it? Dashboards built with point-and-click settings survive upgrades better than custom code or SQL written for one version.
4. What does it cost to run? Heavy dashboards that refresh often on large tables can slow the database for everyone.

Start with one dashboard and three to five numbers that drive a decision. It is easier to add a chart later than to get people to trust a crowded screen.

Related​

• Dashboard Builder adds KPI tiles, charts and lists from any Odoo data, computed with each user's own access rights. Pro adds drill-down, TV mode, SQL items (which read the database directly, so they are limited to the people you allow) and email digests.

Groups​

A group is a role, such as Sales / User: Own Documents Only or Inventory / Administrator. Users get rights only through their groups. On the user form you pick a level for each app, and each level is a group that usually includes the levels below it. From Odoo 19 the user form organizes these groups by privilege, but the principle is the same.

Access rights: which models​

Access rights (ir.model.access) say whether a group may read, write, create or delete records of a model, for example sales orders. They add up: if any of the user's groups grants an operation, the user has it. If no group grants read access to a model, the user cannot open its records at all and gets an access error.

You find them in Settings > Technical > Security > Access Rights (developer mode).

Record rules: which records​

Record rules (ir.rule) narrow access down to specific records with a domain, for example "only orders where I am the salesperson" or "only records of my companies". Two kinds combine differently:

• Global rules (rules without a group) apply to everyone and are combined with AND. A record must pass all of them.
• Group rules apply to the user's groups and are combined with OR. A record must pass at least one of them, and also all global rules.

This is why adding a user to a broader group (for example All Documents) widens what they see: its rule is added with OR. You find them in Settings > Technical > Security > Record Rules.

The interface: menus, buttons and fields​

Groups can also be set on menus, buttons and fields in views. This only changes what is displayed:

• A hidden menu does not stop a user from opening the same records through a link, a related field or an export, if their access rights allow it.
• A field hidden in a view can still be read through other views or the API, unless the field itself is restricted to a group in its definition.

So the rule of thumb is: use access rights and record rules to secure data, and use the interface to simplify what people see. Doing only the second leaves the data reachable.

The superuser​

Odoo has an internal superuser that bypasses access rights and record rules. It is used by the system itself and by the become superuser option in developer mode. The regular Administrator user is not the superuser: record rules still apply to it, which is why an administrator may not see records of a company that is not selected.

Multi-company​

In a multi-company database, most models have a global record rule that limits records to the companies the user has selected in the company switcher. A user who "cannot find" a record often only needs to select the right company.

Checking a change safely​

1. Make the change on a test user that has exactly the groups of the real user.
2. Sign in as that user in a private browser window and try the actual task: open the menu, open a record, export, print.
3. Try the paths around the interface too, such as a direct link to a record, to confirm the data is protected and not only hidden.

Related​

• Access Manager builds profiles that hide menus, set read-only users and turn off developer mode; Pro adds rules for fields, buttons, records, chatter and filters.

Products sold by weight​

Whatever the connection, start with the products. A product sold by weight has a unit of measure in weight (kg or lb) and, on the product's Point of Sale tab, the option To Weigh. Its sales price is the price per unit of weight. When the cashier adds it and a scale is connected, Point of Sale asks the scale for the weight.

Option 1: an Odoo IoT system​

Odoo's standard way to connect hardware is an IoT Box (or, for some devices, a virtual IoT system on a Windows computer). The scale is plugged into the IoT system, which talks to Odoo over the network. Odoo's documentation states that an IoT subscription is required for production use. Check Odoo's list of compatible IoT devices for your scale model before you buy.

Option 2: the browser (Web Serial)​

Chrome, Edge and Opera on a computer can talk to a USB or serial device directly through the Web Serial standard, with the user's permission. No box is needed: the scale is plugged into the computer that runs Point of Sale. A few things to know:

• The page must be opened over HTTPS, which is normal for Odoo.sh and for any properly set up server.
• The first time, the browser asks which port to use, and remembers the choice.
• Web Serial is not available in Safari or Firefox, or on phones and most tablets.
• Odoo 20 includes this for scales that use the Toledo protocol, so on Odoo 20 with such a scale nothing extra is needed. Other scales send their weight in their own text format and need an app that understands it.

Option 3: weight in the barcode​

Many counter scales print a label with a barcode that contains the weight or the price. The cashier scans the label and Odoo reads the weight from the barcode, so the scale is never connected to Odoo at all. This is set up in the barcode nomenclature that Point of Sale uses (its settings show which one), with a rule that matches the label format of your scale. With developer mode on, nomenclatures are under Inventory > Configuration > Products > Barcode Nomenclatures. It suits shops where goods are weighed and packed before they reach the till.

What to check before buying a scale​

1. Connection: USB or RS-232 serial. USB scales usually appear as a serial port; some use a different USB mode and are not readable as a serial device.
2. Output format: whether the scale sends its weight continuously or answers a command, and in which text format. The manual or the dealer can tell you.
3. Port settings: speed (baud rate), data bits, parity and stop bits. Note them; you will need them.
4. Legal for trade: in many countries a scale used to sell by weight must be approved and verified by the authority for weights and measures. Check the rules where you sell.
5. Test it with your actual computer and browser before you rely on it at a busy counter, and keep a way to type a weight by hand if the scale is not available.

Related​

• POS Scale Integration reads text-output scales in the browser with your own port settings, on Odoo 13 to 20, without an IoT Box. It is free and open source.

Records and files are stored separately​

Every file in Odoo is an attachment (the ir.attachment model): email attachments, PDF reports, product images, documents uploaded to a chatter, and also files Odoo generates for itself. By default the attachment record is in the database and the file content is in the filestore, a folder on disk at <data directory>/filestore/<database name>. The system parameter ir_attachment.location decides this; its default value is file.

Two details matter when you look at sizes:

• Identical files are stored once. The file name in the filestore is derived from the content, so the same PDF attached to ten records takes the space of one file.
• Deleting an attachment does not free the space immediately. Odoo marks the file and removes it later, during the scheduled clean-up, once nothing refers to it any more.

Measure before you delete​

If you can run SQL on the database (your own server, or the shell of an Odoo.sh build), three queries give a clear picture.

Size of the PostgreSQL database:

SELECT pg_size_pretty(pg_database_size(current_database()));

Biggest tables, including their indexes:

SELECT relname, pg_size_pretty(pg_total_relation_size(relid))
FROM pg_catalog.pg_statio_user_tables
ORDER BY pg_total_relation_size(relid) DESC
LIMIT 15;

Files by the kind of record they belong to:

SELECT res_model, count(*), pg_size_pretty(sum(file_size))
FROM ir_attachment
GROUP BY res_model
ORDER BY sum(file_size) DESC NULLS LAST
LIMIT 20;

The last query reads the file_size stored on each attachment, so it measures the files without touching the disk.

The usual suspects​

• Email and chat attachments. Every incoming email with attachments adds files to the record it is linked to, and to the discussion it belongs to.
• Saved PDF reports. Some reports, invoices for example, are kept as an attachment the first time they are printed, so the document stays identical later.
• Images. An image field keeps the original and several resized copies.
• Message history. Chatter messages and field tracking (mail_message, mail_tracking_value) grow with every change on every tracked record. This is database space, not filestore.
• Generated files. Odoo also stores its own compiled web assets as attachments. They are rebuilt when needed and are not something to clean by hand.

Reduce it safely​

1. Never delete files from the filestore folder directly. The attachment record would point to a missing file and the document would no longer open. Always delete through Odoo, which also handles files shared by several records.
2. Back up first, and test a clean-up on a copy of the database.
3. Decide what may go. Old email attachments on closed records are often safe to remove; posted invoices and their PDFs usually have to be kept for legal reasons. Check the rules that apply to your company.
4. Move instead of delete. Files you must keep but rarely open can live in cheaper storage, such as Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2 or Google Drive, while Odoo keeps the record and opens the file from there.

Why it matters on Odoo.sh​

On Odoo.sh the storage used by a project is part of what you pay for, and the database is copied for every staging build and every backup. A large filestore makes backups, restores and staging builds slower as well as more expensive. Check the current limits of your plan on odoo.sh.

Related​

• Storage Analyzer shows the same breakdown inside Odoo, with growth over time, without SQL.
• Storage Manager moves old files to S3, R2 or Google Drive with rules.