Theming

After your development environment is fully set up, you can start building the skeleton of your theme module. In this chapter, you will discover how to:

  • Enable/disable the Website Builder’s standard options and templates.

  • Define the colors and fonts to use for your design.

  • Get the most out of Bootstrap variables.

  • Add custom styles and JavaScript.

Theme module

Odoo comes with a default theme that provides minimal structure and layout. When you create a new theme, you are extending the default theme.

Remember to add the directory containing your module to the addons-path command-line argument when running Odoo in your development environment.

Technical naming

The first step is to create a new directory.

website_airproof

注解

Prefix it with website_ and use only lowercase ASCII alphanumeric characters and underscores.

In this documentation, we will use Airproof (a fictional project) as an example.

File structure

Themes are packaged like any Odoo module. Even if you are designing a basic website, you need to package its theme like a module.

website_airproof
├── data
├── i18n
├── static
│   ├── description
│   ├── fonts
│   ├── lib
│   ├── shapes // Shapes for background
│   └── src
│       ├── img
│       │   ├── content // For those used in the pages of your website
│       │   └── wbuilder // For those used in the builder
│       ├── js
│       ├── scss // Theme specific styles
│       └── snippets // custom snippets
├── views
├── __init__.py
└── __manifest__.py

Folder

Description

data

Presets, menus, pages, images, shapes, … (*.xml)

i18n

Translations (*.po, *.pot)

lib

External libraries (*.js)

static

Custom assets (*.jpg, *.gif, *.png, *.svg, *.pdf, *.scss, *.js)

views

Custom views and templates (*.xml)

Initialization

An Odoo module is also a Python package with a __init__.py file containing import instructions for various Python files in the module. This file can remain empty for now.

Declaration

An Odoo module is declared by its manifest file. This file declares a Python package as an Odoo module and specifies the module’s metadata. It must at least contain the name field, which is always required. It usually contains much more information.

/website_airproof/__manifest__.py
{
   'name': 'Airproof Theme',
   'description': '...',
   'category': 'Website/Theme',
   'version': '18.0.0',
   'author': '...',
   'license': '...',
   'depends': ['website'],
   'data': [
      # ...
   ],
   'assets': {
      # ...
   },
}

Field

Description

name

Human-readable name of the module (required)

description

Extended description of the module, in reStructuredText

category

Classification category within Odoo

version

Odoo version this module is addressing

author

Name of the module author

license

By default, we use the LGPL-3 license. More information in the module manifest page.

depends

Odoo modules must be loaded before this one, either because this module uses features they create or because it alters resources they define

data

List of XML files

assets

List of SCSS and JS files

注解

  • The file structure above is just a suggestion. We could add as many other folders as needed in the project, such as /controllers to include controllers or /views/backend for backend views, etc.

  • To create a website theme, you only need to install the Website app. If you need other apps (Blogs, Events, eCommerce, …), you can also add them.

  • Odoo version and major number are mandatory. However, patch number is optional. If you want to specify the required version of Odoo to run your module, you should use a five arguments structure, using the first two arguments to indicate your current Odoo version (* = 18.0).

Module versioning

Example: 18.0.1.0.0 odoo_major.odoo_minor.module_major.module_minor.module_patch

警告

Automated file inclusion using wildcard notations (ex.: /myfolder/*.scss) doesn’t work in Odoo SaaS databases. In this case, include each file manually in the manifest.

Default options

First, try to construct your theme by using Odoo’s default options. This ensures two things:

  1. You do not re-invent something which already exists. For example, as Odoo provides an option to add a border on the footer, you shouldn’t recode it yourself. Instead, enable the default option first, then extend it if needed.

  2. The user can still use all of Odoo’s features with your theme. For example, if you recode the border on the footer, you may break the default option or make it useless, giving the user a bad experience. Also, your recode might not work as well as the default option, as other Odoo features may rely on it.

小技巧

  • Use four spaces per indentation level.

  • Do not use tabs.

  • Never mix spaces and tabs.

Odoo variables

Odoo declares many CSS rules, most entirely customizable by overriding the related SCSS variables. To do so, create a primary_variables.scss file and add it to the _assets_primary_variables bundle.

Declaration

/website_airproof/__manifest__.py
'assets': {
   'web._assets_primary_variables': [
      'website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss',
   ],
},

By reading the source code, variables related to options are easily noticeable.

<we-button title="..."
   data-name="..."
   data-customize-website-views="..."
   data-customize-website-variable="'Sidebar'"
   data-img="..."/>

These variables can be overridden through the $o-website-value-palettes map, for example.

Global

Declaration

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-website-values-palettes: (
   (
      // Templates
      // Colors
      // Fonts
      // Buttons
      // ...
   ),
);

小技巧

That file must only contain definitions and overrides of SCSS variables and mixins.

Fonts

You can embed any font on your website. The Website Builder automatically makes them available in the font selector.

Declaration

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-theme-font-configs: (
   <font-name>: (
      'family': <css font family list>,
      'url' (optional): <related part of Google fonts URL>,
      'properties' (optional): (
         <font-alias>: (
            <website-value-key>: <value>,
            ...,
         ),
      ...,
   )
)

Use

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-website-values-palettes: (
   (
      'font':                             '<font-name>',
      'headings-font':                    '<font-name>',
      'navbar-font':                      '<font-name>',
      'buttons-font':                     '<font-name>',
   ),
);
Google fonts
/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-theme-font-configs: (
   'Poppins': (
      'family':                         ('Poppins', sans-serif),
      'url':                            'Poppins:400,500',
      'properties' : (
         'base': (
            'font-size-base':           1rem,
         ),
      ),
   ),
);
Custom fonts

First, create a specific SCSS file to declare your custom font(s).

/website_airproof/__manifest__.py
'assets': {
   'web.assets_frontend': [
      'website_airproof/static/src/scss/font.scss',
   ],
},

Then, use the @font-face rule to allow you custom font(s) to be loaded on your website.

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/font.scss
@font-face {
   font-family: "My Custom Font", Helvetica, Helvetica Neue, Arial, sans-serif;
   font-weight: 400;
   font-style: normal;
   src: url('/fonts/my-custom-font.woff') format('woff'),
        url('/fonts/my-custom-font.woff2') format('woff2');
}
/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-theme-font-configs: (
   'Proxima Nova': (
      'family':                         ('Proxima Nova', sans-serif),
      'properties' : (
         'base': (
            'font-size-base':           1rem,
         ),
      ),
   ),
);

小技巧

It is recommended to use the .woff and/or .woff2 format for your fonts.

Colors

The Website Builder relies on palettes composed of five named colors. Defining those in your theme ensures it stays consistent.

Color

Description

o-color-1

Primary

o-color-2

Secondary

o-color-3

Extra (Light)

o-color-4

Whitish

o-color-5

Blackish

Theme colors

Declaration

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-color-palettes: map-merge($o-color-palettes,
   (
      'airproof': (
         'o-color-1':                    #bedb39,
         'o-color-2':                    #2c3e50,
         'o-color-3':                    #f2f2f2,
         'o-color-4':                    #ffffff,
         'o-color-5':                    #000000,
      ),
   )
);

Add the created palette to the list of palettes offered by the Website Builder.

$o-selected-color-palettes-names: append($o-selected-color-palettes-names, 'airproof');

Use

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-website-values-palettes: (
   (
      'color-palettes-name':              'airproof',
   ),
);
Theme colors Airproof

Color combinations

Based on the previously defined five color palettes, the Website Builder automatically generates five color combinations, each defining a color for the background, text, headings, links, primary buttons, and secondary buttons. These colors can be customized later by the user.

Theme colors

The colors used in a color combination are accessible and can be overridden through $o-color-palettes using a specific prefix (o-cc for color combination).

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-color-palettes: map-merge($o-color-palettes,
   (
      'airproof': (

         'o-cc*-bg':                     'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-text':                   'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-headings':               'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-h2':                     'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-h3':                     'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-h4':                     'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-h5':                     'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-h6':                     'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-link':                   'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-btn-primary':            'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-btn-primary-border':     'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-btn-secondary':          'o-color-*',
         'o-cc*-btn-secondary-border':   'o-color-*',

      ),
   )
);

注解

For each o-cc*, replace the * with the digit (1 - 5) corresponding to the desired color combination.

The default text color is o-color-5. If the background is too dark, it will automatically change to the o-color-4 color.

Demo page

The Website Builder automatically generates a page to view the color combinations of the theme color palette: http://localhost:8069/website/demo/color-combinations

Gradients

You can also define gradients for the menu, header, footer and copyright bar, directly in your primary_variables.scss file.

Declaration

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/primary_variables.scss
$o-website-values-palettes: (
   (
      'menu-gradient': linear-gradient(135deg, rgb(203, 94, 238) 0%, rgb(75, 225, 236) 100%),
      'header-boxed-gradient': [your-gradient],
      'footer-gradient': [your-gradient],
      'copyright-gradient': [your-gradient],
   ),
);

Bootstrap variables

Odoo includes Bootstrap by default. You can use all variables and mixins of the framework.

If Odoo does not provide the variable you are looking for, there could be a Bootstrap variable that allows it. Indeed all Odoo layouts respect Bootstrap structures and use Bootstrap components or their extensions. If you customize a Bootstrap variable, you add a generic style for the whole user website.

Use a dedicated file added to the _assets_frontend_helpers bundle to override Bootstrap values and not the primary_variables.scss file.

Declaration

/website_airproof/__manifest__.py
'assets': {
   'web._assets_frontend_helpers': [
      ('prepend', 'website_airproof/static/src/scss/bootstrap_overridden.scss'),
   ],
},

Use

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/bootstrap_overridden.scss
// Typography
$h1-font-size:                 4rem !default;

// Navbar
$navbar-nav-link-padding-x:    1rem!default;

// Buttons + Forms
$input-placeholder-color:      o-color('o-color-1') !default;

// Cards
$card-border-width:            0 !default;

小技巧

That file must only contain definitions and overrides of SCSS variables and mixins.

警告

Don’t override Bootstrap variables that depend on Odoo variables. Otherwise, you might break the possibility for the user to customize them using the Website Builder.

When an option is defined by a variable in primary_variables.scss and by a Boostrap variable, you should always go for an override through the primary variables. Do it via bootstrap_overridden.scss only if nothing exists in the primary variables.

Font sizes

Odoo has CSS font size classes to separate style (font sizes) and semantic (tag and styles in general). Both logic can be combined to be more flexible.

Text style

Odoo’s Website Builder allows to select a style for your text. Some are just tag related like the Header with no extra CSS class. Other combine tag and style directly applied on them like the Header 1 Display.

Header styles
<!-- h1 with display heading sizes -->
<h1 class="display-1">Heading 1 with Display Heading 1 size</h1>
<h1 class="display-2">Heading 1 with Display Heading 2 size</h1>
<h1 class="display-3">Heading 1 with Display Heading 3 size</h1>
<h1 class="display-4">Heading 1 with Display Heading 4 size</h1>

<!-- Lead text - named "Light" in the dropdown -->
<p class="lead">A text typically used as an introduction.</p>

<!-- Small text -->
<p class="o_small">Body text with a smaller size.</p>
Sizing classes

The sizing classes are added on a freshly created span tag inside the targeted element (See examples below).

Sizing classes
Heading and body text

Assuming these classes can be applied on any text element, take h2 as an example below:

<!-- h2 sized like an h1 -->
<h2><span class="h1-fs">Heading</span></h2>

<!-- h2 sized with other heading sizes -->
<h2><span class="h2-fs">Heading</span></h2>
<h2><span class="h3-fs">Heading</span></h2>
<h2><span class="h4-fs">Heading</span></h2>
<h2><span class="h5-fs">Heading</span></h2>
<h2><span class="h6-fs">Heading</span></h2>

<!-- h2 sized like a normal paragraph (base size, 16px by default) -->
<h2><span class="base-fs">Heading</span></h2>

<!-- h2 sized like a small text (14px by default) -->
<h2><span class="o_small-fs">Heading</span></h2>
Display headings

If larger titles are needed, Odoo uses Bootstrap’s Display Headings classes, from display-1 to 6.

<h2><span class="display-1-fs">Heading</span></h2>
<h2><span class="display-2-fs">Heading</span></h2>
<h2><span class="display-3-fs">Heading</span></h2>
<h2><span class="display-4-fs">Heading</span></h2>

注解

The Website Builder allows the user to configure only sizes from Display 1 to Display 4. You can set the other sizes (5 and 6) to use them in your code but the user won’t be able to modify them directly within the Website Builder interface.

Website settings

Global options related to the website can be set through the website record by following the structure below.

Declaration

/website_airproof/data/website.xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<odoo noupdate="1">
   <record id="website.default_website" model="website">
      <field name="name">Airproof</field>
      <field name="logo" type="base64" file="website_airproof/static/src/img/content/logo_pred.png"/>
      <field name="favicon" type="base64" file="website_airproof/static/description/favicon.png" />
      <field name="shop_ppg">18</field>
      <field name="shop_ppr">3</field>
      <field name="cookies_bar" eval="True" />
      <field name="contact_us_button_url">/contact-us</field>
      <field name="social_facebook">https://www.facebook.com/Airproof</field>
      <field name="social_instagram">https://www.instagram.com/airproof</field>
      <field name="social_linkedin">https://www.linkedin.com/company/airproof</field>
      <field name="social_youtube">https://www.youtube.com/c/airproof</field>
   </record>
</odoo>

Field

Description

name

Name of the website (displayed in the browser)

logo

Path to the logo (previously created into a record)

favicon

Path to the favicon (previously created into a record)

shop_ppg

Number of products shown per page in the e-commerce

shop_ppr

Number of products shown per rows (in a page) in the e-commerce

cookies_bar

Enable/disable the cookies bar

contact_us_button_url

URL of the Contact us page (For instance, used in the standard header templates).

social_facebook

URL of a Facebook profile

social_instagram

URL of a Instagram profile

social_linkedin

URL of a LinkedIn company profile

social_youtube

URL of a YouTube channel

注解

website.default_website is the default reference whenever you work with only one website. If there are several websites in your database, this record will refer to the default site (the first one).

Views

For some options, in addition to the Website Builder variable, you also have to activate a specific view.

By reading the source code, templates related to options are easily found.

<we-button title="..."
   data-name="..."
   data-customize-website-views="website.template_header_default"
   data-customize-website-variable="'...'"
   data-img="..."/>
<template id="..." inherit_id="..." name="..." active="True"/>
<template id="..." inherit_id="..." name="..." active="False"/>

Presets

In order to activate and deactivate views as presets, you should include those inside the presets.xml file.

Use

/website_airproof/data/presets.xml
<record id="module.view" model="ir.ui.view">
      <field name="active" eval="False"/>
</record>

Example

Changing the menu items’ horizontal alignment

/website_airproof/data/presets.xml
<record id="website.template_header_default_align_center" model="ir.ui.view">
   <field name="active" eval="True"/>
</record>

The same logic can be used for others Odoo apps as well.

eCommerce - Display products categories

/website_airproof/data/presets.xml
 <record id="website_sale.products_categories" model="ir.ui.view">
    <field name="active" eval="False"/>
 </record>

Portal - Disable the language selector

/website_airproof/data/presets.xml
<record id="portal.footer_language_selector" model="ir.ui.view">
   <field name="active" eval="False"/>
</record>

Assets

For this part, we will refer to the assets_frontend bundle located in the web module. This bundle specifies the list of assets loaded by the Website Builder, and the goal is to add your SCSS and JS files to the bundle.

This is a non-exhaustive list of the frequently used bundles for a website:

Bundle

Description

web._assets_primary_variables

Mainly used for the primary_variables.scss file

web._assets_secondary_variables

Mainly used for the secondary_variables.scss file

web._assets_frontend_helpers

Mainly used for the bootstrap_overridden.scss file

web.assets_frontend

You can add all your custom SCSS, JS or QWeb JS files

website.assets_wysiwyg

Add your JS files related to the Website Builder options behaviors (for instance, a custom method for your custom building block)

website.assets_wysiwyg

If you need to extend Boostrap through the Bootstrap Utilities API, for example

Styles

The Website Builder together with Bootstrap are great for defining the basic styles of your website. But to design something unique, you should go a step further. For this, you can easily add any SCSS file to your theme.

Declaration

/website_airproof/__manifest__.py
'assets': {
   'web.assets_frontend': [
      'website_airproof/static/src/scss/theme.scss',
   ],
},

Feel free to reuse the variables from your Bootstrap file and the ones used by Odoo in your theme.scss file.

Example

/website_airproof/static/src/scss/theme.scss
 blockquote {
   border-radius: $rounded-pill;
   color: o-color('o-color-3');
   font-family: o-website-value('headings-font');
 }

Interactivity

Odoo supports three different kinds of JavaScript files:

Most new Odoo JavaScript codes should use the native JavaScript module system. It’s simpler and brings the benefit of a better developer experience with better integration with the IDE.

Declaration

/website_airproof/__manifest__.py
'assets': {
   'web.assets_frontend': [
      'website_airproof/static/src/js/theme.js',
   ],
},

注解

If you want to include files from an external library, you can add them to the /lib folder of your module.

小技巧

  • Use a linter (JSHint, …).

  • Never add minified JavaScript libraries.

  • Add 'use strict'; at the top of every old-style module (this is automatic for new-style modules).

  • Use js_ prefixed CSS classes on elements you target with JavaScript.

  • Variables and functions should be camelCased (myVariable) instead of snake_cased (my_variable).

  • Do not name a variable event; use ev instead. This is to avoid bugs on non-Chrome browsers, as Chrome is magically assigning a global event variable (so if you use the event variable without declaring it, it will work fine on Chrome but crash on every other browser).

  • Use strict comparisons (=== instead of ==).

  • Use double quotes for all textual strings (such as "Hello") and single quotes for all other strings, such as a CSS selector .x_nav_item.

  • If you’re using native standard JS functions (start(), willStart(), cleanForSave(), etc), make sure you call this._super.apply(this, arguments); (Check if it’s necessary in the standard code).