Wizard Creation & Management Odoo 18

Developer building batch operations creates workflow chaos: user needs to send WhatsApp messages to 50 customers, creates 50-field form showing every single customer field (name/email/phone/address/tax ID/payment terms) overwhelming user with irrelevant data, form modifies permanent customer records causing accidental data overwrites when user types in wrong field, no cancellation option forcing browser back button to exit, and no guided multi-step process—creating user confusion and data integrity risks from complex permanent model forms instead of simple temporary wizard interfaces guiding users through focused single-purpose tasks.

Odoo 18 Wizards enable temporary task-focused interfaces through TransientModel classes (data auto-deleted after action), popup dialog display (target='new' non-disruptive workflow), context pre-population from source records, focused field collection (only relevant inputs), action buttons executing business logic, cancel functionality, and multi-step workflows—separating temporary user input from permanent data models reducing development complexity 60% while improving UX through guided task completion preventing accidental data modification of source records.

What is Wizard?

Temporary popup interface for focused task completion:

• Transient Data: Not stored permanently, auto-deleted after use
• Popup Dialog: Opens in overlay window, doesn't navigate away from current page
• Task-Focused: Collects only necessary inputs for specific action
• Isolated: Doesn't directly modify source records until action confirmed

Wizard Components

Four core components required:

1. TransientModel (Python): Defines wizard data structure
2. Form View (XML): Defines wizard UI layout
3. Action Method (Python): Business logic executed on button click
4. Trigger (XML/Python): Button or menu opening wizard

Example: WhatsApp Message Wizard

Complete wizard implementation for sending WhatsApp messages from contact records.

Step 1: Create Transient Model

File: models/whatsapp_send_message.py

from odoo import fields, models

class WhatsappSendMessage(models.TransientModel):
    _name = 'whatsapp.send.message'
    _description = "Whatsapp Wizard"
    
    user_id = fields.Many2one('res.partner', string="Recipient")
    mobile = fields.Char(
        related='user_id.mobile', 
        required=True
    )
    message = fields.Text(string="Message", required=True)
    
    def action_send_message(self):
        """Send WhatsApp message logic here"""
        # Implementation: integrate with WhatsApp API
        # Use self.mobile and self.message
        pass

Code Explanation:

Step 2: Add Button to Contact Form

File: views/res_partner_views.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<odoo>
    <record id="view_partner_form" model="ir.ui.view">
        <field name="name">res.partner.view.form.inherit.whatsapp</field>
        <field name="model">res.partner</field>
        <field name="inherit_id" ref="base.view_partner_form"/>
        <field name="arch" type="xml">
            <!-- Add WhatsApp button to partner form -->
            <xpath expr="//div[@name='button_box']" position="inside">
                <div class="oe_button_box" name="button_box">
                    <button name="action_send_msg" 
                            string="Whatsapp"
                            type="object"
                            class="oe_stat_button" 
                            icon="fa-whatsapp"/>
                </div>
            </xpath>
        </field>
    </record>
</odoo>

XML Explanation:

Step 3: Create Action Method

File: models/res_partner.py

from odoo import models, _

class ResPartner(models.Model):
    _inherit = 'res.partner'
    
    def action_send_msg(self):
        """Opens wizard to send WhatsApp message"""
        return {
            'type': 'ir.actions.act_window',
            'name': _('Whatsapp Message'),
            'res_model': 'whatsapp.send.message',
            'target': 'new',
            'view_mode': 'form',
            'view_type': 'form',
            'context': {'default_user_id': self.id},
        }

Action Dictionary Explanation:

Step 4: Create Wizard View

File: views/whatsapp_send_message_views.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<odoo>
    <!-- Wizard Form View -->
    <record id="whatsapp_send_message_view_form" model="ir.ui.view">
        <field name="name">whatsapp.send.message.view.form</field>
        <field name="model">whatsapp.send.message</field>
        <field name="priority" eval="8"/>
        <field name="arch" type="xml">
            <form string="Whatsapp Message">
                <group>
                    <field name="user_id"/>
                    <field name="mobile"/>
                </group>
                <group>
                    <field name="message"/>
                </group>
                <footer>
                    <button name="action_send_message" 
                            string="Send" 
                            type="object"/>
                    <button name="cancel" 
                            string="Cancel" 
                            special="cancel"/>
                </footer>
            </form>
        </field>
    </record>
</odoo>

View Structure:

Complete Workflow

Context Pre-Population

Pass data from source record to wizard:

'context': {
    'default_user_id': self.id,
    'default_message': 'Hello from our company!',
}

Multi-Step Wizards

Create wizards with multiple pages:

Best Practices

Always Use TransientModel for Wizards: Using models.Model instead of models.TransientModel = permanent database storage. Wizard data accumulates forever causing database bloat. 1000 wizard uses = 1000 permanent records never deleted. TransientModel auto-deletes after completion keeping database clean.

Include Cancel Button Always: Wizard without cancel button = user stuck forcing browser back button or page refresh. Confusing UX frustrating users. Always include: <button special="cancel"/> providing clean exit path.

Pre-Populate Fields via Context: Empty wizard forcing user to re-select current record = terrible UX. Context pre-population: wizard opens already knowing contact = user just fills message not re-entering recipient. Saves 3+ clicks per use improving efficiency 60%.

Common Wizard Patterns

file = fields.Binary(string="File")
filename = fields.Char()

def action_import(self):
    # Parse file, create records

new_status = fields.Selection([...])

def action_mass_update(self):
    active_ids = self.env.context.get('active_ids')
    records = self.env['model.name'].browse(active_ids)
    records.write({'status': self.new_status})

date_from = fields.Date()
date_to = fields.Date()
format = fields.Selection([('pdf', 'PDF'), ('xlsx', 'Excel')])

def action_generate_report(self):
    return self.env.ref('module.report_action').report_action(self)

Conclusion

Odoo 18 Wizards enable temporary task-focused interfaces through TransientModel classes, popup dialogs, context pre-population, and focused field collection. Reduce development complexity 60% while improving UX through guided workflows separating temporary input from permanent data preventing accidental modifications and database bloat through automatic data cleanup after task completion.