Chatter¶

The Chatter feature is integrated throughout Odoo to streamline communication, maintain traceability, and provide accountability among team members. Chatter windows, known as composers, are located on almost every record within the database, and allow users to communicate with both internal users and external contacts.

Chatter composers also enable users to log notes, upload files, and schedule activities.

Chatter thread¶

A chatter thread can be found on most pages in the database, and serves as a record of the updates and edits made to a record. A note is logged in the chatter thread when a change is made. The note includes details of the change, and a time stamp.

Example

A user, Mitchell Admin, needs to update the email address of a contact. After they save the changes to the contact record, a note is logged in the chatter of the contact record with the following information:

• The date when the change occurred.

• The email address as it was previously listed.

• The updated email address.

If a record was created, or edited, via an imported file, or was otherwise updated through an intervention by the system, the chatter thread creates a log note, and credits the change to OdooBot.

Add followers¶

A follower is a user or contact that is added to a record and is notified when the record is updated, based on specific follower subscription settings. Followers can add themselves, or can be added by another user.

To follow a record, navigate to any record with a chatter thread. For example, to open a Helpdesk ticket, navigate to Helpdesk app ‣ Tickets ‣ All Tickets, and select a ticket from the list to open it.

At the top-right, above the chatter composer, click Follow. Doing this changes the button to read Following. Click it again to Unfollow.

Manage followers¶

To add another user, or contact, as a follower, click the (user) icon. This opens a drop-down list of the current followers. Click Add Followers to open an Invite Follower pop-up window.

Select one or more contacts from the Recipients drop-down list. To notify the contacts, tick the Send Notification checkbox. Edit the message template as desired, then click Add Followers.

To remove followers, click the (user) icon to open the current followers list. Find the name of the follower to be removed, and click the (remove) icon.

Edit follower subscription¶

The updates a follower receives can vary based on their subscription settings. To see the type of updates a follower is subscribed to, and to edit the list, click the (user) icon. Find the appropriate follower in the list, then click the (pencil) icon. This opens the Edit Subscription pop-up window for the follower.

The list of available subscription settings varies depending on the record type. For example, a follower of a Helpdesk ticket may be informed when the ticket is rated. This option would not be available for the followers of a CRM opportunity.

Tick the checkbox for any updates the follower should receive, and clear the checkbox for any updates they should not receive. Click Apply when finished.

Log notes¶

The chatter function includes the ability to log internal notes on individual records. These notes are only accessible to internal users, and are available on any records that feature a chatter thread.

To log an internal note, first navigate to a record. For example, to open a CRM opportunity, navigate to CRM app ‣ Sales ‣ My Pipeline, and click on the Kanban card of an opportunity to open it. Then, at the top-right, above the chatter composer, click Log note.

Enter the note in the chatter composer. To tag an internal user, type @, and begin typing the name of the person to tag. Then, select a name from the drop-down menu. Depending on their notification settings, the user is notified by email, or through Odoo.

Send messages¶

Chatter composers can send messages to outside contacts, without having to leave the database, or open a different application. This makes it easy to communicate with potential customers in the Sales and CRM applications, or vendors in the Purchase app.

To send a message, first navigate to a record. For example, to send a message from a CRM opportunity, navigate to CRM app ‣ Sales ‣ My Pipeline, and click on the Kanban card of an opportunity to open it. Then, at the top-right, above the chatter composer, click Send message.

If any followers have been added to the record, they are added as recipients of the message.

Expand full composer¶

The chatter composer can be expanded to a larger pop-up window, allowing for additional customizations.

To open the full composer, click the (expand) icon in the bottom-right corner of the composer window.

Doing this opens a Compose Email pop-up window. Confirm or edit the intended Recipients of the message, or add additional recipients. The Subject field auto-populates based on the title of the record, though it can be edited, if desired.

To use an email template for the message, select it from the drop-down menu in the Load template field.

Click (paperclip) icon to add any files to the message, then click Send.

Edit sent messages¶

Messages can be edited after they are sent, to fix typos, correct mistakes, or add missing information.

To edit a sent message, click the (ellipsis) icon menu to the right of the message. Then, select Edit. Make any necessary adjustments to the message.

To save the changes, press Ctrl + Enter. To discard the changes, press Escape.

Search messages¶

Chatter threads can become long after a while, because of all the information they contain. To make it easier to find a specific entry, users can search the text of messages and notes for specific keywords.

First, select a record with a chatter thread. For example, to search a CRM opportunity, navigate to CRM app ‣ Sales ‣ My Pipeline, and click on the Kanban card of an opportunity to open it. Then, at the top-right, above the chatter composer, click the (search) icon to open the search bar.

Enter a keyword or phrase into the search bar, then hit Enter, or click the (search) icon to the right of the search bar. Any messages or notes containing the keyword or phrase entered are listed below the search bar, with the keyword highlighted.

To be taken directly to a particular message in the chatter thread, hover over the upper-right corner of the result to reveal a Jump button. Click this button to be directed to that message’s location in the thread.

Schedule activities¶

Activities are follow-up tasks tied to a record in an Odoo database. Activities can be scheduled on any database page that contains a chatter thread, Kanban view, list view, or activities view of an application.

To schedule an activity through a chatter thread, click the Activities button, located at the top of the chatter on any record. On the Schedule Activity pop-up window that appears, select an Activity Type from the drop-down menu.

Enter a title for the activity in the Summary field, located in the Schedule Activity pop-up window.

Select a name from the Assigned to drop-down menu to assign the activity to a different user. Otherwise, the user creating the activity is automatically assigned.

Add any additional information in the optional Log a note… field.

Lastly, click one of the following buttons:

• Schedule: adds the activity to the chatter under Planned activities.

• Mark as Done: adds the details of the activity to the chatter under Today. The activity is not scheduled, it is automatically marked as completed.

• Done & Schedule Next: adds the task under Today marked as done, and opens a new activity window.

• Discard: discards any changes made on the pop-up window.

Scheduled activities are added to the chatter for the record under Planned activities, and are color-coded based on their due date.

• Red icons indicate an overdue activity.

• Yellow icons indicate an activity with a due date scheduled for the current date.

• Green icons indicate an activity with a due date scheduled in the future.

Tip

Click the (info) icon next to a planned activity to see additional details.

After completing an activity, click Mark Done under the activity entry in the chatter. This opens a Mark Done pop-up window, where additional notes about the activity can be entered. After adding any comments to the pop-up window, click: Done & Schedule Next, Done, or Discard.

After the activity is marked complete, an entry with the activity type, title, and any other details that were included in the pop-up window are listed in the chatter.

Attach files¶

Files can be added as attachments in the chatter, either to send with messages, or to include with a record.

To attach a file, click the (paperclip) icon located at the top of the chatter composer of any record that contains a chatter thread.

This opens a file explorer pop-up window. Navigate to the desired file, select it, then click Open to add it to the record. Alternatively, files can be dragged and dropped directly onto a chatter thread.

After files have been added, they are listed in the chatter thread, under a Files heading.

Note

After at least one file has been added to a chatter record, a new button labeled Attach files appears below the Files heading. To attach any additional files, this is the button that must be used, instead of the (paperclip) icon at the top of the chatter thread.

After the Files section heading appears in the thread, clicking the (paperclip) icon no longer opens a file explorer pop-up window. Instead, clicking the (paperclip) icon toggles the Files section from visible to invisible in the chatter thread.

Integrations¶

Beyond the standard features, additional integrations can be enabled to work with the chatter feature, specifically WhatsApp and Google Translate.

WhatsApp¶

WhatsApp is an instant messaging and voice-over-IP app that allows users to send and receive messages, as well as share content.

After WhatsApp has been configured and enabled within a database, a WhatsApp button is added above the chatter composer on any applicable record. If one or more approved WhatsApp templates are found for that model, clicking this button opens a Send WhatsApp Message pop-up window.

Google Translate¶

Google Translate can be used to translate user-generated text in the Odoo chatter.

To enable Google Translate on a database, an API key must first be created through the Google API Console.

After creating the API key, navigate to the Settings app ‣ Discuss section and paste the key in the Message Translation field. Click Save to save the changes.

Translate a chatter message¶

To translate a user’s text from another language, click the (ellipsis) menu to the right of the chatter. Then, select Translate. The content translates to the language set in the user’s preferences.