Attachment Preview: Office & PDF Viewer

Overview

The app extends Odoo's attachment handling so that office documents preview in place, the same way Odoo already previews images and PDFs. There is nothing to configure and no new menu — once installed, eligible attachments simply become viewable.

It recognises an attachment by its MIME type, and falls back to the file extension when the MIME type is generic or missing. Three rendering paths are used, chosen automatically per file:

The app touches two places in the Odoo web client:

• the chatter attachment view (the document panel that opens beside a record's messages), and

• Odoo's web file-viewer modal (the full-screen overlay you get when you click an attachment).

Wherever Odoo would already show an image or PDF preview, this app adds the office and OpenDocument formats alongside it. SVG files are deliberately left non-previewable for safety.

Requirements

• Odoo: 18.0, Community or Enterprise. The app depends only on the Mail module (mail), which is present on every Odoo install.

• Python: no extra libraries. Nothing is added or compiled on the server.

• Browser: any current desktop browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari). Previews render in an <iframe>, so a browser that blocks third-party iframes will affect the Microsoft-viewer formats.

• Network — important: to preview Microsoft Office and OpenDocument documents (the formats handled by Microsoft's Office Online viewer), your Odoo server must be reachable from the public internet, because Microsoft's service fetches the file from your server to render it. OpenDocument templates and PDFs render without any internet connection. See Data, privacy & limits.

• Access rights: any internal user can preview a file they are allowed to read. Previews are access-checked against Odoo's normal record rules — no special group is added.

Installation

1. Copy bambooforge_office_preview into your Odoo addons path.

2. Restart the Odoo service.

3. Open Apps, click Update Apps List, search for Office & PDF Preview, and press Activate / Install. The Mail dependency is already installed, so the app activates immediately.

There is no companion software to install, no external account to create, and no server package to add.

Configuration

This app is zero-config. There are no settings screens, no menus and no fields to fill in. Once it is installed it works on every eligible attachment for every user who can read that attachment.

The only stored configuration is created automatically: the first time a Microsoft- viewer preview is requested, the app generates a random signing secret and saves it in the system parameter bambooforge_office_preview.token_secret (Settings ▸ Technical ▸ System Parameters). You never need to set or touch this — it is used internally to sign the short-lived preview links described in Data, privacy & limits. Leave it alone unless you are deliberately rotating the secret, in which case deleting the parameter lets the app regenerate a new one.

For the Microsoft-viewer formats, the app builds the file link from Odoo's web.base.url parameter (falling back to the request host). If your public URL is wrong there, the preview link will be wrong too — see Troubleshooting.

Usage

There is no button to "turn on" preview. You simply open a file the way you already do.

From the chatter:

1. Open any record that has messages and attachments (for example a sale order, project task, or any document with a chatter).

2. Click the paperclip / attachment to open the attachment panel beside the chatter.

3. Click an Office, OpenDocument or PDF attachment. It renders inline in the panel — no download.

From the file-viewer modal:

1. Anywhere Odoo shows an attachment chip (chatter, a Many2many attachments field, a message), click the attachment.

2. Odoo opens its full-screen file-viewer overlay. The document renders inside it.

3. Use the viewer controls to scroll/zoom; close the overlay to return to your record.

The preview is read-only: the viewer renders the file for reading and never modifies the stored attachment.

Customization

The app is small and the source is included (OPL-1), so it is straightforward to adjust:

• Which formats are previewable is defined in static/src/core/preview_utils.js — three MIME-type sets (Office, OpenDocument documents, OpenDocument templates) plus an extension-based fallback map (EXT_KIND). Add or remove an entry there to change the supported list.

• The rendering route per format is also in preview_utils.js: the officePreviewSource function returns the Microsoft embed URL (/bambooforge_office_preview/ms_embed/<id>) for documents, or the local ViewerJS URL for OpenDocument templates.

• Link lifetime: the signed Microsoft preview link is valid for 6 hours (_TTL in controllers/main.py). Shorten or lengthen it there.

• Where the iframe appears is set by the QWeb template inheritances in static/src/core/common/attachment_view.xml (chatter) and static/src/core/file_viewer/file_viewer.xml (modal).

After editing any asset, upgrade the module (or run Odoo with --dev=assets) so the web bundle is rebuilt.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

Does it need any configuration? No. It is zero-config: install it and eligible attachments become previewable for everyone who can read them.

Does my server need internet access? For Microsoft Office and OpenDocument documents (Word/Excel/PowerPoint, .odt/.ods/ .odp), yes — Microsoft's Office Online viewer fetches the file from your server, so it must be reachable from the internet. OpenDocument templates and PDFs render locally and need no internet.

Are my files sent to Microsoft? To render Office and OpenDocument documents, Microsoft's Office Online viewer accesses the file via a short-lived, signed link — the same as opening the file on Office.com. OpenDocument templates and PDFs render locally in your browser and are never sent out. See Data, privacy & limits.

Are the preview links secure? Yes. Generating a preview is access-checked (the user must be allowed to read the file), and the link Microsoft uses is a short-lived, HMAC-signed token that expires after 6 hours. There is no permanent public file URL.

Which file types are supported? Word, Excel and PowerPoint (including macro and template variants), OpenDocument text/ spreadsheet/presentation and their templates, PDF, RTF and plain text — over 20 formats in all. The full list is in What this app does.

Where do previews appear? In the mail/chatter attachment view and in Odoo's web file-viewer modal.

Can I edit a document in the preview? No. It is preview-only; the viewer renders the file for reading and never modifies it.

Does it work in Odoo Enterprise? Yes. It depends only on the Mail module and works on Community and Enterprise.

What support and refund policy do I get? Every request is answered within 24 hours, setup help included. If you report a bug within 2 months of purchase and it is not resolved within 15 days, you are entitled to a full money-back refund.

Data, privacy & limits

Be precise about where each file goes — it differs by format:

• Microsoft Office documents and OpenDocument documents (Word/Excel/PowerPoint, .rtf, .txt, .odt, .ods, .odp) are rendered by Microsoft's Office Online viewer, a third-party service. To render them, Microsoft's service fetches the file content from your Odoo server over the internet (the same as opening the file on Office.com). For these formats the file content leaves your server and is processed by Microsoft.

• OpenDocument templates (.ott, .otp, .ots) are rendered by the bundled ViewerJS / WebODF entirely in your browser. The file content does not go to any external service.

• PDFs use Odoo's built-in PDF viewer — local, unchanged by this app.

How the Microsoft link is protected:

• A preview is only generated after an access check — the requesting user must have read access to the attachment under Odoo's record rules.

• Microsoft is handed a short-lived, HMAC-signed token (valid 6 hours) pointing at a file route that verifies the signature and expiry. There is no permanent public file URL; a leaked link stops working when it expires.

• The signing secret is generated randomly on first use and stored in the system parameter bambooforge_office_preview.token_secret.

Limits / out of scope:

• Preview-only — no editing, no annotation, no in-document text search.

• Fully on-prem / offline rendering for all formats is not included today (only templates and PDF render offline). It is on the roadmap.

• The Microsoft viewer's rendering fidelity and availability are governed by Microsoft.

Support & updates

• Support: support@bambooforge.dev — answered within 24 hours, setup help included.

• Refund: report a bug within 2 months of purchase; if it is not resolved within 15 days, you receive a full refund.

• Full source is included (OPL-1). Updates track the supported Odoo 18 line.

Upgrading & version compatibility

This build targets Odoo 18.0. Each Odoo major series (17.0, 18.0, 19.0) has its own dedicated build of this module — always install the build that matches your Odoo version. Mixing a build with a different Odoo series is not supported.

Uninstallation

You can remove this module at any time from Apps → (this module) → Uninstall, or from the command line. Uninstalling is clean and reversible by reinstalling — but note what is and is not deleted.

Changelog