Attachment Preview for Documents (Enterprise)

Overview

The Enterprise Documents app lists every file you store in Odoo, but its built-in preview only opens a handful of formats inline; Office and most LibreOffice files fall back to a plain download. This module closes that gap.

It patches the Documents kanban, list and activity views so that a file is treated as viewable whenever the underlying BambooForge Office & PDF Preview engine can render it. When you open such a file in Documents, the file viewer shows it inline instead of forcing a download.

Formats recognised (inherited from the base preview engine):

The module adds no new menus, models or settings of its own. It only extends the existing Documents views. Folders are never treated as previewable.

Requirements

• Odoo: 18.0 Enterprise only. The Documents app ships only with Odoo Enterprise, so this module cannot install on Community.

• Base module: BambooForge Office & PDF Preview: Inline Attachment Viewer (technical name bambooforge_office_preview). This module depends on it and reuses its preview engine — install it too (it is the module that actually renders the files).

• Documents app: technical name documents. This is a hard dependency and is installed automatically when you install this module.

• Python: no extra libraries beyond a standard Odoo 18 Enterprise install.

• Odoo access: any internal user who can open the Documents app sees the inline previews — there is nothing extra to grant.

• Network: most formats render in the browser, but Microsoft Office and ODF document files are rendered through the Microsoft Office Online viewer, which requires the file to be reachable over the public internet. See Data, privacy & limits for exactly what leaves your server.

The exact dependency line from the manifest is:

'depends': ['bambooforge_office_preview', 'documents']

Installation

1. Copy both bambooforge_office_preview and bambooforge_office_preview_documents into your Odoo addons path.

2. Restart the Odoo service.

3. Open Apps, click Update Apps List, search for Office Preview for Documents, and press Activate / Install.

The Documents app and the base Office & PDF Preview module install automatically as dependencies.

Because this module is marked auto_install, it also installs itself automatically the moment both bambooforge_office_preview and documents are present in the same database — so if you already run the base preview module and the Documents app, this companion comes along on the next Apps update.

After installation, hard-refresh your browser (Ctrl/Cmd-Shift-R) once so the new JavaScript assets load.

Configuration

There is nothing to configure. The module ships zero settings, zero menus and zero scheduled actions. It only patches the Documents views to recognise the extra formats. Installing it is the whole setup.

If your organisation restricts which file formats the Microsoft Office Online viewer may reach (for example via a firewall), see Data, privacy & limits — that is the only network consideration, and it is inherited from the base module, not configured here.

Usage

1. Open the Documents app from the main Odoo menu.

2. Upload (or locate) an Office, LibreOffice, PDF or image file — for example a .docx or .xlsx.

3. Click the file to open it, exactly as you already do for PDFs.

4. The file opens inline in the viewer instead of downloading: Word/Excel/ PowerPoint and ODF documents render in the embedded viewer, ODF templates render with the bundled local ViewerJS engine, and PDFs/images use Odoo's native viewer.

This works in all three Documents layouts — the Kanban (card) view, the List view, and the Activity view — because the module patches each one. Folders are never opened as previews; only files are.

If a format is not in the supported list above, the file behaves exactly as it did before installing the module (Odoo's default download/preview), so nothing you relied on breaks.

Customization

The set of previewable formats lives in the base module (bambooforge_office_preview), in static/src/core/preview_utils.js — the isOfficePreviewable helper that this module calls. To add or remove a format, edit the MIME-type / extension tables there; this Documents companion automatically follows whatever the base module recognises, with no change needed here.

This module itself contains only three small view patches (documents_view/kanban, .../list, .../activity), each overriding the record's isViewable() method. If you maintain your own Documents view overrides, be aware these patches stack on top of the standard ones via Odoo's patch utility.

Troubleshooting

Frequently asked questions

Does this work on Odoo Community? No. It depends on the Enterprise Documents app, which does not exist in Community. You need Odoo 18 Enterprise.

Do I need the other BambooForge preview module too? Yes. This module is the Documents companion to BambooForge Office & PDF Preview; it reuses that module's rendering engine and lists it as a hard dependency. Both are installed automatically as dependencies when you install this one.

Will it install by itself? Yes — it is an auto-install module. Once both the base preview module and the Documents app are in the database, this companion installs on the next Apps update without you selecting it.

Which file formats are supported? Word, Excel, PowerPoint, the common LibreOffice/ODF documents and templates, RTF, plain text, PDF and images — see the table under What this app does.

Does my document leave the server? For PDFs, images and ODF templates, no — they render locally in the browser. Microsoft Office files and ODF documents are rendered by the Microsoft Office Online viewer, so those files are fetched over the public internet by Microsoft. See Data, privacy & limits.

Does it add any settings or menus? No. There is nothing to configure; installing it is the whole setup.

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

• This module stores no data and adds no models, fields or scheduled actions. It only changes how the Documents views decide whether a file is previewable.

• Rendered locally (no upload): PDFs and images use Odoo's native viewer; ODF template files (.ott .ots .otp) render with the bundled ViewerJS/WebODF engine in your browser.

• Rendered via Microsoft (file leaves your server): Microsoft Office files and ODF document bodies (.odt .ods .odp) are shown through the Microsoft Office Online viewer. To do that, the base module exposes a short-lived, access-checked link that Microsoft fetches over the public internet. If you cannot allow that for confidential documents, download those files instead — PDFs, images and ODF templates still preview locally.

• In scope: inline preview of the listed formats in the Documents kanban, list and activity views.

• Out of scope: editing files in place, converting between formats, and previewing formats outside the supported list (those keep Odoo's default behaviour).

Support & updates

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

• Refund: report a bug within 2 months of purchase; if unresolved within 15 days, full refund.

• Full source is included. Updates track the supported Odoo 18 Enterprise line and the base BambooForge Office & PDF Preview module.

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