Many Odoo users have noticed the many user-friendly options that Odoo provides to aid in the collection of data through custom forms. These types of widgets can include everything from date and color pickers to image uploaders and dropdown lists, all of which help to enhance the overall user experience in Odoo.
The Odoo 19 release contains many built-in widget options that will provide a wide variety of types of functionality, including everything from basic text fields to advanced and interactive options. Learning how to use these widgets correctly will allow you to create a better user experience when creating custom forms in Odoo.
Why Widgets Matter
Widgets serve as an intermediary between the raw fields in a database (i.e., PostgreSQL) and the users who will be working with those fields. For example, if a user is viewing a date field that was saved in PostgreSQL as a string, it is unlikely to be very useful to them until that string is converted into a usable format, such as a date picker. This same principle applies to selection fields, file uploads, or related records, where the widget provides the key to making it easy or difficult for the user to flow through their task.
The Widget system has evolved drastically since Odoo Version 19. The framework enables the developer to define how to display & manage record data via forms, list views, and even at the Point Of Sale (POS). As you develop either a simple contact form or a more elaborate dashboard used for managing multiple tracked projects, the widget system will optimally perform the work required to render & respond to the user actions within those systems.
Types of Widgets You'll Actually Use
Char Widgets
Text input looks straightforward until you actually need to validate what someone types, add autocomplete suggestions, or format things in a specific way. Char widgets in Odoo 19 take care of all that—whether you're dealing with plain text, URLs, email addresses, or phone numbers. They'll enforce the patterns you need, offer helpful completions as users type, and can even kick off actions whenever a value gets changed.
For a detailed walkthrough of implementing Char widgets, check out our guide on Char Widgets.
Date Widgets
Date and datetime widgets show up in practically every business app you'll build. Odoo 19's date widgets already include calendar pickers, handle timezone conversions automatically, and adapt to whatever locale your users are in. They work just as well on a desktop browser as they do on mobile devices.
Learn more about configuring date widgets in our tutorial on Date Widgets.
Binary and Image Widgets
File uploads and image previews used to mean writing your own JavaScript from scratch. These days, Odoo 19's binary and image widgets handle the whole process—picking files, generating thumbnails, creating download links, all of it. You'll find them especially handy for product catalogs, employee profiles, and anywhere you're managing documents.
Dive into implementation details in our post about Binary/Image Widgets.
Many2one Dropdown Widgets
Relational data can get messy in a hurry. How do you help users pick from thousands of records without burying them in options? Many2one dropdown widgets tackle this with search-as-you-type functionality, smart filtering, and custom display options. They're basically required whenever you're connecting customers, products, projects, or any other records that reference each other.
See practical examples in our guide to Many2one Dropdown Widgets.
Kanban Widgets
Kanban views deserve their own approach. Kanban widgets give you cards with custom layouts, drag-and-drop controls, and interactive bits that respond to clicks and actions. They're the reason Odoo's project management and CRM modules feel so visual and responsive when you're moving deals through stages or tasks across columns.
Explore Kanban customization in our tutorial on Kanban Widgets.
Custom JavaScript Widgets
Sometimes what comes standard just doesn't cut it. Maybe you need a signature pad, a barcode scanner interface, or some kind of custom data visualization that Odoo doesn't ship with. Building your own JavaScript widgets in Odoo 19 is pretty straightforward thanks to the Owl framework.
Learn how to create custom controls in our deep dive on Custom JS Widgets.
How Widgets Work Under the Hood
At their core, widgets are just components that show field values and deal with whatever users type or click. When you drop widget="date" into a field in your XML view, you're basically telling Odoo to spin up the date widget component, hand it the current value, and hook up all the event listeners.
Odoo 19 runs on the Owl framework for everything on the frontend, widgets included. This means they're reactive—when the data behind them changes, they update automatically, and when users interact with them, they fire off events. The framework takes care of all the tedious DOM manipulation and state tracking, so you don't have to.
Choosing the Right Widget
The default widget for a field type usually gets the job done, but sometimes you need something more tailored:
- Use widget="email" instead of plain char for email fields—you'll get validation and clickable mailto links
- Switch to widget="image" instead of widget="binary" when you want thumbnail previews instead of just download buttons
- Try widget="many2many_tags" for a cleaner look on many2many fields than the standard list view
- Consider widget="monetary" for currency fields so you get proper formatting and the currency symbol in the right spot
The documentation has a complete list of available widgets. But honestly, the best way to learn is by poking around existing Odoo modules and seeing what actually works well in practice.
Performance Considerations
Widgets run entirely in the browser, which means they need to stay lean. If you build heavy widgets that crunch numbers or try to display massive amounts of data, your forms will bog down during loading. Odoo 19 does help—it lazy-loads widgets and only renders what's actually visible on screen—but you still need to watch yourself when creating custom widgets.
When you're working with large datasets, go with search widgets rather than trying to load everything at once. If you've got complex calculations to run, push that work to the backend and use computed fields instead. Your widget's job is handling presentation and user interaction, not running business logic.
Widgets in Different Views
Widgets behave differently depending on context:
- Form views: Full interactivity, all widget features available
- List views: Simplified rendering, limited interaction
- Kanban views: Custom layouts, drag-and-drop support
- POS interface: Touch-optimized, performance-critical
Understanding these contexts helps you choose widgets that work across all the places your fields appear.
Where to Start
If you're just getting started with Odoo widgets, don't try to learn everything at once. Begin with the everyday essentials: char widgets for text input, date widgets for calendar selection, and selection widgets for dropdown lists. Spend time working with these in your XML views until you feel comfortable matching widgets to their corresponding field types.
After you've got those basics down, move on to binary widgets—they're what you need when users want to upload documents or images. Many2one widgets come next, and they're worth the effort since they handle how users pick related records from other models.
Once you're confident with what Odoo gives you out of the box, you'll probably hit scenarios where the standard widgets don't quite fit what you're trying to build. That's when custom JavaScript widgets become your best friend.
Making Forms That Users Love
Good form design goes beyond just working correctly—it's really about lightening the mental effort and making data entry feel smooth and natural. When you pick the right widgets, users instantly grasp what they need to do, mistakes get caught before submission, and fixing things becomes straightforward.
Pay attention to how your forms actually flow in practice. Put related fields together, match widgets to what the data actually is, and throw in placeholders and tooltips where they help. Little things matter—swap a plain text field for a color picker when someone needs to enter hex codes, and you'll notice the difference every single day.
Odoo 19 hands you everything you need to craft interfaces people don't just tolerate but actively enjoy using. Whether you're tweaking what comes standard or building your own thing from the ground up, getting comfortable with widgets pays off every time you open a form.
To read more about How to create a field widget in Odoo 19, refer to our blog How to create a field widget in Odoo 19.