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One2many on parent forms

When a form shows a One2many field (order_line_ids, comment_ids, …), the framework renders an embedded sub-grid (dialog table or inline editable table). Three things are configured independently:

Concern Controls Doc below
How users edit children widget="dialog" vs widget="inline" Edit mode
Which columns appear in the grid list_view, columns, or default Column layout
Which form opens for a row / Add form_view or default Form view for links

This page covers column layout and form view selection. For list page domains (standalone /web/views/... URLs), see Building UIs → Fixed domain.

Column layout

The sub-grid needs a list of comodel fields to show as columns. There are four ways to supply that list, in priority order:

Priority Mechanism List view record required?
1 columns=[...] on the parent form field spec No
2 list_view="..." on the parent form field spec Yes
3 list_view="..." on the One2many field in the model Yes
4 Default: lowest ir.ui.view id for view_type="list" on the comodel Yes (if any exist)
5 Fallback: every stored scalar on the comodel (except nested O2m/M2m) No

If the comodel has no list view and you omit columns and list_view, you get row (5) — often too many columns. Prefer columns= for lightweight embeds or register a dedicated list view for a full grid.

columns — ad-hoc grid (no list view)

Define columns only on the parent form (or on the model field). Same entries as a list view arch["fields"]: bare names or field(...) dicts.

from pyvelm.builders import Field, FormView, ViewsData

views_data = (
    ViewsData.make()
    .views(
        FormView.make("order.form")
        .model("sales.order")
        .section(
            "lines",
            "Lines",
            [
                Field.make("line_ids")
                .widget("dialog")
                .columns(["product_id", Field.make("active").toggle()])
                .form_view("order.line.form"),
            ],
        ),
    )
)

On the model (default for every form that shows the field):

line_ids = One2many(
    "sales.order.line",
    "order_id",
    columns=["body", "active"],
    form_view="demo_comment.form",
)
  • Nested One2many / Many2many columns are skipped (they need full form width).
  • Inline columns do not enable drag-reorder; use a list view with sequence= on the arch for that.

list_view — reuse a registered list view

Point at an existing view_type="list" declaration (in the module's views_data / VIEWS and synced to ir.ui.view). The embedded table uses that view's columns and its optional sequence field for drag handles.

On the model:

invoice_line_ids = One2many(
    "account.move.line",
    "move_id",
    list_view="account.move.line.invoice",
    form_view="account.move.line.invoice.form",
)

entry_line_ids = One2many(
    "account.move.line",
    "move_id",
    list_view="account.move.line.entry",
    form_view="account.move.line.entry.form",
)

On one parent form only (overrides the model default):

field("line_ids", widget="dialog", list_view="account.move.line.entry")

View reference syntax

Same rules as menu view= and dashboard widgets:

Form Example Resolves to
Short name (parent form's module) "move.line.invoice" (parent_module, "move.line.invoice")
Slash-qualified "account/move.line.invoice" ("account", "move.line.invoice")
Tuple ("account", "move.line.invoice") as given

The resolved view must exist, target the comodel of the One2many, and have view_type="list". If the name is missing or wrong, the framework falls back to the lowest-id list view on that model, then to the scalar fallback.

What list_view is not

  • Not a call to list_view() inline — the builder returns a full view dict for VIEWS, not a field parameter:
# Wrong — do not pass the builder result into field()
field("line_ids", list_view=list_view("x.list", "my.model", fields=[...]))

# Right — string name of a view already in VIEWS / ir.ui.view
field("line_ids", list_view="x.list")
  • Not a replacement for columns= — use columns when you never registered a standalone list page for the comodel.

Dialog mode and inline tables link each row (and Add) to a form view on the comodel. Configure it the same way as list_view:

Where Example
Model field form_view="demo_comment.form" on One2many(...)
Parent form arch field("comment_ids", form_view="other.form")

Reference syntax is identical to list_view (short name, slash, or tuple). The view must be view_type="form" on the comodel.

If omitted, the framework picks the comodel form view with the lowest ir.ui.view id (same legacy rule list views used to use).

Add navigates to:

/web/views/<module>/<form_view>/new?<inverse_name>=<parent_id>

After save in the dialog, the parent table refreshes (data-pv-dialog-refresh).

If the comodel has no form view, One2many falls back to a chip summary (no table / dialog).

Edit mode: dialog vs inline

Dialog / Inline toggle (edit_toggle)

Instead of duplicating fields or notebook pages, enable a segmented Dialog | Inline grid switch on one field:

field(
    "state_ids",
    widget="dialog",          # default mode when the form loads
    edit_toggle=True,
    list_view="move.line.compact",
    form_view="move.line.form",
    columns=["name", "short_code", "code", "type"],
)
  • Dialog — read-only sub-table on the parent form; row / Add open the comodel form in the floating dialog (saves on the child form).
  • Inline grid — editable cells on the parent form (saved on parent Save).

The choice is remembered per record in localStorage (key pv-o2m-edit-<model>-<id>-<field_name>). Only one pane is visible at a time; the inactive pane is hidden with CSS (data-o2m-mode on the toggle root) so it is not submitted with the parent form.

On display forms, edit_toggle is ignored — you always get the dialog table until you click Edit on the parent record.

Excel-style keyboard (inline / table widget)

Inline grids (widget="inline" or widget="table") support spreadsheet-style navigation (since v0.20.x):

Key Action
Tab / Shift+Tab Next / previous editable cell (wraps across rows)
Enter Move to the cell below (Shift+Enter = newline in textarea)
Arrow keys Move between cells; in text fields, arrows move the caret until the edge, then jump cells
Ctrl/Cmd + arrows Always jump cells
Escape Clear the active-cell highlight
Click Focus the cell editor

The active cell is highlighted. Add a line appends a row and focuses the first column; Tab past the last cell on the last row also triggers Add a line.

Many2one comboboxes keep their own ↑/↓/Enter behaviour while the dropdown is open.

widget One2many behaviour
dialog (default when a comodel form exists) Read-only table; edit in floating dialog; child save is separate from parent Save.
inline or table Editable cells on the parent form; create/update/delete on parent Save. 
section(
    "lines",
    "Lines",
    [
        field("invoice_line_ids", widget="dialog", list_view="move.line.invoice"),
        field("rate_ids", widget="inline", columns=["name", "rate"]),
    ],
)

Column selection (list_view / columns) applies to both modes.

See Building UIs → Relational fields for Many2many and more UI detail.

Tabbed notebooks on the parent form

When several One2many fields (or other heavy widgets) should not all appear on one long scroll, group them in a notebook — each tab is a page(...) with its own field list:

from pyvelm.builders import field, form_view, notebook, page, section

form_view(
    "move.form", "account.move",
    sections=[
        section("header", "Header", ["partner_id", "date"]),
        notebook("lines", pages=[
            page(
                "invoice",
                "Invoice lines",
                [field("invoice_line_ids", list_view="move.line.invoice")],
            ),
            page(
                "entry",
                "Journal items",
                [field("entry_line_ids", list_view="move.line.entry")],
            ),
        ]),
    ],
)

See Building UIs → Form views. View inheritance targets notebook fields with paths like ["sections", "lines", "pages", "invoice", "fields", "qty"].

Worked example: two grids on one comodel

account.move.line might power both an invoice lines grid and a journal entry lines grid on different parent forms:

# views/move_line.py
from pyvelm.builders import FormView, ListView, ViewsData

views_data = (
    ViewsData.make()
    .views(
        ListView.make("move.line.invoice")
        .model("account.move.line")
        .columns(["product_id", "quantity", "price_unit", "tax_ids"])
        .form_view("move.line.invoice.form"),
        ListView.make("move.line.entry")
        .model("account.move.line")
        .columns(["account_id", "debit", "credit", "name"])
        .form_view("move.line.entry.form"),
        FormView.make("move.line.invoice.form").model("account.move.line").section(...),
        FormView.make("move.line.entry.form").model("account.move.line").section(...),
    )
)

# models/move.py
class AccountMove(BaseModel):
    _name = "account.move"
    invoice_line_ids = One2many(
        "account.move.line", "move_id",
        list_view="move.line.invoice",
        form_view="move.line.invoice.form",
    )

class AccountMoveLine(BaseModel):
    _name = "account.move.line"
    # ...

# views/journal_entry.py — only entry lines on this form
FormView.make("entry.form")
.model("account.journal.entry")
.section(
    "lines",
    "Lines",
    [Field.make("line_ids").widget("inline").list_view("move.line.entry")],
)

See pyvelm/modules/geo_data/views/geo.py for notebook tabs with embedded One2many sub-grids.

Field spec reference (FieldRef)

On a parent form, each One2many entry in a section's fields list can be a string or a dict. Relational keys (see pyvelm.types.FieldRef):

Key Type Purpose
name str Required. One2many field name on the parent model.
widget "dialog" | "inline" | "table" Edit UX (default: dialog when form exists).
edit_toggle bool Edit only: show Dialog | Inline grid switch (needs list_view or columns).
columns list[str \| FieldRef] Inline column list; no list view needed.
list_view str | (module, name) Registered list view for columns + sequence.
form_view str | (module, name) Form for row links and dialog create.
label, readonly, required, colspan, … Same as other fields.

Model-level defaults on One2many(...):

One2many(
    comodel_name,
    inverse_name,
    string=None,
    list_view=None,   # str or (module, name)
    form_view=None,
    # columns= only on FieldRef / future model kwarg if added
)

columns is most often set on field(...) in the form arch. Setting list_view / form_view on the model applies everywhere unless the form arch overrides them.

Deploying view changes

  • Declarative views live in module DATA files (views_data or legacy VIEWS).
  • After editing, bump the module version and run pyvelm db migrate or Apps → Sync so ir.ui.view rows update.
  • Hard-refresh the browser on the parent form.