OwnCloud / NextCloud Odoo Integration v.12

• Prepare and keep updated folders' structure in OwnCloud / NextCloud
• Upload new attachments to a correct folder

Odoo creates a convenient directory structure in OwnCloud / NextCloud: Odoo / Document type name / Document name / Files, where:

• Odoo is a central directory for Odoo Sync in your cloud storage.
• Document type is a synced Odoo model, for example, 'Sale orders', 'Opportunities', 'Customers'
  • You select document types by yourself. It might be any document type
  • Moreover, you might have a few folders for a single document type. Use Odoo domains to have not global 'Partners, but 'Customers' and 'Suppliers', not just 'Sale orders' but 'Commercial offers', 'To deliver', and 'Done orders'
  • With each sync Odoo would try to update document types' folders. Add a new document type at any moment. It will appear in OwnCloud / NextCloud with a next sync
  • You are welcome to introduce or change document types folder names at any moment in Odoo. Take into account: renaming in OwnCloud / NextCloud will be recovered to Odoo names
  • If you remove a model from integration, it will not be deleted from OwnCloud / NextCloud to keep already synced files safe. However, new documents of this type would not be synced
  • In case you removed a directory in OwnCloud / NextCloud, but it is still configured in Odoo, with a next sync a folder structure is going to be recovered (not files, surely).
• Document is an exact object to sync. For instance, 'Agrolait' or 'SO019'
  • Documents are synced in case they relate to a synced document type and satisfy its filters. For example, you are not obliged to sync all partners, you may integrate only 'Customers' and 'Vendors' or only 'Companies', not 'Contacts'
  • Odoo would generate a folder in OwnCloud / NextCloud for each suitable document even for documents without attachments. It is needed for a backward sync to easily add new files
  • OwnCloud / NextCloud folder name equals a real document name. It relies upon Odoo name_get method. Thus, Odoo 'Michael Fletcher' (a contact of 'Agrolait') would be OwnCloud / NextCloud 'Agrolait, Michael Fletcher'
  • If an exact document changes its document type (e.g. a quotation is now confirmed), Odoo will automatically relocate its related folder to a proper parent directory (in the example: from 'Commercial offers' to 'To deliver')
  • In case a document relates to a few types (for instance, you have 'Vendors' and 'Customers', while Agrolait is both), this document folder would be put into the most prioritized document type. A document type priority is higher as closer to the top in Odoo interfaces it is
  • If an Odoo document is removed, the next sync will remove a corresponding OwnCloud / NextCloud directory
  • In case you remove a directory in OwnCloud / NextCloud, but it still exists in Odoo, OwnCloud / NextCloud folder structure would be recovered (while files would be unlinked in both Odoo and OwnCloud / NextCloud)
  • Folders renaming in OwnCloud / NextCloud will be replaced with Odoo names, Odoo document names are more important
• Files are real files taken from Odoo attachments

The resulted path would be, for example, 'Odoo / Quotations / SO019 / commercial offer.png'.

The only exclusion of the rule are stand alone attachments which do not relate to any Odoo documents (their document type is 'ir.attachment'). Such attachments' path is 'Odoo / Stand Alone Attachments / image.png'.

The direct sync might take quite a long, since a lot of folders should be created. It is not recommended to make sync too frequent: once an hour or two hours is fine.

With each direct sync, Odoo tries to find not yet synced attachments. If such attachments suit any document type to sync, a file will be uploaded to OwnCloud / NextCloud to a proper folder. In Odoo such attachments will become of 'url' type. It means that a file is not any more kept in Odoo server space, but now it is in OwnCloud / NextCloud. Until sync is done, Odoo attachment remains binary and stores an actual file. Such approach helps Odoo to work faster.

If you unlinked an attachment from Odoo, it would be deleted in OwnCloud / NextCloud as well.

Take into account that file names should be managed in OwnCloud / NextCloud: each backward sync would recover OwnCloud / NextCloud names, Odoo is here less important.

• If a new file is added to a proper document folder (e.g. to 'Odoo / Customers / Agrolait'), the same attachment will be added to Odoo document (in the example - to 'Agrolait')
• In document folders you can put not only files but also child folders. In that case a link for this folder (not its content) is kept in attachments
• In case you rename a file in OwnCloud / NextCloud, it will be renamed in Odoo as well
• Files' removal from OwnCloud / NextCloud leads to related Odoo attachments' removal
• If you move a file to another document folder, in Odoo a related attachment would be re-attached to this new document. Take into account: if you move a file for a not document folder, in Odoo attachment will be deleted as it has been removed from OwnCloud / NextCloud
• If you deleted a document type or document folder, their child files are deleted as well. Thus, Odoo would remove related attachments. The folders, however, will be recovered with a next direct sync. Folders' move to another directory is also considered as a removal. Avoid such situations by following the simple rule: folders are managed mostly by Odoo, files - mostly by OwnCloud / NextCloud.

Backward OwnCloud / NextCloud might take quite much time, since each folder should be checked (the more folders, the more time the backward sync requires). It is recommended to make frequency oftener than once an hour or two hours.

• Projects: automatically forward all project-related documents to OwnCloud / NextCloud to share those with a customer as a cloud link.
• Customers: add all partner files in a single directory available both from Odoo and from OwnCloud / NextCloud. Modify those using default cloud editors and access them when working in Odoo.
• Employees: gather all files by this employee in a single cloud folder: photos, document scans, contracts. Access and upload those from Odoo and OwnCloud / NextCloud alternatively.
• Opportunities: carefully store all specifications, requirements and any file which would let you make a good offer.
• Orders: keep all printings and contracts in OwnCloud / NextCloud with simple availability from Odoo.

By default all links from Odoo to OwnCloud / NextCloud are internal. It means that only authorized users may access them and, after that, generate shared URLs for others.

It is possible to make them public using the option 'Use Public URLs'. In that case links will become 'shared', meaning that everybody may access those files by links. Although the links would be hardly known by external users, there is a slight chance that they become available as a result of some user actions. Besides, sharing links generation is not fast and might make the synchronization slower. Thus, be cautious if you decide to use shared links.

This tool is not in conflict with the 'documents' module provided by the Enterprise license. Attachments related to Enterprise folders would be synced as any other files: according to a document they relate to. In the most cases it means they would be linked to stand-alone attachments.

It is not always comfortable, and you might be interested in reflecting directories' structure introduced by the module 'Documents'. To this end the extension Cloud Sync for Enterprise Documents (its standard price is 44 Euros) is developed. This tool has the following features:

• The documents hierarchy is reflected within the folder 'Odoo / Odoo Docs'
• Each Odoo folder has a linked cloud folder. Take into account that folders created in the cloud storage will be synced as Odoo attachments. The key principle is: folders are managed by Odoo, files are managed by the cloud client
• All files are synced with the same logic as usual attachments. Files created in Odoo will be added to the cloud storage and will be replaced with links in Odoo. Files created in cloud storage will generate attachments within a paired directory
• Please do not name synced models as 'Odoo Docs'. This is the reserved name for Odoo Enterprise Documents