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Longhorn Dashboard

Overview

The Longhorn Dashboard module replaces the default Odoo 18 app switcher (home menu) with a custom tiled dashboard. It provides a responsive grid of app tiles with keyboard navigation, drag-and-drop reordering, and customizable backgrounds and colors.

The dashboard is designed for power users who want a faster, more visually polished way to navigate between Odoo applications.

Key Features

  • Responsive Tiled Grid -- App icons arranged in a clean grid that adapts to screen size (3 columns on mobile, 4 on tablet, 6 on desktop)
  • Keyboard Navigation -- Arrow keys, Tab, Shift+Tab, and Enter to navigate and open apps without a mouse
  • Drag-and-Drop Reordering -- Rearrange app tiles by dragging; order is saved per user
  • Command Palette Integration -- Type in the search bar to open the Odoo command palette for quick access to any menu
  • Custom Backgrounds -- Choose from a default image, gradient, solid color, or a custom image URL
  • Tile and Caption Styling -- Configure tile background color and caption text color
  • Hide Apps -- Right-click any app tile to hide it from the dashboard; manage hidden apps in user preferences
  • Overlay-Aware Focus -- Search input automatically refocuses when dialogs or popups close

Installation

Requirements

Requirement Details
Odoo Version 18.0 Community or Enterprise
Dependencies web, base_setup, website

Installation

  1. Place the longhorn_dashboard module folder in your Odoo addons path
  2. Update the module list: Apps > Update Apps List
  3. Search for "Longhorn Dashboard" and click Install

Note

The module replaces Odoo's default main.js entry point and the home menu component. It takes effect immediately after installation -- no additional configuration is required to see the new dashboard.

Features

Tiled App Grid

The dashboard displays all installed Odoo apps as tiles in a responsive grid. Each tile shows the app icon and name. The grid adjusts automatically based on screen width:

Screen Width Tiles Per Row
< 576px (mobile) 3
576px - 767px (tablet) 4
768px+ (desktop) 6

Keyboard Navigation

On non-touch devices, the dashboard supports full keyboard navigation:

Key Action
Arrow Down Move focus to the next row
Arrow Up Move focus to the previous row
Arrow Right Move focus to the next tile
Arrow Left Move focus to the previous tile
Tab Move focus to the next tile
Shift + Tab Move focus to the previous tile
Enter Open the focused app
Escape Close the home menu and return to the last app

The focused tile is visually highlighted and scrolled into view automatically. Any keypress that is not a navigation key refocuses the search input.

Drag-and-Drop Reordering

On non-touch devices, app tiles can be reordered by dragging:

  1. Click and hold an app tile for 500ms to start dragging
  2. Drag the tile to the desired position
  3. Release to drop

The new order is saved to the current user's settings and persists across sessions. Each user maintains their own tile order.

The search input at the top of the dashboard connects directly to Odoo's command palette:

  1. Start typing in the search bar
  2. The command palette opens with results prefixed by /
  3. Select a result to navigate directly to that menu or action

When the command palette closes, focus returns to the search input automatically.

Hide Apps

Users can hide apps they do not use:

  1. Right-click an app tile on the dashboard
  2. Select Hide from the context menu
  3. The page reloads and the app no longer appears

Hidden apps can be managed from the user's preferences:

  1. Go to Settings > Users & Companies > Users
  2. Open a user record
  3. On the Preferences tab, find Dashboard Settings
  4. Use the Hidden Apps field to add or remove hidden apps

Configuration

Global Settings

Global dashboard settings are managed under Settings > Longhorn Dashboard:

Background

Setting Options Description
Background Style Default, Gradient, Solid, Custom Controls the dashboard background
Background Color Color picker Base color for gradient or solid backgrounds
Custom URL URL field Image URL for the custom background style (e.g., /web/image/...)

Background style details:

Style Behavior
Default Uses the bundled background.svg image
Gradient Generates a 135-degree gradient from the background color to #2d2d44
Solid Uses only the background color with no image
Custom Loads an image from the specified URL

Appearance

Setting Default Description
Tile Background Color #ffffff Background color of each app tile
Caption Color #ffffff Text color of app names below tiles

Behavior

Setting Default Description
Enable Drag & Drop On Allow users to reorder app tiles by dragging

Per-User Settings

Each user can customize their dashboard independently:

  • Tile order -- Saved automatically when drag-and-drop reordering is used
  • Hidden apps -- Managed from the user's Preferences tab (see Hide Apps above)
  • Products App -- Adds a Products tile to the dashboard for direct catalog access