A Brief Guide to OWL Hooks in Odoo18

In Odoo’s never-ending improvement journey, the frontend framework Owl (Odoo Web Library) is indispensable in development of dynamic user interfaces These user interfaces are robust and reactive in features. Released in the previous versions of Odoo, it is a Vue.js and React inspired modern, light weight Javascript framework. It aims to improve the UI features of Odoo by offering component based design and state control system along with built in architecture.

In Odoo18, performance, maintainability, and overall experience as a developer using the framework has been significantly increased. One of the distinguishing features of Owl is Hooks. By using Hooks developers can implement component logic, state control, and other lifecycle functions.

In this blog we will look through the functionality and ways of building efficient modular UI components using Owl Hooks in Odoo18. Real-life implementations, use cases, and examples will be discussed to give you a better understanding of how prominent the hooks are in Odoo application building.

useAssets

Location
@web/core/assets

Odoo employs the useAssets hook for implement lazy loading and helps in loading the script, styles and other resources only when needed.

useAutofocus

Location
@web/core/utils/hooks
Place your attention on an item associated with a t-ref=’autofocus’ as long as it displays in the DOM and was not rendered previously.

useBus

Location
@web/core/utils/hooks
Attach and delete an event listener from the bus. This hook makes sure that the listener is appropriately removed when the component is dismounted.

usePager

Location
@web/search/pager_hook
Show the Pager for a view’s control panel. Env.config is appropriately set by this hook to supply the pager with props.

usePosition

Location
@web/core/position_hook

Helps positioning an HTMLElement (the popper) relatively to another HTMLElement (the reference). This hook ensures the positioning is updated when the window is resized/scrolled.

useSpellCheck

Location
@web/core/utils/hooks

A t-ref=”spellcheck” in the current component will activate the spellcheck state for an input or textarea that is in focus. This condition is then eliminated on blur, along with the red outline, making the material easier to read.

Any HTML element that has the contenteditable property can also employ the hook. Set the element’s spellcheck property explicitly to false to fully stop spellcheck on all elements that the hook may have enabled.

Owl hooks in Odoo18 offer a potent means of controlling component behavior, boosting interactivity, and enhancing code reuse. These hooks make frontend development in Odoo easier, from utilizing useAutofocus to focus input fields automatically to using useBus to handle events effectively. The user experience is further improved by features like useSpellCheck for improved text editing, usePager for pagination, and usePosition for dynamic placement.

Developers may create Odoo apps that are more effective, scalable, and user-friendly by utilizing these hooks. Understanding these hooks will be crucial for developing dynamic and responsive interfaces as Odoo develops further.