Overview
The Advance Search Bar tab inside your Odoo user preferences is your styling and behavior studio. Here you can narrow which areas appear in the picker, change how results are drawn, decide whether Odoo should redesign guidemember filter choices between sessions, control recent search memory, and tune how shortcuts sit beside the field.
Why it matters: the same module can feel minimal for accountants and colorful for sales hunters-without changing anyone else’s screen.
How it works
Most switches save on your user record in Odoo, so they follow you on any computer once you log in. The small tray toggle that collapses the bar remains per browser, because it is meant as a quick local space saver, not a company policy.
Step-by-step guide
- Open Preferences from your avatar menu.
- Choose the Advance Search Bar tab.
- Walk through each group from top to bottom, changing one thing at a time.
- Save your user profile and reload the main screen to see layout changes.
- Come back any week to tweak-preferences are safe to experiment with.
Fields table
| Field name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
Limit search dropdown to |
Optional shortlist of areas shown in the bar’s picker; leave empty for everything you can access. |
Only “Contacts” and “Sales Orders” for a reception desk. |
Search result display |
Either extra columns with helpful values or a compact single-line name. |
Extra columns when many customers share similar names. |
Remember filter options |
Stores match mode, archived toggle, creation dates, ready-made filters, and group-by between logins (not the typed text). |
Always start Tuesday reviews with the same date window. |
Remember recent searches |
Keeps a short history of queries you ran so you can tap them again. |
Turn off on shared PCs for privacy. |
Results dropdown layout |
Standard compact list, modern side panel, or stacked vertical flow. |
Stacked on small laptops for readability. |
Dropdown color theme |
Neutral “subtle” look or a slightly richer colorful theme. |
Colorful for demos, subtle for long finance shifts. |
Show active filters in dropdown |
Shows chips summarizing filters inside the results panel. |
Off when you want the cleanest possible list. |
Show Results heading in panel layout |
Toggles the heading row (and related top link) in panel/stacked modes. |
Off for ultra-compact screenshots. |
Show record counts on group headers |
Shows how many matches sit under each heading when grouped. |
On for quick triage of big clusters. |
Show shortcuts in bar |
Hides or shows your shortcut strip while keeping definitions saved. |
Hide during training videos. |
Shortcuts position |
Places shortcuts to the left or right of the typing field. |
Left side for left-handed mouse users. |
Shortcuts layout |
One grouped menu versus individual buttons per shortcut. |
Buttons for only three daily links; menu for fifteen. |
Field explanations
Limit search dropdown to
Perfect when the full list overwhelms new staff-only selected tags appear, everything else stays hidden until an administrator widens the pool globally.
Search result display
“Field details” helps tell twins apart; “one line” fits more rows on screen.
Remember filter options
Great for stable routines; leave off if you frequently experiment and do not want yesterday’s experiments back tomorrow.
Remember recent searches
Convenience versus privacy-disable on shared kiosks, keep on for personal desks.
Results dropdown layout / Dropdown color theme / panel switches
Pure presentation. Try each layout for five minutes of real work before deciding.
Show shortcuts in bar / position / layout
Controls density and muscle memory. Menus scale better with many shortcuts; buttons shine for a tiny curated set.
Tips
- Change one preference at a time so you know what helped ergonomics.
- Pair “remember filter options” with a well-named default favorite for a super-fast start.
- Use subtle colors in bright offices to reduce glare.
Common mistakes
- Limiting the dropdown too aggressively. You might forget searches exist outside your tag list-clear tags when hunting broadly.
- Assuming remembered filters also store confidential search text. They do not; only structural choices return.