RST guidelines and cheat sheet¶

Important

We strongly recommend reading the Content guidelines and main Documentation pages before contributing.

Follow the RST guidelines below when contributing to the documentation to help maintain consistency with the rest of the documentation and facilitate the review process for the team:

Use formatting.
Be consistent with indentation.
Start a new line before the 100th character.

For hyperlinks:

Use relative links for internal URLs.
Do not break hyperlink targets when refactoring.
Do not use non-descriptive hyperlink labels.

Formatting¶

Use specific formatting to improve clarity and readability. For example, apply Menu selection for menu paths, GUI element for other user interface elements, such as fields, buttons, and options, Note for notes, Example for examples, etc.

Note

Add a blank line between different block elements, such as paragraphs, lists, and directives to ensure proper rendering and formatting.

Hyperlinks¶

Internal URLs: relative links¶

If you need to reference an internal documentation page or a file that is not located in the same directory as the current page, always use relative file paths instead of absolute file paths. This ensures that links remain valid even with version updates, folder name changes, and directory structure reorganizations.

An absolute file path indicates the target’s location from the root directory. A relative file path uses smart notations (such as ../ that redirects to the parent folder) to indicate the target’s location relative to that of the source document.

Example

Note

The purpose of the following example is to illustrate the difference between absolute and relative links. Always use Documentation page hyperlinks when referencing documentation pages.

Given the following source file tree:

documentation
├── content
│   └── applications
│   │   └── sales
│   │   │   └── sales
│   │   │   │   └── products_prices
│   │   │   │   │   └── products
│   │   │   │   │   │   └── import.rst
│   │   │   │   │   │   └── variants.rst
│   │   │   │   │   └── prices.rst

A reference to prices.rst and variants.rst could be made from import.rst as follows:

Absolute:
- documentation/content/applications/sales/sales/products_prices/prices.rst
- documentation/content/applications/sales/sales/products_prices/products/variants.rst
Relative:
- ../prices.rst
- variants.rst

Refactoring: hyperlink targets¶

When refactoring (improving without adding new content) section headings or hyperlink targets, take care not to break any hyperlink reference to these targets or update them accordingly.

Hyperlink labels¶

Do not use non-descriptive labels for hyperlinks.

Example

Good example (descriptive label):

Please refer to the Accounting documentation.

Bad example (non-descriptive label):

Please refer to this page.

Indentation¶

Use only spaces (never tabs).

Use as many spaces at the beginning of an indented line as needed to align it with the first character of the markup in the line above. This usually implies three spaces, but you only need two for bulleted lists, for example.

Example

The first : is below the i (three spaces):

.. image:: media/example.png
   :alt: example

The :titlesonly: and page references start below the t (three spaces):

.. toctree::
   :titlesonly:

   payables/supplier_bills
   payables/pay

Continuation lines resume below the I’s of “Invoice” (two spaces):

- Invoice on ordered quantity: invoice the full order as soon as the sales order is confirmed.
- Invoice on delivered quantity: invoice on what was delivered even if it is a partial
  delivery.

100th-character limit¶

In RST, it is possible to break a line without forcing a line break on the rendered HTML. Make use of this feature to write lines of maximum 100 characters. It is not necessary to leave a trailing whitespace at the end of a line to separate words.

Tip

You can safely break a line on any space, even inside markups such as menuselection and doc.
Some external hyperlinks may exceed 100 characters, but leaving them on a single line is acceptable.

Example

To register your seller account in Odoo, go to :menuselection:`Sales --> Configuration -->
Settings --> Amazon Connector --> Amazon Accounts` and click :guilabel:`Create`. You can find
the **Seller ID** under the link :guilabel:`Your Merchant Token`.

Headings¶

For each formatting line (e.g., ===), write as many symbols (=) as there are characters in the header.

The symbols used for the formatting are, in fact, not important. Only the order in which they are written matters, as it determines the size of the decorated heading. This means that you may encounter different heading formatting and in a different order, in which case you should follow the formatting in place in the document. In any other case, use the formatting shown below.

Heading size	Formatting
H1	======= Heading =======
H2	Heading =======
H3	Heading -------
H4	Heading ~~~~~~~
H5	Heading *******
H6	Heading ^^^^^^^

Important

Each document must have exactly one H1 heading.

Markups¶

Emphasis (italic)¶

To emphasize a part of the text. The text is rendered in italic.

Fill out the information before saving the form.

Fill out the information *before* saving the form.

Strong emphasis (bold)¶

To emphasize a part of the text. The text is rendered in bold.

A subdomain is a domain that is a part of another domain.

A **subdomain** is a domain that is a part of another domain.

Technical term (literal)¶

To write a technical term or a specific value to insert. The text is rendered in literal.

Insert the IP address of your printer, for example, 192.168.1.25.

Insert the IP address of your printer, for example, `192.168.1.25`.

Definitions¶

Use the dfn markup to define a term.

The documentation is written in RST and needs to be built (converted to HTML) to display nicely.

The documentation is written in RST and needs to be built (:dfn:`converted to HTML`) to
display nicely.

Abbreviations¶

Use the abbr markup to write a self-defining abbreviation that is displayed as a tooltip.

Odoo uses OCR and artificial intelligence technologies to recognize the content of the documents.

Odoo uses :abbr:`OCR (optical character recognition)` and artificial intelligence
technologies to recognize the content of the documents.

GUI element¶

Use the guilabel markup to identify any text of the interactive user interface (e.g., labels).

Update your credentials, then click on Save.

Update your credentials, then click on :guilabel:`Save`.

Note

Avoid using the guilabel markup when referring to a concept or general term.

Example

Good example:

To create a credit note, go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Invoices, open the invoice, and click Credit Note.
Bad example:

To create a Credit Note, go to Accounting ‣ Customers ‣ Invoices, open the Invoice, and click Credit Note.

Menu selection¶

Use the menuselection markup to guide users through a sequence of menus, starting with the app’s name.

To review sales performance, go to Sales ‣ Reporting ‣ Dashboard.

To review sales performance, go to :menuselection:`Sales --> Reporting --> Dashboard`.

Note

Only include actual menu items in the menuselection markup:

Use the GUI element markup for other user interface elements, such as buttons and section titles:

To configure the bill control policy, navigate to :menuselection:`Purchase --> Configuration
--> Settings`, and scroll down to the :guilabel:`Invoicing` section. Under :guilabel:`Bill
Control`, select either :guilabel:`Ordered quantities` or :guilabel:`Received quantities`.

Do not include menu section names. For example, in the screenshot below, Journals should not be included in the menu path Accounting ‣ Accounting ‣ Journal Entries:

File¶

Use the file markup to indicate a file path or name.

Create redirections using the redirects.txt file found at the root of the repository.

Create redirections using the :file:`redirects.txt` file found at the root of the
repository.

Command¶

Use the command markup to highlight a command.

Run the command make clean html to delete existing built files and build the documentation to HTML.

Run the command :command:`make clean html` to delete existing built files and build the
documentation to HTML.

Icons¶

Use the icon markup to add the class name of an icon. There are two icon sets used in Odoo: FontAwesome4 and Odoo UI. Follow the icon with its name as a GUI element in brackets as a descriptor.

The graph view is represented by the (area chart) icon. The pivot view is represented by the icon.

The graph view is represented by the :icon:`fa-area-chart` :guilabel:`(area chart)` icon.
The pivot view is represented by the :icon:`oi-view-pivot` icon.

Lists¶

Bulleted list¶

This is a bulleted list.
It has two items, the second item uses two lines.

- This is a bulleted list.
- It has two items, the second
  item uses two lines.

Numbered list¶

This is a numbered list.
Numbering is automatic.

#. This is a numbered list.
#. Numbering is automatic.

Use this format to start the numbering with a number other than one.
The numbering is automatic from there.

6. Use this format to start the numbering
   with a number other than one.
#. The numbering is automatic from there.

Tip

Prefer the use of autonumbered lists with #. instead of 1., 2., etc. for better code resilience.

Nested lists¶

Tip

Add a blank line before the nested elements in lists.
Indent nested lists properly, with sub-items aligned under their parent item.

This is the first item of a bulleted list.
1. It has a nested numbered list
2. with two items.

- This is the first item of a bulleted list.

  #. It has a nested numbered list
  #. with two items.

Hyperlinks¶

External hyperlinks¶

External hyperlinks are links to a URL with a custom label. They follow the syntax: `label <URL>`_.

Note

Use documentation page hyperlinks when targeting another documentation page.
Do not use non-descriptive hyperlink labels.

For instance, this is an external hyperlink to Odoo’s website.

For instance, `this is an external hyperlink to Odoo's website <https://www.odoo.com>`_.

External hyperlink aliases¶

External hyperlink aliases allow creating shortcuts for external hyperlinks. The definition syntax is as follows: .. _target: URL. There are two ways to reference them, depending on the use case:

target_ creates a hyperlink with the target name as label and the URL as reference. Note that the _ moved after the target.
`label <target_>`_ the label replaces the name of the target, and the target is replaced by the URL.

A proof-of-concept is a simplified version, a prototype of what is expected to agree on the main lines of expected changes. PoC is a common abbreviation.

.. _proof-of-concept: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_concept

   A proof-of-concept_ is a simplified version, a prototype of what is expected to agree on
   the main lines of expected changes. `PoC <proof-of-concept_>`_ is a common abbreviation.

Custom anchors¶

Custom anchors follow the same syntax as external hyperlink aliases but without any URL. They allow referencing a specific part of a RST file by using the target as an anchor. When users click the reference, they are taken to the part of the documentation page where the target is defined.

The definition syntax is: .. _target:. There are two ways to reference them, both using the ref markup:

:ref:`target` creates a hyperlink to the anchor with the heading defined below as label.
:ref:`label <target>` creates a hyperlink to the anchor with the given label.

Important

As targets are visible from the entire documentation when referenced with the ref markup, prefix the target name with the app/section name and the file name, separated by slashes, e.g., accounting/taxes/configuration.

Note

Add custom anchors for all headings so they can be referenced from any documentation file or within Odoo using documentation links.
Notice that there is no _ at the end, contrary to what is done with external hyperlinks.

Please refer to the Hyperlinks section to learn more about relative links.

 .. _contributing/rst/hyperlinks-guidelines:

 Hyperlinks
 ==========

.. _contributing/rst/relative-links:

Use relative links for internal URLs
------------------------------------

Please refer to the :ref:`<contributing/rst/hyperlinks-guidelines>` section to learn more
about :ref:`relative links <contributing/rst/relative-links>`.

Documentation page hyperlinks¶

The doc markup allows referencing a documentation page wherever it is in the file tree through a relative file path. There are two ways to use the markup, both using the doc markup:

:doc:`path_to_doc_page` creates a hyperlink to the documentation page with the title of the page as label.
:doc:`label <path_to_doc_page>` creates a hyperlink to the documentation page with the given label.

Please refer to the Accounting documentation to learn more about Customer invoices.

Please refer to the :doc:`Accounting documentation <../../../applications/finance/accounting>`
to learn more about :doc:`../../../applications/finance/accounting/customer_invoices`.

Important

Use relative links for documentation page hyperlinks.

File download hyperlinks¶

The download markup allows referencing files (that are not necessarily RST documents) within the source tree to be downloaded.

Download this module structure template to start building your module.

Download this :download:`module structure template <rst_guidelines/my_module.zip>` to start building your module.

Note

Store the file alongside other media files and reference it using a relative link.

Images¶

The image markup allows inserting images in a document.

.. image:: rst_guidelines/create-invoice.png
   :alt: Create an invoice.

Tip

Images should generally be aligned to the left, which is the default behavior. Use the align parameter to change the alignment, e.g., :align: center.
Use the alt parameter to add ALT tags, e.g., :alt: Activating the developer mode in the Settings app.
Use the scale parameter to scale the image, e.g., :scale: 75%.

Alert blocks (admonitions)¶

Note¶

Note

Use this alert block to draw the reader’s attention and highlight important additional information.

.. note::
   Use this alert block to draw the reader's attention and highlight important additional information.

Tip¶

Tip

Use this alert block to inform the reader about a useful trick that requires an action.

.. tip::
   Use this alert block to inform the reader about a useful trick that requires an action.

Example¶

Example

Use this alert block to show an example.

.. example::
   Use this alert block to show an example.

Exercise¶

Exercise

Use this alert block to suggest an exercise to the reader.

.. exercise::
   Use this alert block to suggest an exercise to the reader.

Important¶

Important

Use this alert block to notify the reader about important information.

.. important::
   Use this alert block to notify the reader about important information.

Warning¶

Warning

Use this alert block to require the reader to proceed with caution with what is described in the warning.

.. warning::
   Use this alert block to require the reader to proceed with caution with what is described in the warning.

Danger¶

Danger

Use this alert block to bring the reader’s attention to a serious threat.

.. danger::
   Use this alert block to bring the reader's attention to a serious threat.

Custom¶

Title

Customize this alert block with a Title of your choice.

.. admonition:: Title

   Customize this alert block with a **Title** of your choice.

Tables¶

List tables¶

List tables use two-level bulleted lists to convert data into a table. The first level represents the rows and the second level represents the columns.

Name	Country	Favorite color
Raúl	Montenegro	Purple
Mélanie	France	Red

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :stub-columns: 1

   * - Name
     - Country
     - Favorite colour
   * - Raúl
     - Montenegro
     - Purple
   * - Mélanie
     - France
     - Turquoise

Grid tables¶

Grid tables represent the rendered table and are more visual to work with.

	Shirts	T-shirts
Available colours	Purple	Green
Available colours	Turquoise	Orange
Sleeves length	Long sleeves	Short sleeves

+-----------------------+--------------+---------------+
|                       | Shirts       | T-shirts      |
+=======================+==============+===============+
| **Available colours** | Purple       | Green         |
|                       +--------------+---------------+
|                       | Turquoise    | Orange        |
+-----------------------+--------------+---------------+
| **Sleeves length**    | Long sleeves | Short sleeves |
+-----------------------+--------------+---------------+

Tip

Use = instead of - to define header rows.
Remove - and | separators to merge cells.
Make use of this convenient table generator to build tables. Then, copy-paste the generated formatting into your document.

Code blocks¶

Use the code-block directive to show example code. Specify the language (e.g., python, xml, etc.) to format the code according to the language’s syntax rules.

def main():
    print("Hello world!")

.. code-block:: python

   def main():
       print("Hello world!")

Spoilers¶

Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything

.. spoiler:: Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything

   **42**

Content tabs¶

Warning

The tabs markup may not work well in some situations. In particular:

The tabs’ headers cannot be translated.
A tab cannot contain headings.
An alert block cannot contain tabs.
A tab cannot contain custom anchors.

Basic tabs¶

Basic tabs are useful to split the content into multiple options. The tabs markup is used to define sequence of tabs. Each tab is then defined with the tab markup followed by a label.

Content dedicated to Odoo Online users.

.. tabs::

   .. tab:: Odoo Online

      Content dedicated to Odoo Online users.

   .. tab:: Odoo.sh

      Alternative for Odoo.sh users.

   .. tab:: On-premise

      Third version for On-premise users.

Nested tabs¶

Tabs can be nested inside one another.

The closest star to us.

.. tabs::

   .. tab:: Stars

      .. tabs::

         .. tab:: The Sun

            The closest star to us.

         .. tab:: Proxima Centauri

            The second closest star to us.

         .. tab:: Polaris

            The North Star.

   .. tab:: Moons

      .. tabs::

         .. tab:: The Moon

            Orbits the Earth.

         .. tab:: Titan

            Orbits Jupiter.

Group tabs¶

Group tabs are special tabs that synchronize based on a group label. The last selected group is remembered and automatically selected when the user returns to the page or visits another page with the tabs group. The group-tab markup is used to define group tabs.

C++

int main(const int argc, const char **argv) {
    return 0;
}

def main():
    return

class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {}
}

.. tabs::

   .. group-tab:: C++

      C++

   .. group-tab:: Python

      Python

   .. group-tab:: Java

      Java

.. tabs::

   .. group-tab:: C++

      .. code-block:: c++

         int main(const int argc, const char **argv) {
             return 0;
         }

   .. group-tab:: Python

      .. code-block:: python

         def main():
             return

   .. group-tab:: Java

      .. code-block:: java

         class Main {
             public static void main(String[] args) {}
         }

Code tabs¶

Use the code-tab markup to create code tabs, which are essentially group tabs that treat the tabs’ content as a code block. Specify the language to format the code according to the language’s syntax rules. If a label is set, it is used for grouping tabs instead of the language name.

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    std::cout << "Hello World";
    return 0;
}

print("Hello World")

console.log("Hello World");

.. tabs::

   .. code-tab:: c++ Hello C++

      #include <iostream>

      int main() {
          std::cout << "Hello World";
          return 0;
      }

   .. code-tab:: python Hello Python

      print("Hello World")

   .. code-tab:: javascript Hello JavaScript

      console.log("Hello World");

Cards¶

Documentation

Use this guide to acquire the tools and knowledge you need to write documentation.

Step-by-step guide

Content guidelines

List of guidelines, tips, and tricks to help you create clear and effective content.

RST guidelines

List of technical guidelines to observe when writing with reStructuredText.

.. cards::

   .. card:: Documentation
      :target: ../documentation
      :tag: Step-by-step guide
      :large:

      Use this guide to acquire the tools and knowledge you need to write documentation.

   .. card:: Content guidelines
      :target: content_guidelines

      List of guidelines, tips, and tricks to help you create clear and effective content.

   .. card:: RST guidelines
      :target: rst_guidelines

      List of technical guidelines to observe when writing with reStructuredText.

Document metadata¶

Sphinx supports document-wide metadata markups that specify a behavior for the entire page. They must be placed between colons (:) at the top of the source file.

Metadata	Purpose
`show-content`	Make a toctree page accessible from the navigation menu.
`show-toc`	Show the table of content on a page that has the `show-content` metadata markup.
`hide-page-toc`	Hide the “On this page” sidebar and use full page width for the content.
`nosearch`	Exclude the document from search results.
`orphan`	Suppress the need to include the document in a toctree.
`code-column`	Show a dynamic side column that can be used to display interactive tutorials or code excerpts. For example, see Accounting cheat sheet.
`custom-css`	Link CSS files (comma-separated) to the file.
`custom-js`	Link JS files (comma-separated) to the document.
`classes`	Assign the specified classes to the `<main/>` element of the file.

Formatting tips¶

Break the line but not the paragraph¶

A first long line that you break in two -> here <- is rendered as a single line.

A second line that follows a line break.

| A first long line that you break in two
  -> here <- is rendered as a single line.
| A second line that follows a line break.

Escape markup symbols¶

Markup symbols escaped with backslashes (\) are rendered normally. For instance, this \*\*line of text\*\* with \*markup\* symbols is rendered as “this **line of text** with *markup* symbols”.

When it comes to backticks (`), which are used in many cases such as external hyperlinks, using backslashes for escaping is no longer an option because the outer backticks interpret enclosed backslashes and thus prevent them from escaping inner backticks. For instance, `\`this formatting\`` produces an [UNKNOWN NODE title_reference] error. Instead, ```this formatting``` should be used to produce the following result: `this formatting`.

RST guidelines and cheat sheet¶

Formatting¶

Hyperlinks¶

Internal URLs: relative links¶

Refactoring: hyperlink targets¶

Hyperlink labels¶

Indentation¶

100th-character limit¶

Headings¶

Markups¶

Emphasis (italic)¶

Strong emphasis (bold)¶

Technical term (literal)¶

Definitions¶

Abbreviations¶

GUI element¶

Menu selection¶

File¶

Command¶

Icons¶

Lists¶

Bulleted list¶

Numbered list¶

Nested lists¶

Hyperlinks¶

External hyperlinks¶

External hyperlink aliases¶

Custom anchors¶

Documentation page hyperlinks¶

File download hyperlinks¶

Images¶

Alert blocks (admonitions)¶

See also¶

Note¶

Tip¶

Example¶

Exercise¶

Important¶

Warning¶

Danger¶

Custom¶

Tables¶

List tables¶

Grid tables¶

Code blocks¶

Spoilers¶

Content tabs¶

Basic tabs¶

Nested tabs¶

Group tabs¶

Code tabs¶

Cards¶

Documentation

Content guidelines

RST guidelines

Document metadata¶

Formatting tips¶

Break the line but not the paragraph¶

Escape markup symbols¶