Odoo defines a user as any individual who has been granted access to an Odoo database. As an administrator, you have the flexibility to add an unlimited number of users to meet your company's needs. To ensure data security and maintain control over information accessibility, specific rules and access rights can be meticulously applied to each user. These user accounts and their associated access permissions can be easily modified or updated at any point, providing dynamic control over your Odoo environment.
Adding New Users to Your Odoo Database
To integrate new users into your Odoo system, navigate to Settings > Users > Users, and then click on the New button to create a new user record.
Proceed to fill in the required information on the user creation form. Crucially, under the Access Rights tab, you must select the appropriate group within each installed application to define the level of access the user will possess. The selection of available applications in this list is dynamically generated based on the applications currently installed within your Odoo database.
Once all necessary fields on the user form have been accurately completed, manually click Save. An automated invitation email will then be dispatched to the email address provided in the Email Address field. The new user must click on the unique link embedded in this invitation email to accept the invitation and proceed with creating their login credentials for the Odoo database.
Important Note on Subscriptions: If your company operates on a monthly Odoo subscription plan, the database will automatically update to reflect the newly added users. For companies utilizing a yearly or multi-year subscription plan, an expiration banner may appear within the database indicating a need for subscription adjustment. You can generate an upsell quotation by clicking this banner to update your subscription to accommodate the additional users. Alternatively, for assistance, you may send a support ticket to the Odoo team.
Understanding Different User Types in Odoo 17.0
The User Type setting can be configured from the Access Rights tab of the user form, accessible by navigating through Settings > Users > Users.
Odoo categorizes users into three distinct types: Internal User, Portal, and Public. Each type is designed for specific interaction levels with the Odoo database.
Internal Users are considered the primary database users who interact directly with the Odoo backend. Portal Users are external users with restricted access, typically limited to a dedicated database portal where they can view specific records pertinent to their interactions (e.g., viewing their sales orders or project tasks). For more detailed information on configuring portal access, please refer to the documentation on Portal access.
Public Users represent visitors to your website via the website's frontend and typically have the most limited access.
It's important to note that for Portal and Public user types, administrators do not have the option to manually choose individual access rights. These user types come with specific, pre-set access rights, including predefined record rules and restricted menus. Consequently, they usually do not belong to the standard Odoo user groups that internal users are assigned to.
Deactivating and Archiving Odoo Users
To deactivate (or archive) an existing user in Odoo, navigate to Settings > Users > Users. From the list of users, tick the checkbox located to the left of the user(s) you wish to deactivate. After selecting the appropriate user(s) for archiving, click on the ⚙️ Actions icon, and then choose Archive from the resulting drop-down menu. Confirm your decision by clicking OK in the Confirmation pop-up window that appears.
Critical Warning: It is imperative that you never deactivate the main administrator user (often referred to as 'admin'). Modifying or deactivating core administrator accounts can have severe and detrimental impacts on your Odoo database, potentially leading to an impotent admin state where no user in the database can make essential changes to access rights. Due to these significant risks, Odoo strongly recommends consulting an Odoo Business Analyst or contacting our Support Team before making any changes to administrator accounts.
Resolving the "Too Many Users" Error in Odoo
Should the number of active users in your Odoo database exceed the provisioned limit of your Odoo Enterprise subscription, you will encounter the following informational message:
Upon the appearance of this message, the database administrator is given a 30-day grace period to address the issue before the database is automatically set to expire. The remaining days in this countdown are updated daily. To efficiently resolve this situation, you have two primary options:
- Increase Your Subscription: Click the Upgrade your subscription link displayed within the message. This action will allow you to validate an upsell quotation and proceed with payment for the additional users.
- Deactivate Excess Users: Alternatively, you can deactivate users to bring the total number of active users within your subscription limit. After deactivating users, you would then reject any pending upsell quotations.
Important: For companies on a monthly subscription plan, the database will automatically update to reflect changes in the number of active users. If your company is on a yearly or multi-year plan, an expiration banner will typically appear. To resolve this, an upsell quotation can be generated by clicking the banner, or users can send a support ticket for assistance.
Once your Odoo database accurately reflects the correct number of users aligned with your subscription, the expiration message will automatically disappear after a few days, following the next scheduled verification cycle.
Odoo User Password Management and Security
Effective password management is a fundamental aspect of ensuring users have autonomous and secure access to your Odoo database at all times. Odoo provides several robust methods to facilitate the resetting of a user's password, enhancing both security and user convenience.
Security Tip: Odoo includes a configurable setting that allows you to specify the minimum required length for user passwords. This crucial security parameter can be accessed by navigating to Settings > General Settings > Permissions section. Here, you can define the desired password length in the Minimum Password Length field. By default, this value is set to
8characters, but it can be adjusted to enforce stronger password policies within your organization.
User Password Reset Options in Odoo
Users may occasionally need to reset their personal password for enhanced security or in case of forgotten credentials, ensuring they maintain sole access to their account. Odoo offers two distinct password reset options: one initiated by the user themselves, and another that can be triggered by an administrator.
Enabling Self-Service Password Reset from the Login Page
Odoo provides the functionality to enable or disable password resets directly from the Odoo login page, allowing users to initiate the process independently. This setting is enabled by default for convenience.
To modify this setting, navigate to Settings > General Settings > Permissions section. Locate and activate the Password Reset option, then click Save to apply your changes.
When enabled, users on the login page can simply click Reset Password. This action will initiate the password reset process, and a secure reset-token will be sent to the email address associated with their account.
Sending Password Reset Instructions as an Administrator
As an administrator, you can also initiate a password reset for a specific user. To do this, go to Settings > Users > Users, select the desired user from the list, and then click on Send Password Reset Instructions located on their user form. An email containing comprehensive password reset instructions will be automatically sent to the user.
Note: The Send Password Reset Instructions button will only be visible and functional if the Odoo invitation email has already been confirmed by the user. If the user has not yet confirmed their invitation, a Re-send Invitation Email button will appear instead.
This email is carefully crafted to include all the necessary instructions for resetting the password, along with a direct link that redirects the user to an Odoo login page where they can complete the process.
Directly Changing a User's Password (Administrator Only)
Administrators also have the capability to directly change a user's password from within the Odoo backend. To perform this action, navigate to Settings > Users > Users, and select the user whose password you wish to change to access their detailed user form. Click on the ⚙️ Actions icon, and then select Change Password from the ensuing drop-down menu. A Change Password pop-up window will appear; enter the new password in the New Password field and confirm the change by clicking the Change Password button.
Important Clarification: This operation exclusively modifies the password for the user's local Odoo database account and does not affect their separate odoo.com account. If a user needs to change their odoo.com password, they should utilize the send password reset instructions method. Odoo.com passwords grant access to the My Databases page and other portal features on the main Odoo website.
After successfully clicking Change Password, the system will redirect you to an Odoo login page, allowing the user (or administrator) to re-access the database using the newly set password.
Configuring Multi-Company Access for Odoo Users
The Multi Companies field, located on a user's form, empowers an administrator to grant users access to multiple companies within a single Odoo instance. To effectively configure a multi-company environment for a user, navigate to the desired user's profile by going to Settings > Users > Users. Once on the user's form, you can proceed to configure their multi-company access settings.
Under the Multi Companies section within the Access Rights tab, you will find two key fields: Allowed Companies and Default Company.
- The Allowed Companies field can accommodate multiple company selections. These are the companies that the user is authorized to access and modify, subject to their assigned access rights.
- The Default Company field, however, can contain only one company. This specifies the company that the user will automatically default to upon logging in each time.
Critical Warning for Multi-Company Configurations: Improper configuration of multi-company access can lead to inconsistent and unpredictable behaviors within your Odoo environment. For this reason, it is strongly advised that only experienced Odoo users or system administrators with a thorough understanding of multi-company configurations make changes to user access rights in databases with such setups. For detailed technical explanations and best practices, please refer to the developer documentation on Multi-company Guidelines.
