diff --git a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_ui_view.py b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_ui_view.py
index a52574a2710..8a799789123 100644
--- a/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_ui_view.py
+++ b/openerp/addons/base/ir/ir_ui_view.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def keep_query(*keep_params, **additional_params):
     if not keep_params and not additional_params:
         keep_params = ('*',)
     params = additional_params.copy()
-    qs_keys = request.httprequest.args.keys()
+    qs_keys = request.httprequest.args.keys() if request else []
     for keep_param in keep_params:
         for param in fnmatch.filter(qs_keys, keep_param):
             if param not in additional_params and param in qs_keys: