How can code be modified or added to Magento pages using the following methods? Magento is known by its great flexibility to add custom code or modifying the existing one. For that you can explore multiple possibilities. The next sections shows some of them, but there are much more you can explore by yourself. Template […]

How can variables be passed to the block using the following methods? In Magento, variables can be passed to a block instance in several ways, depending on how you create or access the block. Passing variables From layout xml file to a block in Magento To pass a variable from a Magento layout file, the […]

How can layout XML files be registered for the frontend and adminhtml areas? In Magento, you may register a new Layout XML file with layout updates by adding this piece of XML to your module config.xml <layout> <updates> <anyuniquename> <file>nv/homelayout.xml</file> </anyuniquename> </updates> </layout> If you need the layout file to apply to the Magento frontend, […]

The way Magento loads the layout starts when the controller serving the current request calls to: $this->loadLayout(); This call starts the process of compiling and generating all the blocks that will be used in a later phase to generate the current page contents. The process of geting the proper nodes from the layout requires the […]

The directive <update> in the Magento Layout The update tag is used to combine a particular layout handle into other. Let’s see an example: <my_custom_handle> <reference name="content"> <block type="core/template" name="myblock" template="myblock.phtml" /> </reference> </my_custom_handle> <other_hanlde> <update handle="my_custom_handle" /> <reference name="content"> <block type="core/template" name="otherblock" template="otherblock.phtml" /> </reference> </other_handle> The previous fragment would be in fact, as […]

Explain different mechanisms for disabling block output In which ways can block output be disabled in Magento? There are some ways you can disable the block output in Magento. Remove a block from the layout in Magento In the layout files, you can set a remove node to disable the block. This will not only […]

Identify different types of blocks in Magento In this article we will check for the main characteristics of some of the pre-defined blocks in Magento. What is the purpose of each of the following block types Mage_Core_Block_Template Mage_Core_Block_Text_List Mage_Core_Block_Text Mage_Core_Block_Template It is for sure the most used block in Magento. The most important feature of […]

Describe events fired in blocks How can block output be caught using an observer? During the render phase, Magento calls the method toHtml for each block that is needed in the page being generated. If you take a look at the Mage_Core_Block_Abstract::toHtml method, you’ll see that Magento fire a couple of events, one at the […]