Magento – Change Value of Custom Category Attribute in Frontend

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I am installing a custom attribute through the normal Magento module install script. It is a simple select box with Yes or No: 

<?php

$installer = Mage::getResourceModel('catalog/setup','catalog_setup');
$installer->startSetup();

$installer->addAttribute(
    'catalog_category',
    'my_attribute',
    array(
        'label'            => 'My attribute label',
        'group'            => 'My Group',   //will be created if necessary
        'type'             => 'int',
        'class'            => 'validate-number',
        'source'           => 'eav/entity_attribute_source_boolean',
        'required'         => false,
        'input'            => 'select',
        'global'           => Mage_Catalog_Model_Resource_Eav_Attribute::SCOPE_GLOBAL,
        'visible'          => true,
        'visible_on_front' => true,
    )
);

$installer->endSetup();

This is all good – it installs fine and if I change the value in the admin area the value gets saved correctly.

I also need a way to manually set that value via AJAX. This controller gets called correctly via a http://www.mywebsite.com/mymodule/setmyattribute/index/id/1:

<?php

class Mynamespace_Mymodule_SetmyattributeController extends Mage_Core_Controller_Front_Action 
{        

    public function indexAction() 
    {

        $categoryId = $this->getRequest()->getParam('id'); // Get id from params (1)

        $category = Mage::getModel('catalog/category')->load($categoryId); // Load category (loads fine)
        $category->setMyattribute(0); // <-- set Attribute
        $category->save(); // <-- save the category

        var_dump($category->getMyattribute()); // <-- Equals 0 here which is correct but doesn't equal 0 in the admin area

        /** Re-index the products and category EAV **/
        $process = Mage::getModel('index/process')->load(5); $process->reindexAll();  // Re-index category EAV
        $process = Mage::getModel('index/process')->load(6); $process->reindexAll();  // Re-index Category Products

        echo Mage::helper('core')->jsonEncode(array('status'=>'success'));

        die();

    }


}

Now the var_dump above does as expected and reports 0. However it doesn't seem to save it properly as in the admin area the value is still 1. Why is this and how do I make it save correctly?

In my stand-alone Magento scripts when I am setting category attributes I have to put this line at the top:

<?php

Mage::app('admin'); // And not ('default')

To set custom category attributes, how do I achieve the same with the above controller?

Best Answer

Expanding on @TimVroom's answer please use store emulation in favor of changing the currentStore or setting the isSecureArea. You can read more about emulation on the Inchoo blog.

class Mynamespace_Mymodule_SetmyattributeController extends Mage_Core_Controller_Front_Action 
{        

    public function indexAction() 
    {

        $categoryId = $this->getRequest()->getParam('id'); // Get id from params (1)

        // start emulation
        $appEmulation = Mage::getSingleton('core/app_emulation');
        $initialEnvironmentInfo = $appEmulation->startEnvironmentEmulation(0);


        $category = Mage::getModel('catalog/category')->load($categoryId); // Load category (loads fine)
        $category->setMyattribute(0); // <-- set Attribute
        $category->save(); // <-- save the category


        // stop, return to origional env.
        $appEmulation->stopEnvironmentEmulation($initialEnvironmentInfo);

        /** Re-index the products and category EAV **/
        $process = Mage::getModel('index/process')->load(5); $process->reindexAll();  // Re-index category EAV
        $process = Mage::getModel('index/process')->load(6); $process->reindexAll();  // Re-index Category Products

        echo Mage::helper('core')->jsonEncode(array('status'=>'success'));

        exit;
    }

}
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