Magento 1.9 – How to Insert Custom Template/Block

blocksmagento-1.9template

Trying to insert custom template/block into specific place in => product.info.addto

for some reason my block appears either before or after and I can't manage to insert it anywhere else.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<layout>
<catalog_product_view>

    <reference name="content">

        <block type="amber_custom/catalog_product_custom" name="linked.product" template="amber/catalog/product/custom.phtml" after="product.reviews"/> <!-- trying inset it after this block but no luck -->

    </reference>

</catalog_product_view>
</layout>

What is the problem, why it won't go there ?

To find out all the block names i'm using "ath" – advanced theme hint , it shows all the names correctly.

Best Answer

Changes

Copy catalog/product/view.phtml into to your theme if it isn't already (never directly edit core files or you could lose your changes)
Inside this template add <?php echo $this->getChildHtml('linked.product') ?> to where you want it to render
In your layout XML change <reference name="content"> to <reference name="product.info">

Explanation

The problem arises because you're using <reference name="content"> - content is a structural block and structural blocks will automatically render child blocks and this is your problem as it can be difficult to position blocks this way.

Why before/after isn't working for you

after isn't working for you because your block is using the reference content whilst product.reviews inside the reference of product.info.

You're best bet is to use <reference name="product.info"> rather than content and then copy over catalog/product/view.phtml into your theme if it isn't already (never edit the core or Ben Marks will hunt you down).

Now inside this template add the following:

<?php echo $this->getChildHtml('linked.product') ?>

This will render your block where ever you add that line of code.

At first the above seems a bit strange and not so straight forward, but after you've done it a few times it becomes second nature and actually makes sense.

Related Solutions

Magento – How to add a custom block to admin sales order shipment

I recommend that you take the form.phtml, copy it, then customize it inside your module.

Put customForm.phtml in design/adminhtml/default/default/template/modulename/. Next, you will need to enter the new customForm.phtml into your xml layout file. Copy over the Mage/core/adminhtml/etc/config.xml entry for

<adminhtml_sales_order_shipment_new>

Copy that whole node. You're going to need all the block entries to do a succesful override. Then, change the specific form call to your custom form. The ... in the code below denotes all the other xml you will have copied over.

<layout>
    <adminhtml_sales_order_shipment_new>
        ...
        <reference name="content">
            ...
            <block type="adminhtml/sales_order_shipment_create_form" template="modulename/customForm.phtml">    
            </block>
            ...
        </reference>
    </adminhtml_sales_order_shipment_new>
</layout>

This way, you can customize the form to your hearts content, and the post action will include your variables.

Notice that I did not change the type. You do not need to change this specific block to do what you're doing. If you look at Mage_Adminhtml_Sales_Order_Shipment_Create_Form, you'll see all it does is execute layout calls, assign urls, child html, etc. You can probably leave it alone.

Magento 1.9 – Block Template Not Rendering

the top.links block is an instance of a template block. As such it doesn't automatically render child blocks. To render your block as a child of top.links you will have to edit the page/template/links.phtmltemplate within your theme and add an explicit render like this:

echo $this->getChildHtml('adminaccount');

...

gonna correct myself slightly, you should also be able to do this:

    <reference name="top.links">
        <action method="addLinkBlock"><blockName>adminaccount</blockName></action>
    </reference>

within your existing default node