Adding a new tab under one page checkout – full working module

By: Branko Ajzele, Last updated: Mar 12, 2020 | Published: Sep 10, 2009

Adding a new tab under onepage checkout in Magento might seem as incredibly easy task. right?! Well, it’s not. If you want to do it properly, you gonna have to do some work. Took me few hours to get this one running. Attached are screenshots for you to see final result.

Here is the module itself Inchoo_Heared4us.

Few words about module. It uses built in Admin theme module from a coworker Ivan Weiler. If you have this Admin theme module installer already please disable it, since its built into this Heared4us module. There is only one thing you NEED TO DO in order for module to work: Once you added it to Magento, go to System > COnfiguration > Design and write down “custom” under Admin theme section. This admin theme section will appear as soon as you refresh Admin page once you copy-pasted module. If you get “Access denie” error, please logout and login into the admin.

That’s it. If you wish to edit the questions that appear under newely added tab, open the app/design/frontend/default/default/template/checkout/onepage/heared4us.phtml file and modify the array at the very top of the file.

DO A FULL DATABASE AND FILE BACKUP BEFORE ADDING A MODULE TO LIVE STORE.
You should always do a full backup when adding modules to live store. Although the module does not have any database dependencies and stuff, it uses overrides on checkout model, controller and block. Use on your own responsibility.

What you can learn from module? -You can learn how to override (extend) default controllers, Models, Blocks. You can learn how to modify existing JS files and reuse them (reused sample of JS for tab, saved it under heared4us.phtml file itself), you can learn how to set custom theme files on admin to avoid modifying default admin theme, learn how to extend order object (or any other, from sql setup file), learn how to “attach a hook” aka observer to event… Lot to learn on a small module like this. Hope it helps.

Cheers.

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168 comments

Mathew says:
Jun 21, 2011 at 0:35
Yep this works if you follow the instructions and notes and are willing to edit a few files. Pity I cannot upload attachment, mine works fine in 1.6.
Reply
nagaraja says:
Jun 08, 2011 at 4:38
great, You found the solution. Always remember to clear cache and indexing in magento
Reply
Boris says:
Jun 07, 2011 at 15:39
^Correction: I’ve tried to install it again and it works on 1.5.1.0.
It seems I had to delete cache and session files (var/cache and var/session) to make it work.
Reply
Boris says:
Jun 07, 2011 at 15:05
I’ve tried this module on fresh magento 1.5.1.0 and it does not Work. Nagaraja, I’ve also addad an extra column ALTER TABLE `sales_flat_order` ADD `heared4us` TEXT NOT NULL
No change on frontend.
Reply
nagaraja says:
May 05, 2011 at 12:28
Hi Soumya,
Please read above comments and try to solve issue. comments named by kharvi and nagaraja are mine .please try with those.this will solve your problem
Reply
soumya says:
May 05, 2011 at 9:14
how to work this module in 1.5.0.1, as extra tab is not coming in onepage chekout frontend..please help..it’s urgent
Reply
Hardik says:
May 04, 2011 at 13:31
hi
I have use this extension and its work fine but i have to use file control in place of text area.
But i have face some issue.
when i post my form, i can not get files value.
So Could u tell me what changes i have to made.
Reply
Neela says:
Apr 20, 2011 at 17:50
If anybody wants to change the text “How did you heared about us” you can change it on app/code/local/Inchoo/Heared4us/Block/Onepage/Heared4us.php
since the spelling is incorrect thought this might be helpful
Reply
Natalie says:
Apr 20, 2011 at 17:13
I am using version 1.4.2. The form is displaying on the checkout page but the data is not pulling on the admin section. I could see How did you heard from us but its not pulling any data.
I have followed all the steps above mentioned. I added a column manually on sales_flat_order and also changed the file mysql4-install-0.1.0.php
I am running out of options here guys..any help would be appreciated..
Reply
Neela says:
Apr 19, 2011 at 20:57
very nice module…installation was easy and it worked like a charm…thanks a bunch
Reply
MSicons says:
Apr 04, 2011 at 21:53
Hi.
I have Magento 1.5 installation.
I have downloaded this extension and manage to make it appear in checkout and admin panel. But there was no value in admin panel. :-(. Only “Where did you heared about us” section .. No values :-(.. Help me please!
Reply
khushbu says:
Mar 29, 2011 at 7:10
hi
i have install this module…
and change admin theme
now what to do plz tell me in detail….
Reply
Thom says:
Mar 28, 2011 at 20:12
Darn… I’m ready to throw in the towel…
Running Magento 1.5.0.1 and no one’s suggestions above is actually even getting to write to the database
Too bad, because it could of been a REALLY helpful module 🙁
Reply
ran says:
Jan 30, 2011 at 14:36
i cant extract that file…
Archive: /home2/vdslivec/public_html/ranga/app/design/adminhtml/default/custom/Inchoo_Heared4us.zip
End-of-central-directory signature not found. Either this file is not
a zipfile, or it constitutes one disk of a multi-part archive. In the
latter case the central directory and zipfile comment will be found on
the last disk(s) of this archive.
unzip: cannot find zipfile directory in one of /home2/vdslivec/public_html/ranga/app/design/adminhtml/default/custom/Inchoo_Heared4us.zip or
/home2/vdslivec/public_html/ranga/app/design/adminhtml/default/custom/Inchoo_Heared4us.zip.zip, and cannot find /home2/vdslivec/public_html/ranga/app/design/adminhtml/default/custom/Inchoo_Heared4us.zip.ZIP, period.
Reply
rajeev says:
Jan 29, 2011 at 10:20
sorry i forgot i am using magento 1.3.2.4
Reply
rajeev says:
Jan 29, 2011 at 10:17
Option is not adding to order when use paypal standard as payment method… can help??? 🙂 It shows in order in admin when i put order from money order method…
Reply
nagaraja says:
Jan 13, 2011 at 12:29
it works on all. implement it instead of asking
Reply
Sho says:
Jan 13, 2011 at 12:15
Anyone has tried to intall this module successfully on Magento 1.4.2.0?
Reply
scd says:
Dec 04, 2010 at 21:27
will pay someone who can correct the spelling of the tab to “How Did You Hear About Us” and get the data for the answers people provide to the question to actually show up. send email to graphxartist@earthlink.net
Reply
pablo says:
Nov 21, 2010 at 2:01
How can I add the custom attribute to the new order form in the admin?
I want to be able to use this field when creating new orders.
Reply
nagaraja says:
Nov 20, 2010 at 6:41
have u installed and getting front end screen? please add table column manually ‘sales_flat_order’ .u will definitly get the value on order form (from backend ).
Reply
nemo says:
Nov 19, 2010 at 22:49
Does anyone know howto change the title and add a text box?
Reply
nemo says:
Nov 19, 2010 at 22:48
Got it to work…followed Terracides steps
Well.. I got it working finally, using magento 1.4.1.1
Here are the steps i followed
1) System > Configuration > Design and write down “custom” under Admin theme section.
2) Follow Michael’s instructions above, by modifying the mysql4-install-01.0.php.
3) Add “heard4us” in the sales_flat_order table.
ALTER TABLE sales_flat_order ADD heared4us text;
This should get you going. I hope this will be helpful to someone in the future
____
There is a typo in michaels edit to the SQL file….Reply the $row = line with
$row = Mage::getSingleton(‘core/resource’)->getConnection(‘core_read’)->addColumn(Mage::getSingleton(‘core/resource’)->getTableName(‘sales/order’), ‘giftaid’, ‘TEXT NULL’);
Reply
amit says:
Nov 19, 2010 at 11:59
It is good module but I have done all things however it does not show on admin panel plz solve this problem on magenot 1.4.0.1
Reply
Terracide says:
Nov 13, 2010 at 4:37
Well.. I got it working finally, using magento 1.4.1.1
Here are the steps i followed
1) System > Configuration > Design and write down “custom” under Admin theme section.
2) Follow Michael’s instructions above, by modifying the mysql4-install-01.0.php.
3) Add “heard4us” in the sales_flat_order table.
ALTER TABLE sales_flat_order ADD heared4us text;
This should get you going. I hope this will be helpful to someone in the future
Reply
Terracide says:
Nov 12, 2010 at 19:13
I added the heared4us column using
ALTER sales_flat_order
ADD heared4us text
but it’s still not saving in the database
Reply
kharvi says:
Nov 12, 2010 at 12:03
Nayan,
i solved it . add column ‘heared4us’ to the table sales_flat_order manually
that will work
Reply
Nayan says:
Nov 12, 2010 at 8:48
@Terracide and @kharvi
Sorry frieneds , still not found any sols for that.
Reply
kharvi says:
Nov 12, 2010 at 8:22
hello ,anybody has solutionfor this last comment( Naya).
Please post if u have
Reply
Terracide says:
Nov 12, 2010 at 5:16
Hey,
I am also using 1.4.1 and I cannot see the data in the “where did you hearded for us” information in the admin section.
There is a div for it, but no data. I was wondering if there was a fix for this.
Thanks
Reply
Nayan says:
Nov 11, 2010 at 17:15
Sorry (: Not Working on Admin Panel
I have added
Mage::getSingleton(‘core/resource’)->getConnection(‘core_read’)->addColumn(Mage::getSingleton(‘core/resource’)->getTableName(‘sales/order’), ‘giftaid’, ‘TEXT NULL’);
in nysql4-install-01.0.php
Please help me
Reply
Yogendra Mishra says:
Nov 11, 2010 at 15:01
Hello Nayan,
Make sure that it is adding the new column in that table .. read the above comment for the adding column to the table using this :
Mage::getSingleton(‘core/resource’)->getConnection(‘core_read’)->addColumn(Mage::getSingleton(‘core/resource’)->getTableName(‘sales/order’), ‘giftaid’, ‘TEXT NULL’);
Thanks to Michael… than it should work..
Reply
Nayan says:
Nov 11, 2010 at 13:26
Sorry Yogendra, Still Not working , i have done all the steps you have ordered and also checked `sales_flat_order` table. but not find thing for Heard4us module……
Please help me.
Thanks
Reply
Yogendra Mishra says:
Nov 11, 2010 at 11:44
Naya,
its working for me in 1.4.1 and even I improved this extension very much as I commented above ..
just make sure that you have set the admin theme from admin panel.. go to system > configuration > design > admin theme , type there custom and you should be able to see it.. also double check that value is storing in database that is sales_flat_order table..
Yogi
Reply
Naya says:
Nov 11, 2010 at 11:27
Thanks For Great Module, but there is some version compatibility issue , i m Magento Version 1.4.1.
Sorry this is not workking when i show deatils in magento admin panel sales order
Reply
Olga says:
Nov 10, 2010 at 19:18
Thank you for this extension, it works good on 1.4.0.1.
But.
Some users, who use Safari on Mac report us that they cannot checkout. After adding their credit card information, they see doubled “heared for us” tab and cannot move ahead.
Does anybody have the same problem?
Reply
Yogendra Mishra says:
Oct 26, 2010 at 11:57
Hi All,
First of all very much thanks for providing support to this topic as
I have made it working under 1.4 .. just curious to know if someone have try to get it working in back end while creating new order .. as I have start to work on it..
Will update soon
Thanks,
Reply
Mel says:
Oct 11, 2010 at 12:07
Hi, we also have the same problem with 1.4.1.1 (no value in the AP).
Is there anyone that has solved this problem?
Also i would like to thank the creator of this extension for his fine work!!
Reply
Yogendra Mishra says:
Oct 01, 2010 at 10:51
Hi, I am too on 1.4.1.1 and it is not displaying the value in admin panel.. infact I am trying to get it working using both method .. but no success…
Here what I am trying
$addtionalData = array(“heared4us” => $_heared4us_data,”deliveryinstruction”=>$deliveryinstruction);
$payment = $order->getPayment();
$payment->setAdditionalData($additionalData)->save();
and in view.phtml trying this :
$payment = $_order->getPayment();
print_r( “this should come”.$additonalData = $payment->getData(‘additional_information’));
echo “”.$additionalData[“heared4us”].””.$additionalData[“deliveryinstruction”];
but it is displaying nothing.. anyone can shed light on this?
Many Thanks 🙂
Reply
Rafalll says:
Sep 16, 2010 at 16:06
I.m using magento v.1.4.1.0, and I also can’t see values in AP. Diana’s and Michael’s methods doesn’t work (or maybe I’m doing sth wrong).
Reply

fixed it for magento 1.4.1 in the sql setup file replace

//START Add order attribute by Branko Ajzele
$sql = "SELECT entity_type_id FROM ".$this->getTable('eav_entity_type')." WHERE entity_type_code='order'";
$row = Mage::getSingleton('core/resource')->getConnection('core_read')->fetchRow($sql);

$attribute  = array(
	'type'			=> 'text',
	'label'			=> 'Heared4us',
	'visible'		=> false,
	'required'		=> false,
	'user_defined'	=> false,
	'searchable'	=> false,
	'filterable'	=> false,
	'comparable'	=> false,
);

$installer->addAttribute($row['entity_type_id'], 'heared4us', $attribute);
//END Add customer attribute Branko Ajzele

with the following line:

Mage::getSingleton('core/resource')->getConnection('core_read')->addColumn(Mage::getSingleton('core/resource')->getTableName('sales/order'), 'giftaid', 'TEXT NULL');

The reason for nthis change is that the eav data representation to a flat database

Diana says:
Sep 06, 2010 at 10:55
For Pablo and tuba, the reason the information is not showing in the admin is because it is never actually saved in the database.
Magento 1.4.1.0 has changed the database layout, and the table “sales_order_entity_text” where the “heared4us” attribute is supposed to be saved doesn’t exist anymore.
As a fast fix, you can add the information to payment/additional_information like this (in app/code/local/Inchoo/Heared4us/Model/Observer.php):
$payment = $order->getPayment();
$payment->setAdditionalData($additionalData)->save();
$additionalData is an array so you might want to format it like this ([heared4us] => “Data”).
in app/design/adminhtml/default/default/template/sales/order/view/info.phtml
instead of $_order->getData(‘heared4us’)
do:
$payment = $_order->getPayment();
$additonalData = $payment->getData(‘additional_information’);
And that’s it. Hope it helps.
Reply
Pankaj says:
Aug 17, 2010 at 8:14
How can we add another field under default drop down field on new tab ? Also how can we show additional filed value in admin sales order section ? Please guide us on this asap.
Reply
pablo says:
Aug 16, 2010 at 2:56
forgot to say that I’m using ce 1.4.1.0
Reply
pablo says:
Aug 16, 2010 at 2:54
I can’t see the data on the order in the admin.
I am getting the new tab with option in the checkout.
Is there a way to check in the db that the info was saved?
Thanks.
Reply
tuba says:
Aug 08, 2010 at 19:21
I am having problem to display info at admin panel otherwise seems working fine.
Reply
seda says:
Aug 07, 2010 at 3:41
also had a problem at first extracting, but got it to work after switching browsers, now trying to find out where to correct the spelling of the tab from heared , to how you heard about us. any suggestions?
Reply
seda says:
Aug 06, 2010 at 7:10
go it to work in magneto 1.4 after i had given up on the admin theme section from appearing. but then it just magically showed up. i guess magneto is robust and it just takes a while for things to show sometimes.
Reply
Jignesh says:
Aug 04, 2010 at 19:52
Finally I was able to print the ‘getHeared4us’ in the email as well.
Here is how:
In the file: app/code/core/Mage/Sales/Model/Order.php
Added one more array att. below the line:
‘payment_html’ => $paymentBlock->toHtml(),
‘heared4us’ => Mage::getSingleton(‘core/session’)->getInchooHeared4us(),
So now in the ‘order_new’ email it can be printed this way:
{{var heared4us}}
Reply
Yogendra Mishra says:
Aug 03, 2010 at 18:01
Hello Branko,
First of all very much thanks for such a nice module and I got it working too.. I have only one concern is that my client don’t use any Free Payment method and as far as I am sure that your module needs free payment methods like check / money order… so is there any way to avoid this error? as I get is usually when I disable the payment method.. and this is the errror in system log : DEBUG (7): NOT Showing Free payment method..
Many Thanks,
Yogendra
Reply

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