Magento - can't find - $this->getForm()->toHtml()

Question

In my store when dealing with orders in the admin section via Admin > Sales > Orders > Edit Shipping Address the "State" field is missing for some reason.

I finally found the file in the backend located

app/design/adminhtml/default/default/template/sales/order/address/form.phtml

But when I try to add the field it only has this php code:

<?php echo $this->getForm()->toHtml() ?> in line 41.

Where can I edit the getForm()?

Is it a file someplace, or in the database, or in the configuration settings somewhere?

---

UPDATE - Still stuck been 4 hours :(

I see in the database the "adminhtml_customer_address" and changed values around - flushed cache and nothing changed....

Database screenshot

Admin screenshot mission "state/region" missing

Answer 1

The form uses the block Mage_Adminhtml_Block_Sales_Order_Address_Form.

This can be found by searching for where the template is used in the code base or by turning on the template hints via the admin config.

The block mentioned mainly extends the block Mage_Adminhtml_Block_Sales_Order_Create_Form_Address and in this block you can find the function _prepareForm which is actually used to add the elements to the form element.

I think the part that might be breaking for you is the addition of field elements with the line $this->_addAttributesToForm($attributes, $fieldset);.

What this should do is add all the attributes needed to the form.

Have a look in the table customer_form_attribute for the form code adminhtml_customer_address and see what attributes are set to be shown in this form. If state or region is not set then try adding that attribute here and see what happens.

Answer 2

The template is actually a renderer for the block Mage_Adminhtml_Block_Sales_Order_Create_Form_Address that extends Mage_Adminhtml_Block_Sales_Order_Create_Form_Abstract.
This last one has a method called getForm that looks like this:

public function getForm()
{
    if (is_null($this->_form)) {
        $this->_form = new Varien_Data_Form();
        $this->_prepareForm();
    }

    return $this->_form;
}

This means that if the class has the _form member populated it returns is, if not, it creates an instance of Varien_Data_Form and returns it.
The form is manipulated in the _prepareForm method

Answer 3

I found all the element display in the form in the eav_attribute table in the database. Hope it helps.