Magento 1.8 - Display block in email template

Question

I try to display a custom block in email template and pass the order object. I tried

{{block type='module/blockname' area='frontend' order=$order template='template/module.phtml'}}

Block is like:

Namespace_Module_Block_Blockname extends Mage_Core_Block_Template

The module.phtml exists and using it in another phtml with

Mage::app()->getLayout()->createBlock("module/blockname");

works fine. But in email template the block won't show up. Do i miss some configuration in layout.xml? I tried so many things to get this working, perhaps someone can give me a hint how to manage this.

I also tried with layout handle:

<some_handle>
    <block type="module/blockname" name="blockname" template="namespace/template.phtml"></block>
</some_handle>

and call with:

{{layout area="frontend" handle="some_handle" order=$order}}

Answer 1

I know that you can include static blocks using e.g.:

{{block type="cms/block" block_id="static-block-id" }}

That block simply uses _toHtml() to output the content from the static block.

protected function _toHtml()
{
    $blockId = $this->getBlockId();
    ...
    return $html;
}

Similarly, you could try and populate the _toHtml() function with HTML in your module to output what ever you need to output. You cannot use PHP variables such as $order to pass in your data for processing.

Answer 2

If you are facing the same problem as I am you might have forgotten to white list your block... You need to add an entry in the permission_block table with your block path.