Magento custom attributes failing to install

Question

I followed the tutorial at http://www.magentocommerce.com/wiki/5_-_modules_and_development/0_-_module_development_in_magento/installing_custom_attributes_with_your_module step by step to make my module install a couple of custom attributes, using Magento CE 1.4. I get to see the custom attributes on the product edit page, but whenever I try to save them I get an SQL error complaining that column "myattrid" does not exist. I know that:

• this column is part of the flat product tables and indeed, it is not there
• a lot of people give the advice to create by hand, but this bypasses the point of automatic installation

Is the tutorial I followed outdated? If so, what extra steps do I need to take?

Answer 1

An alternative approach is outlined in this blog post. You could try that.

I agree that you should avoid creating the attributes manually, there are many keys, indexes and relationships that Magento needs to be aware of which might be bypassed if you go straight to the database.

HTH, JD