Checking which layout handles can be used on a Magento page
When diving into the depths of layout XML its always beneficial to know which layout handles can be used in any given locations on your Magento website.
Here is a nice little piece of code that you can use to display exactly which handles are being used on any given page:
<?php print_r($this->getLayout()->getUpdate()->getHandles()); ?>
What you can do is stick this little beauty inside your header.phtml to display the active layout handles for your page.
You can then use these layout handles in your xml files – like so:
<customer_logged_out> // some stuff here </customer_logged_out>
If you can combine this technique with the custom magento layout handles post form a while back – you’ll be laughing when it comes to controlling your Magento website through layout xml.
Rob is Ecommerce Web Design’s lead PHP developer, and an expert at customising the Magento framework to create completely unique sites. Follow him on twitter (because he's a twit) http://twitter.com/kent_robert. - Read my other posts.