Magento: "overriding" core config.xml files via a local copy? Is this correct?

Question

I'm trying to rename some of the credit cards which appear on my Magento checkout (e.g. "Visa" becomes "Visa Debit/Credit").

To do this, I discovered you must edit the names as defined in /app/code/core/Mage/Payment/etc/config.xml.

Not wanting to overwrite core files, I tried copying this file to /app/code/local/Mage/Payment/etc/config.xml and making my changes there, but it didn't work. From research, I gather than Magento doesn't autoload config files from local folders first?

I then discovered that you could change app/etc/modules/Mage_All.xml and specify <codePool>local</codePool> instead of <codePool>core</codePool> under <Mage_Payment>. My changes made under the local folder would then work.

Is this the correct approach? Will changing the codePool of a core module have any repercussions? Is there some other way to "override" a core module's config.xml?

Answer 1

You have to create a new module under local : Yourcompany_Payment

In this module, define a minimalist etc/config.xml with the XML rewrite you need :

<config>
    <modules>
        <Yourcompany_Payment>
            <version>0.1.0.0</version>
        </Yourcompany_Payment>
    </modules>
    <global>
        <payment>
            <cc>
                <types>
                    <AE>
                        <code>AE</code>
                        <name>American Express</name>
                        <order>0</order>
                    </AE> [...]

And then in the app/etc/modules folder, add a new Yourcompany_Payment.xml (or Yourcompany_All.xml) with :

<config>
    <modules>
        <Yourcompany_Payment>
            <active>true</active>
            <codePool>local</codePool>
            <depends>
                <Mage_Payment/>
            </depends>
        </Yourcompany_Payment>
    </modules>
</config>

The depends node is vital because it will tell magento to load your XML after magento's one in order to your rewrite to work