HOW TO: Correctly Set Source Model In A Magento Widget

I just started writing a custom Magento widget for an upcoming Magento Template following the tutorial in the Magento knowledgebase.

As one of the options for the widget I needed a custom value provider, so decided to use the instructions provided to specify a source model using the source_model parameter.

However, by using the given format the widget options just wouldn’t load in the admin area.

<source_model>widgettwo/services</source_model>

I couldn’t easily find any results by searching Google for help, so after spending a bit of time with trial and error I found the solution to this problem. Instead of using the module/model structure, you actually need to provide the class name of your model e.g.:

<source_model>Cube_CategoryFeatured_Model_Categories</source_model>

After updating my widget.xml file to use the new source model parameter everything worked smoothly.

The widget I’m creating will be included in the next commercial Magento template, and I’ll also make it available on Magento Connect for free of charge!