Include file as a variable

[kuau]

I have a template file that uses two different versions of the right colum so I use this code for the right column:

<div id="right-hm">
      <?=$rightcol;?>
</div>

I have created 2 include files called right-hm.html and right-res.html which are on the include path in php.ini. What I would like to do is set the value of $rightcol in the file that runs the template like this: $rightcol = 'right-hm.html'; in which case the above would be:

<?include($rightcol);?>

But it does not work! The only way I can get the right column to appear is to load the value of $rightcol from a mySQL database. How do you write a command to get to to load from the file instead of the database? I even tried setting $rightcol = 'include("right-hm.html")'; It didn't work.

What am I doing wrong? Thanks, erin

[Nile]

Instead of using short starts, use the standard.

[kuau]

What are short starts and what are standards? I have no idea what you are saying. Sorry.

[Nile]

Short:

<?

?>

Standard:

<?php

?>

[kuau]

Dear Nile: Thanks for helping me with this. It is not the php short tags because I have tons of them throughout the site. But I know you know how to solve this problem because you know php so well and helped me previously with a similar issue. If you would be so kind, I need you to show me how to say this:

<?php include('right-hm.html'); ?>

but where the filename is a variable. I've tried the following:

<?php include('$rightcol'); ?> and <?php include($rightcol); ?>

Setting $rightcol = 'include("right-hm.html");';

then in template <?php echo $rightcol; ?> ... this one prints the literal 'include("right-hm.html") on the screen.

So I tried leaving out the outer quotes and it did print the column, but at the very top of the screen above the page. Not sure what else to try. Any ides? Thanks, erin.

[Nile]

So this doesn't work?:

<?php
$rightcol = "include('right-hm.html')";
?>

Then

<?php echo $rightcol; ?>

If the above works it was because of your ; after the include.

[thetestingsite]

instead of using include, simply use file_get_contents like so:

<?php 
 $content = file_get_contents('filename_here.txt');
?>

and then:

<?php echo $content; ?>

Edit: Added Later: You cannot use include in a variable as that is not what the include function was made for and will cause strange things to happen to your php code. Instead, you need to read the file using file accessing functions (such as: file, file_get_contents, fgets, and others).

Hope this helps.

[kuau]

That doesn't work either. It printed this on the screen where the column would be...

include('right-hm.html')

[Nile]

Oh, sorry. Try this:

<?php $rightcol; ?>

[kuau]

I tried the file_get_contents and removing the echo and both had the same result. The column did not appear and in the code there was nothing at all.

Maybe this is just not possible. I really appreciate your willingness to help me.

Mahalo, erin