function to put txt file in a string?

[Anon]

is there a function to put a text file into a string? if not, i know i can put it in an array using file(), but i need to use str_replace, which i don't think will work on an array (or will it?)

[lawnmowerman]

Well, what I do, if I want a file in a string instead of an array is:

$filestring = join( '', file( 'file.txt' ));

-Rich