[RESOLVED] can I set variable = include('file')?

[dr_overload]

I am composing an email through mailto which I would like the body of the message to be designed in html and to be able to retreive info from the DB, therefore I thought I would set $body= separate page, however I am struggling with the correct code.

What I have at the moment is

$body = include ('emailbody.php');

but on viewing the sent email the body is empty.

Can anyone show me where I have gone wrong.

Thanks
Jon

[madwormer2]

If you really want to do $variable = include(...); then you have to return the contents that you want returned to the variable, in the included file.

However, I doubt this is the way that you want to be doing this...

You can just do the include() (on it's own) and set $body in the include file.

[dr_overload]

madwormer2 wrote:

You can just do the include() (on it's own) and set $body in the include file.

Thanks for your reply madwormer2, sorry I'm still a novice :o , could you elaborate on how I can set $body in the include file?

[Installer]

The global scope of the included file will merge into the global scope of the including file; i.e. variables in the included file will become available from the point of the inclusion on.

So:
emailbody.php

$body = 'Message text';

including_file.php

include('emailbody.php');
echo $body;  // Message text

[wilku]

If emailbody.php echo'es email body to the browser you can use output control:

<?php
ob_start(); //start buffering
include('emailbody.php');
$body = ob_get_contents();//assign to $body what's in the buffer
ob_end_clean();//destroy buffer without sending to browser

//send email here
?>

[dream_scape]

or even a bit simpler:

<?php
ob_start();
include('emailbody.php');
$body = ob_get_clean();

[dr_overload]

dream.scape wrote:

or even a bit simpler:

<?php
ob_start();
include('emailbody.php');
$body = ob_get_clean();

OK tried the above, on viewing the sent email the body of the message shows the code of emailbody rather than the images and text😕 😕

[dream_scape]

dr_overload wrote:

OK tried the above, on viewing the sent email the body of the message shows the code of emailbody rather than the images and text😕 😕

If the email is HTML, then you have to send a text/html header in the email.

[CybJunior]

dream.scape wrote:

If the email is HTML, then you have to send a text/html header in the email.

that's right, amd it's better to have the contents of body.php in a function that should look something like

<?php
function mailBody(){
   $mail_content ='';
   $mail_content .='bla-bla';
   $mail_content .='bla-bla';

   return $mail content;
}
?>

And then just

<?php
include('body.php');
$body = mailBody();
?>

[dr_overload]

Thanks everyone for all your help - as always🙂

All solved now. Thanks again

Jon