\$use\_include\_path {#variable.use.include.path}

This tells smarty to respect the include\_path within the File Template Resource handler and the plugin loader to resolve the directories known to $template_dir. The flag also makes the plugin loader check the include\_path for $plugins_dir.

> Note > > You should not design your applications to rely on the include\_path, > as this may - depending on your implementation - slow down your system > (and Smarty) considerably.

If use\_include\_path is enabled, file discovery for $template_dir and $plugins_dir work as follows.

• For each element `$directory` in array (\$template\_dir or \$plugins\_dir) do
• Test if requested file is in `$directory` relative to the current working directory. If file found, return it.
• For each `$path` in include\_path do
• Test if requested file is in `$directory` relative to the `$path` (possibly relative to the current working directory). If file found, return it.
• Try default\_handler or fail.

This means that whenever a directory/file relative to the current working directory is encountered, it is preferred over anything potentially accessible through the include\_path.

> Note > > Smarty does not filter elements of the include\_path. That means a > \".:\" within your include path will trigger the current working > directory lookup twice.

See also Template Resources and $template_dir