Beginners III

ASP Including Files

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The #include directive is used to create functions, headers, footers, or elements that will be reused on multiple pages.

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The #include Directive

You can insert the content of one ASP file into another ASP file before the server executes it, with the #include directive. The #include directive is used to create functions, headers, footers, or elements that will be reused on multiple pages.

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How to Use the #include Directive

Here is a file called "mypage.asp":

Words of Wisdom: The time is:

Here is the "wisdom.inc" file:

"One should never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything."

Here is the "time.inc" file:

<% Response.Write(Time) %>

If you look at the source code in a browser, it will look something like this:

Words of Wisdom: "One should never increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything." The time is: 11:33:42 AM

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Syntax for Including Files

To include a file in an ASP page, place the #include directive inside comment tags:

or

The Virtual Keyword

Use the virtual keyword to indicate a path beginning with a virtual directory.

If a file named "header.inc" resides in a virtual directory named /html, the following line would insert the contents of "header.inc":

The File Keyword

Use the file keyword to indicate a relative path. A relative path begins with the directory that contains the including file.

If you have a file in the html directory, and the file "header.inc" resides in html\headers, the following line would insert "header.inc" in your file:

Note that the path to the included file (headers\header.inc) is relative to the including file. If the file containing this #include statement is not in the html directory, the statement will not work.

You can also use the file keyword with the syntax (..\) to include a file from a higher-level directory.

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Tips and Notes

In the sections above we have used the file extension ".inc" for included files. Notice that if a user tries to browse an INC file directly, its content will be displayed. If your included file contains confidential information or information you do not want any users to see, it is better to use an ASP extension. The source code in an ASP file will not be visible after the interpretation. An included file can also include other files, and one ASP file can include the same file more than once.

Important: Included files are processed and inserted before the scripts are executed.

The following script will not work because ASP executes the #include directive before it assigns a value to the variable:

<% fname="header.inc" %>

You cannot open or close a script delimiter in an INC file. This script will not work:

<% For i = 1 To n Next %>

But this script will work:

<% For i = 1 to n %> <% Next %>

ASP The Global.asa file

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The Global.asa file is an optional file that can contain declarations of objects, variables, and methods that can be accessed by every page in an ASP application.

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The Global.asa file

The Global.asa file is an optional file that can contain declarations of objects, variables, and methods that can be accessed by every page in an ASP application. All valid browser scripts (JavaScript, VBScript, JScript, PerlScript, etc.) can be used within Global.asa.

The Global.asa file can contain only the following:

Application events

Session events