How is it possible to select a file in the home directory?

Question

In php how would I select a header file from a page that isn't in the home directory?

Answer 1

require_once('../header.php');

would include the header.php file from the parent directory. Use either relative or absolute paths for the require function.

Answer 2

include('/path/to/the/header/file.php');

You can use absolute and relative paths. If you don't specify a path at all, PHP will search through its include_path setting and check each of those directories in sequence.