# PHP highlight_file() Function

PHP Misc Reference

## Example

Using a test file ("test.php") to output the file with the PHP syntax highlighted:

<html>
<body>
<?php
highlight_file("test.php");
?>
</body>
</html>

The browser output of the code above could be (depending on the content in your file):

<html>
<body>
<?php
echo ("test.php");
?>
</body>
</html>

The HTML output of the code above could be (View Source):

<html>
<body>
<code><span style="color: #000000">
&lt;html&gt;
<br />&lt;body&gt;
<br /><span style="color: #0000BB">&lt;?php
<br /></span><span style="color: #007700">echo&nbsp;(</span><span style="color: #DD0000">"test.php"</span><span style="color: #007700">);
<br /></span><span style="color: #0000BB">?&gt;
<br /></span>&lt;/body&gt;
<br />&lt;/html&gt;</span>
</code>
</body>
</html>
Run example »

## Definition and Usage

The highlight_file() function outputs a file with the PHP syntax highlighted. The syntax is highlighted by using HTML tags.

Tip: The colors used for highlighting can be set in the php.ini file or with the ini_set() function.

Note: When using this function, the entire file will be displayed - including passwords and any other sensitive information!

## Syntax

highlight_file(filename,return)

Parameter | Description
--- | ---
filename | Required. Specifies the file to display
return | Optional. If this parameter is set to TRUE, this function will return the highlighted code as a string, instead of printing it out. Default is FALSE

## Technical Details

Return Value: | If the return parameter is set to TRUE, this function returns the highlighted code as a string instead of printing it out. Otherwise, it returns TRUE on success, or FALSE on failure
PHP Version: | 4+
Changelog: | As of PHP 4.2.1, this function is now also affected by safe_mode and open_basedir. However, safe_mode was removed in PHP 5.4. The return parameter was added in PHP 4.2.0.

PHP Misc Reference

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