PHP - Subfolders and Includes Dillemma?

[sftravel2002]

I am modifying a large website which you can see an example of at this link:

 

http://www.sftravel.com/food.html

 

The site uses php to insert left navigation menus, headers, footers, etc. via an include folder in the site's root directory.

 

The site contains a large variety of existing html files (to be upgraded) in other subdirectories and nested subdirectories.  My programming team is having challenge / questions in easily referencing the include directory for the root directory - when the html files are in the subdirectories.  Are there ways to solve this challenge?  We also don't want to have to repeat the include files in every subdirectory - we want them referenced from a central spot.  I'll happily send $10 via Paypal to the first person to cleanly help me figure this out.

[PFMaBiSmAd]

Form an absolute file system path using $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] -

 

require $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/your_include_path/your_include_file.php';