Using include when wrappers are involved

[CorkyMcDoogle]

Hello...

I think this question is more php related than web design so I will ask it here.

I've been working on layout and it involves wrappers and containing divs to center it and put things where I want them. I've created the layout in one file and splitting it up later like I've read to do. How will I include each part when each part has to be inside of the wrapper? If I put the wrapper div inside the file the the left coloumn is in for example, when I include the content box, its outside of the wrapper.

Here is the layout in one file. [a href=\"http://metaltactics.com/version2.php\" target=\"_blank\"]http://metaltactics.com/version2.php[/a]

Thats how I want it to look but I need to chop up the header, leftcol, content box, footer, etc into seperate peices so I can edit them individually if I need to.

I've heard of the program Smarty from reading forums. Can someone explain exactly what this is and if it would be smart to use it in my situation?

Thanks