Including a PHP file via a function that is part of a plugin?

Question

I struggled with this all day, and now am here...

I have a contact form generated by including a php. Presently, I have this code in my theme's index.php to include it:

if ( is_page('contact') ) {
    include("../contact.php");
}

which renders and functions as expected: http://www.derekbeck.com/1775/contact/

However, editing this into the theme is problematic because of theme upgrades (I have to hard code it back in each time) and now, especially, because I'm using a mobile theme for mobile users, who will not see my contact form when they use the mobile theme. Bottom line: I need to put this into a plugin.

I know the mechanics of making a plugin, that's not my question.

My question is: I cannot seem to figure out a way to properly include the above via a function in my plugin file.

For instance, I've tried this:

add_shortcode( 'ContactForm', 'ContactInsert' );

function ContactInsert() {
       $file = include(ABSPATH . "../contact.php");
       return $file;
}

And I place the shortcode [ContactForm] into the body of my test page, but it renders strange results: http://www.derekbeck.com/1775/test/ (ignore the "1" and "2" which I added for testing)

If I make it simply

function ContactInsert() {
       ob_start();
       include(ABSPATH . "../contact.php");
       return ob_get_clean();
}

I get no results on the page, and only have of the theme displays.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks!

(PS: If I were to simply paste all of that included contact.php into my plugin page, it might work, but it is a very long file, and I have other reasons to keep it separate.)

Answer 1

By creating the above short-code you are trying to call/include entire file wherever [ContactForm] is inserted on your page whereas A short-code is supposed to return a value or output some content. Since you don't want a plugin, the best solution I could think of is to create a custom page template. As it's not a part of your default theme structure so even updating the theme won't affect it.

Answer 2

The answer to this was not, probably (not tested) the formatting of the code, but the complicated form in that include. I've worked with the code designer to derive the solution, but it is too complicated for here. If you want to know how the WP plugin of my contact form works, it is now available for all here: http://formmail-maker.com/wordpress-plugin-form-loader.php

Cheers, Derek

PS: In general, I believe this code should work for simple includes via a plugin:

function ContactInsert() {
      ob_start();
      include(ABSPATH . "../contact.php");
      return ob_get_clean();
}