How to get the variables available in a Drupal template

This is such a basic PHP function but easy to forget and hard to find for some reason. Anyway, here are a selection of the best ways to find what variables are available in a template file.

First off, the function you need is:

The quickest way to use it is to put the following in your template file:

Next, install the devel module. Once installed you will now have a 'Devel' tab available when viewing nodes (if you have the correct permission set up).

With the devel you also get a few handy functions:
Print a nicely formatted array to the message area of the page:

Dump the variables to a temporary log file: /tmp/drupal_debug.txt

To watch the file in your terminal:

or

Submitted by oliver on Tue, 08/11/2011 - 16:00

• oliver's blog
• 51689 reads