\$template\_dir {#variable.template.dir} =============== This is the name of the default template directory. If you do not supply a resource type when including files, they will be found here. By default this is `./templates`, meaning that Smarty will look for the `templates/` directory in the same directory as the executing php script. \$template\_dir can also be an array of directory paths: Smarty will traverse the directories and stop on the first matching template found. > **Note** > > It is not recommended to put this directory under the web server > document root. > **Note** > As of Smarty 3.1 the attribute \$template\_dir is no longer accessible > directly. Use [`getTemplateDir()`](#api.get.template.dir), > [`setTemplateDir()`](#api.set.template.dir) and > [`addTemplateDir()`](#api.add.template.dir) instead. See also [`Template Resources`](#resources), [`getTemplateDir()`](#api.get.template.dir), [`setTemplateDir()`](#api.set.template.dir) and [`addTemplateDir()`](#api.add.template.dir).