void assign_by_ref string varname mixed var This is used to assign values to the templates by reference instead of making a copy. See the PHP manual on variable referencing for an explanation. This is used to assign values to the templates by reference. If you assign a variable by reference then change its value, the assigned value sees the change as well. For objects, assign_by_ref() also avoids an in-memory copy of the assigned object. See the PHP manual on variable referencing for an in-depth explanation. // passing name/value pairs $smarty->assign_by_ref("Name",$myname); $smarty->assign_by_ref("Address",$address);