printing the contents of a variable
 

ok, i have a variable in the index.php file, what do i have to do to print it on the index page?

You will need to add it to your forumhome template where ever you want it to display.

i know that, but what code do I have to add to the template?

Can't say without seeing it and having an idea of where you want it.

If you have something like $variable = 1; in your php file, then type $variable to display the 1.

i tried that but it didnt work, all the code does is retrieve a number from the database

Maybe something is wrong with your script, because that is how you do it. :)

Could you post the section of code that creates the variable.

ignore the variable names, they probably wont make any sense to you, im not even sure if this is the correct way to read some thing from the database but I found where it reads something else from the database and copied it and changed a few things

Use that :)

...but remember to never do SELECT *. Only SELECT what you want to get from the database and nothing more.