[Mark Hensler]

I prefer to change the scope of included files rather than changing directories...

PHP Code:

ini_set("include_path", ini_get("include_path") . ":/path/to/includes"); 


It is important to have that colon! And there is no trailing slash.

PHP Docs: include_path, ini_get, ini_set()


You can also do this in .htaccess:

php_value include_path .:/path/to/includes