I went ahead and used a different solution.
But...what should the encoding be set to for a normal text area (built by Dreamweaver cs4) for .php in order for the output to be what a browser would output?
Your friends over here at WebAssist! These Dreamweaver extensions will assist you in building unlimited, custom websites.
These out-of-the-box solutions provide you proven, tested applications that can be up and running now. Build a store, a gallery, or a web-based email solution.