Var present if defined in Template?

I'm trying to have a variable present on all pages that use a particular template. It's not working though.

For instance if I take a session value created at login ($memberID) and want this to be present as "$memberID" and on all pages using the template this does not see possible. Why, I do not know. Yes, I could use the $_SESSION each time but I would prefer to use $memberID or $mid to be more specific.

I've also tried creating a plugin type page (include) that defines the Var but it's still not available when a query is run on a page using the template.

I suspect it's due to loading sequence. Is there a trick to make this work?

I think it would have to be loading sequence. It should be possible to do. Are you using a Dreamweaver Template or webassist Theme? A template will ignore server side code. Convert your template to a webassist theme and make sure your theme is defined on the top of the page and the variable should be available.

Framework theme page.

I've always seen the theme linking as the last server side element so never considered loading the theme prior to other server side code... I'll give that a try and see if things hold together.