Can "preview" PHP includes offline? Editor vs. desktop server?

I am not a PHP programmer--I just use PHP "includes" for my website.

The problem: I can not always get decent internet access. Would be nice to see everything "included" without uploading.

Someone told me that Dreamweaver can do this but--too expensive. He said there also are free/cheap "PHP editors" that can show "included" pages offline. I found a few lists of "PHP editors."

:confused: But very confusing for a newbie:

• What they call "parsing" for PHP editors does not seem to refer to actually previewing web pages + includes (?)
• The PHP IDE Editor (see below) does seem to "preview" the PHP pages--but evidently with something additional called PHP.exe. What is this and is it complicated?
• I know that http://apache.com has a free server. And http://aprelium.com has reportedly a very easy to set up server with a smaller download. Is this the way to go?

Ideally, what I would like is an all-in-one program from $0 to $100, that:

1. Is good for editing HTML.
2. Has a "preview" feature that allows me to see the "included" PHP files offline.
3. Has some kind of built-in FTP.

I am currently using:
http://HTMLkit.com Very nice and reliable, but of course no ability to show the PHP "includes."

Below are the most promising PHP editors--but I don't understand the jargon used to sell them. Can anyone tell me of one of these will do the job? Or suggest another? Or should I just install a desktop server?

Thank you!

Ace HTML
http://software.visicommedia.com/en/products/acehtml/

PHP IDE
http://www.phpide.de/

Maguma
http://www.maguma.com/

I posted the above message. I was logged-in but somehow it showed up as "anonymous."

You pose a question to which there is no quick answer. The PHP "brain" executes the php instrunctions (parses) on the server and passes them to the web server, which sends off straight HTML to the browser. The problem with viewing executed PHP on your local computer is that if a needed resource (like a database or files) is on the server when you run the php on your local computer... As you can see, this is problemmatic. Even with a server on your local machine, your scripts may or may not work. You would really be better served to look into getting a better internet connection and working off the server.

i have a server you can use it very easy 2 setup and its free its called

xampp webserver it supports php and mysql the latest,ftp server,email server with php my admin which i use when making a application i use that on my laptop