Q:

emacs: load html-mode in template directory

I use php mode for .php files, but codeigniter uses .php for the template files which are mostly html, so I would like to use html-mode for those files.
Is there a way to say in the .emacs file "If the file path contains '/views/' use html-mode"?

A:

If you want to use html-mode for all files under a directory named views and its sub-directories, you can add the following line at the end of .emacs:
(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("/views/" . html-mode))

Note that ("/views/" . html-mode) should appear before an entry for .php files when you check the value of auto-mode-alist by C-hvauto-mode-alist.
Similarly, the following line at the end of .emacs will make Emacs choose html-mode for all .php files under a directory named views and its sub-directories:
(add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("/views/.*\\.php\\'" . html-mode))

From auto-mode-alist's documentation:

auto-mode-alist
Alist of filename patterns vs corresponding major mode functions. Each element looks like (REGEXP . FUNCTION) or (REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL). ... Visiting a file whose name matches REGEXP specifies FUNCTION as the mode function to use.  FUNCTION will be called, unless it is nil.

