In Drupal 6, it was easy to insert a block into a template with the following code:
$block = module_invoke('views', 'block', 'view', 'block_name');
print $block['content'];
However, using the same instructions in Drupal 7 does not seem to work. I have looked around and cannot find the new method.
Does Drupal 7 have a routine that can allow for programmatically inserting a block into a template or node?
D7:
<?php
$block = module_invoke('module_name', 'block_view', 'block_delta');
print render($block['content']);
?>
'module_name' = The machine name of the module (i.e. the module's folder name). This is true for core modules too, so for instance 'search', 'user' and 'comment' would all work here.
'block_delta' = The machine name of the block. You can determine what this is by visiting the block administration page and editing the block. The URL for editing a webform block, for instance, would be something like:
Drupal 7: admin/structure/block/manage/webform/client-block-11/configure
In this example, 'webform' is the module's name, 'client-block-11' is the block's delta.
Custom blocks will have module name of 'block' and a number for a delta, which you can also find by editing the block.
More information: http://drupal.org/node/26502