How to use PHP to dynamically generate PDF documents

How to use PHP to dynamically generate PDF documents

PDF is a commonly used document format, widely used in e-books, reports, contracts and other scenarios. In website development, sometimes we may need to dynamically generate PDF documents for operations such as generating reports and exporting data. This article will introduce how to use PHP to dynamically generate PDF documents and provide code examples for reference.

1. Install dependent libraries

Before starting, we need to install TCPDF or FPDF, two commonly used PDF generation libraries. Both libraries provide rich functions and methods to easily generate PDF documents. It can be installed through Composer, as shown below:

composer require tecnickcom/tcpdf

or

composer require setasign/fpdf

2. Use TCPDF to generate PDF documents

TCPDF is a powerful open source PDF generation library that can Generate complex PDF documents. The following is a sample code that uses TCPDF to generate a PDF document:

require_once('path/to/tcpdf/tcpdf.php');

// 创建 PDF 对象
$pdf = new TCPDF();

// 设置文档属性
$pdf->SetCreator('Your Name');
$pdf->SetAuthor('Your Name');
$pdf->SetTitle('My PDF Document');

// 添加一个页面
$pdf->AddPage();

// 设置字体和样式
$pdf->SetFont('helvetica', '', 12);

// 输出文本内容
$pdf->Cell(0, 10, 'Hello, World!', 0, 1, 'C');

// 输出图像
$pdf->Image('path/to/image.jpg', 10, 20, 50, 0, 'JPG');

// 输出链接
$pdf->WriteHTML('<a href="http://example.com">Example</a>', true, false, true, false, '');

// 输出 PDF 文档
$pdf->Output('output.pdf', 'D');

In the above code, we first introduce the TCPDF class and then create a PDF object. Next, we can set some document properties, such as creator, author, title, etc. After adding the page, we can set the font and style, output text, images, links and other content. In the last line of code, we output the PDF document to the browser and pop up the download window.

3. Use FPDF to generate PDF documents

FPDF is another commonly used PHP PDF generation library. Compared with TCPDF, its function is slightly simpler, but it is easy to get started and use. The following is a sample code that uses FPDF to generate a PDF document:

require_once('path/to/fpdf/fpdf.php');

// 创建 PDF 对象
$pdf = new FPDF();

// 添加一个页面
$pdf->AddPage();

// 设置字体和样式
$pdf->SetFont('Arial', 'B', 16);

// 输出文本内容
$pdf->Cell(40, 10, 'Hello, World!');

// 输出图像
$pdf->Image('path/to/image.jpg', 10, 20, 30, 0, 'JPG');

// 输出链接
$pdf->Write(10, 'For more information, visit ');
$pdf->SetFont('Arial', 'U', 16);
$pdf->Write(10, 'www.example.com', 'http://example.com');

// 输出 PDF 文档
$pdf->Output();

In the above example, we first introduce the FPDF class and then create a PDF object. After adding the page, we set the fonts and styles and output content such as text, images, and links. In the last line of code, we output the PDF document to the browser.

Summary:

Using PHP to dynamically generate PDF documents can be achieved through the two libraries TCPDF or FPDF. TCPDF provides more functions and methods, suitable for generating complex PDF documents; while FPDF is simpler and easier to use, suitable for some simple PDF generation tasks. By selecting a suitable library for development based on specific needs, you can easily realize the function of dynamically generating PDF documents.

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