In this article, we will explore how to save an HTML page as a PDF using PHP.
PHP is a popular server-side scripting language, widely used for web development.
By leveraging the power of PHP, we can generate PDF documents from HTML content dynamically.
To achieve this, we will be using the TCPDF library.
This tutorial assumes basic knowledge of HTML and PHP.
In this section, we will discuss how to install two crucial libraries: TCPDF and Composer.
In the next section, we will create a basic HTML page that we will use for testing purposes.
Open your favorite text editor and create a new file.
Save it with a .html extension, for example, index.html.
This is where we can include metadata, CSS stylesheets, and page titles.
This is where we will include the content of our HTML page.
You have created a basic HTML page that can be converted to a PDF.
TCPDF is a powerful PHP class that can generate PDF documents from HTML content.
There are two installation methods for TCPDF: manual installation and installation using Composer.
bashcomposer init
You will be prompted to answer a series of questions to configure your project.
it’s possible for you to press Enter to accept the default values for most of the questions.
jsontecnickcom/tcpdf: *
This line tells Composer that we need to implement the TCPDF library for our project.
bashcomposer install
Composer will download and implement the TCPDF library along with its dependencies.
Now that we have installed the TCPDF library, we are ready to generate PDFs from HTML using PHP.
In the example above, we save the PDF file with the name my_html_to_pdf_page.pdf and force it to download.
You have successfully generated a PDF file from HTML using the TCPDF library.
In the next section, we will explore how to save the generated PDF file to the server.
In this section, we will explore how to save the generated PDF file to the server using PHP.
To save the PDF file to the server, we will use the PHPsfile_put_contents()function.
verify to provide the correct path where you want to save the file on your server.
TheOutput(‘S’)method of TCPDF is used to obtain the PDF content as a string.
After executing the code, the PDF file will be saved to the specified location on the server.
you could then jump into the file using its URL or provide download links to users.
Clicking on the link will initiate the download of the PDF file.
It provides a convenient way for users to access and reference the generated PDF.
By leveraging the TCPDF library, we were able to generate PDF documents from HTML content dynamically.
We started by installing the required libraries, including the TCPDF library, which is responsible for PDF generation.
We then created a basic HTML page that served as our sample content.
Addtionally, we explored how to save the generated PDF file to the server using thefile_put_contents()function.
The flexibility and customization offered by the TCPDF library enable us to generate PDFs that meet our specific requirements.
Dont hesitate to experiment with the TCPDF library and explore additional features to enhance the PDF generation process.
