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Recently I had a development client which as part of a larger system = had a=20 requirement of creating a PDF based report from his clients metrics, = KPI=E2=80=99s etc.=20 which he could then forward onto them. It was simple numerical data but = for=20 presentation purposes it was needed in PDF=E2=80=A6 you know to look = good.
In the past when budget was less of an issue I used PDFLib, a =
commercial=20
library which these days is available as part of the core PHP =
package. This=20
project however required me to look for a free alternative. I =
found TCPDF=20
on Sourceforge. It had almost 80,000 downloads, good documentation, =
lots of=20
examples and was being used by applications such as Joomla,=20
Drupal, Moodle and
Installation was easy, basically I just needed to copy the TCPDF = folder to my=20 www space and require() the main class file from PHP scripts that = needed to=20 create PDFs on the fly.
I have to say I found it quite a slow & tedious process to create = the=20 more complex dynamic PDFs with this library, however this is because of = what I=20 was trying to do in the overall sense and was not the libraries = =E2=80=98fault=E2=80=99, after=20 all creating PDFs dynamically is quite different than creating = webpages=20 dynamically. I found having to work out all the =E2=80=98maths=E2=80=99 = for positioning=20 elements and the fact you can=E2=80=99t just press refresh to see = if your latest=20 line or two outputted as intended the most frustrating.
OK to give you a feel for how the TCPDF class library can be used = I=E2=80=99ll go=20 through how I actually created the PDF report which my client wanted by=20 providing a striped down version of the code. The two = interesting=20 things about the report was that it had to have a table with = all the=20 data and the page the table was on had to be presented in landscape = style=20 (because the table was wide). The table I output is related to Golf and = is very=20 simple, but hopefully it will be a good TCPDF starting block for=20 you.
Creating a table with TCPDF
Within the
//reference the class so you can use=20
it
require_once(=E2=80=99../tcpdf/tcpdf.php=E2=80=99);
// create new PDF document
$pdf =3D new=20
TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true);
//do not show header or =
footer
$pdf->SetPrintHeader(false);=20
$pdf->SetPrintFooter(false);
// add a page - landscape =
style
$pdf->AddPage(=E2=80=9DL=E2=80=9D);
// set =
font
$pdf->SetFont(=E2=80=9Dfreeserif=E2=80=9D, =
=E2=80=9C=E2=80=9D,=20
11);
/////////////////////////////////////////////
=
// START=20
TABLE=20
HEADER
/////////////////////////////////////////////
&n=
bsp;
//Colors,=20
line width and bold font for the =
header
$pdf->SetFillColor(11, 47,=20
132); //background color of next =
Cell
$pdf->SetTextColor(255);=20
//font color of next =
cell
$pdf->SetFont('=E2=80=99,'B=E2=80=99); //b for=20
bold
$pdf->SetDrawColor(0); //cell borders - similiar to =
border=20
color
$pdf->SetLineWidth(.3); //similiar to=20
cellspacing
$cols=3Darray(=E2=80=99Rank=E2=80=99,'Play=
er=E2=80=99,'Pts. Avg.=E2=80=99,'Total=20
Pts.=E2=80=99);//Column titles
$width=3Darray(20,50,40,30); =
//amount of elements=20
must correspond with $header array above
for($i =3D =
0; $i <=20
count($cols); $i++)
{
//void Cell( float =
$w,=20
[float $h =3D 0], [string $txt =3D ''], [mixed $border =3D=20
0],
//[int $ln =3D 0], [string $align =3D =
''], [int=20
$fill =3D 0], [mixed $link =3D ''], [int $stretch =3D=20
0])
=20
$pdf->Cell($width[$i],7,$cols[$i],1,0,=E2=80=99C',1);
}
&n=
bsp;
$pdf->Ln();=20
//new=20
row
////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////
//styling for normal non header=20
cells
$pdf->SetTextColor(0);=20
//black
$pdf->SetFont('=E2=80=99,'=E2=80=99);
//the data - normally would come from DB, web service=20
etc.
$rank =3D =
array(=E2=80=991=E2=80=B2,=E2=80=992=E2=80=B2,=E2=80=993=E2=80=B2);
&n=
bsp;$player =3D array(=E2=80=99Tiger=20
Woods, USA=E2=80=99,'Phil Mickelson, USA =
=E2=80=98,=E2=80=99Padraig Harrington, Irl=20
=E2=80=98);
$playerWWW =3D=20
array(=E2=80=99http://tigerwoods.com/=E2=80=99,'http://philmickelson.com/=
=E2=80=99,'http://padraigharrington.com/=E2=80=99);
$avgPts=20
=3D =
array(=E2=80=9910=E2=80=B2,=E2=80=999=E2=80=B2,=E2=80=998=E2=80=B2);
&=
nbsp;$totPts =3D =
array(=E2=80=99100=E2=80=B2,=E2=80=9990=E2=80=B2,=E2=80=9980=E2=80=B2);
//create & populate table cells
for($i =3D 0; $i =
<=20
count($rank); $i++)
{
=
if($i =3D=3D=20
"2")//highlight Harrington because he=20
Irish...
=20
{ =
=20
//in reality you might highlight profits/losses=20
etc.
=20
$pdf->SetFillColor(89, 239, 152); =
//green
=20
}
=
else
=20
{
=20
$pdf->SetFillColor(255); =
//white
=20
}
&nbs=
p; =20
//link the players name to his website
=
$playerANDlink =3D =E2=80=9Ca =
href=3D\=E2=80=9D$playerWWW[$i]\=E2=80=9D>$player[$i]/a=E2=80=9D; =
//FIX THIS=20
LINE
//int MultiCell( float =
$w,=20
float $h, string $txt, [mixed $border =3D 0], [string $align =3D=20
=E2=80=98J=E2=80=99],
//[int $fill =3D 0], =
[int $ln =3D 1], [int $x =3D=20
=E2=80=98=E2=80=99], [int $y =3D =E2=80=98=E2=80=99], [boolean $reseth =
=3D true],
//[int=20
$stretch =3D 0], [boolean $ishtml =3D =
false])
=20
$pdf->MultiCell($width[0],7,$rank[$i],1,=E2=80=99C',1,0,'=E2=80=99,'=E2=
=80=99,1,0,1);
=20
$pdf->MultiCell($width[1],7,$playerANDlink,1,=E2=80=99C',1,0,'=E2=80=99=
,'=E2=80=99,1,0,1);
=20
$pdf->MultiCell($width[2],7,$avgPts[$i],1,=E2=80=99C',1,0,'=E2=80=99,'=
=E2=80=99,1,0,1);
=20
$pdf->MultiCell($width[3],7,$totPts[$i],1,=E2=80=99C',1,0,'=E2=80=99,'=
=E2=80=99,1,0,1);
=20
$pdf->Ln(); //new row
}
//output the PDF to the=20
browser
$pdf->Output(=E2=80=9D./pdfs/example.pdf=E2=80=9D, =
=E2=80=9CF=E2=80=9D); //F for saving=20
output to file
PDF creation and setup
OK I=E2=80=99ll briefly go through this =
code then. The=20
first couple of lines really just sets up the PDF document or pages =
within the=20
document, please refer to the TCPDF class documentation for more =
information. The=20
only real item of note here is the method for creating a landspaced PDF =
page.=20
The default AddPage() method takes no parameters and with this a page is =
created=20
with the default page style (as per the overall TCPDF config file) which =
is=20
usually portrait style, so pass in an =E2=80=98L=E2=80=99 for landscape =
pages. It is possible to=20
have some pages landscape and some portrait style in a single PDF =
document.
Table Header
The TCPDF class has a lot of methods for setting =
the=20
style of elements. The styles set will correspond to the next =
cell/element=20
drawn. Most of them are obvious. SetFillColor() sets the background =
color of a=20
cell when that cell is set to be painted or filled. The fun begins =
though when=20
you actually start outputting cells (retangles). The header is just =
plain text=20
so I used cell(). Cell() is well documented on the TCPDF site and it is =
easy to=20
use. Parameters in order from left to right are, width, height, cell =
text,=20
border true or false, where next cell should go, cell alignment, fill in =
cell=20
true or false, optional link and stretch options.
The $ln - where next cell should go parameter, is useful if you want = to build=20 your tables vertically rather than horizontally. Leave it at 0 = to go=20 to the right and then call Ln() (kind of like what tr does in HTML = table) to=20 start a new row is what I suggest. If the fill parameter is set to true = the cell=20 background will be the color set by SetFillColor() as mentioned above, = if no=20 fill color has yet be set, the background will be grey. My header is = built by=20 using a loop to create the four required cells. The first iteration in = the loop=20 will be:
$pdf->Cell(20,7,=E2=80=9DRank=E2=80=9D,1,0,=E2=80=99C',1);
which means create a cell of width 20 and height 7 with its value set = to=20 =E2=80=9CRank=E2=80=9D. It should have a border, have its value centered = and should have its=20 background filled in.
Table Body
The main body of the table is very similar, but uses =
the method=20
MultiCell() as we want the ability to output HTML as the cells=E2=80=99 =
value. A couple=20
of arrays of data are created and populated. These will slot into the =
cells we=20
are about to create. In reality the values of the cell will likely come =
straight=20
from a DB or webservice but hardcoded arrays is fine for this =
sample.
MultiCell() has a lot of the same parameters which we have come = across when=20 using cell() above so I won=E2=80=99t mention them again. It also = introduces a couple of=20 new parameters including, X and Y for setting the positional=20 coordinates of a cell, Reseth which resets the height of the = last cell=20 (without setting this to true your likely to get crazy looking = tables=E2=80=A6 leave it=20 to true and forget about it) and ishtml which determines if the = cell value=20 can hold HTML or not. MultiCell()=E2=80=99s full definition is=20 below.
int MultiCell( float $w, float $h, string $txt, [mixed $border =3D = 0], [string=20 $align =3D =E2=80=98J=E2=80=99], [int $fill =3D 0], [int $ln =3D = 1], [int $x =3D =E2=80=98=E2=80=99], [int $y =3D=20 =E2=80=98=E2=80=99], [boolean $reseth =3D true], [int $stretch =3D = 0], [boolean $ishtml =3D=20 false])
It=E2=80=99s pretty simple to use. It provides power by allowing you = to set the exact=20 X and Y coordinates of a cell, but also ease of use in the sense that if = you=20 don=E2=80=99t specify values for X and Y it will just output at the = current position=20 (just like cell() does) so you don=E2=80=99t have to do any logic to get = suitable X=20 & Y values=E2=80=A6 in most cases anyhow.
After four calls to MultiCell() which printed one row of cells, we = call Ln()=20 to move to a new line. In fact we didn=E2=80=99t even need to do this to = be honest, we=20 could have just changed the $ln parameter value from 0 (to the right) to = 1 (to=20 the beginning of the next line) on our fourth cell in each row. The code = then=20 would change from this:
$pdf->MultiCell($width[2],7,$avgPts[$i],1,=E2=80=99C',1,0,'=E2=80=99=
,'=E2=80=99,1,0,1);
$pdf->MultiCell($width[3],7,$totPts[$i],1,=E2=80=
=99C',1,0,'=E2=80=99,'=E2=80=99,1,0,1);
$pdf->Ln();=
=20
//new row
to this:
$pdf->MultiCell($width[2],7,$avgPts[$i],1,=E2=80=99C',1,0,'=E2=80=99=
,'=E2=80=99,1,0,1);
$pdf->MultiCell($width[3],7,$totPts[$i],1,=E2=80=
=99C',1,1,'=E2=80=99,'=E2=80=99,1,0,1);
Personally I prefer the first way of doing things as it=E2=80=99s = more=20 obvious that a new line/row is being outputted.
Before the call to MultiCell() I changed the fill colour of the = cells=20 related to Padraig Harrington (for those that don=E2=80=99t = know who he is=E2=80=A6 he=E2=80=99s=20 a two time Golf Major champion from Dublin), I set them back to white = for all=20 other rows. Of course that=E2=80=99s more hardcoding, in a =E2=80=98real = world=E2=80=99 scenario you=20 might highlight your good figures in green and your bad figures in = red.
Outputting the final PDF
When you=E2=80=99ve finished creating all =
required cells,=20
images, links, text etc. you have to call the Output() method to actually get your hands on your =
dynamically=20
created PDF. This can take no parameters in which case the PDF is sent =
to the=20
browser, more commonly though, developers specify the filename and the=20
destination of the generated PDF. The destination can be one of four =
values,=20
these are:
I: send the file inline to the browser.
D: send to the browser and =
force a=20
file download with the name given by name.
F: save to a local file =
with the=20
name given by name.
S: return the document as a string.
You can see my code sets the destination value as F:
$pdf->Output(=E2=80=9D./pdfs/example.pdf=E2=80=9D, = =E2=80=9CF=E2=80=9D);
this is telling TCPDF to save the dynamically generated PDF document = in the=20 pdfs folder with the name example.pdf. On Windows it=E2=80=99s not = needed but on Unix=20 based machines you will need to set appropriate permissions on the pdfs = (or=20 whatever) folder to allow TCPDF to write the pdfs to it.
A little tip when your developing locally (as opposed to directly on = your=20 webhost) and using =E2=80=98F=E2=80=99 for the destination parameter is = to create your=20 PDFs with a random filename so you can simply press refresh on your = script=20 that does the PDF creation logic. If you have a static filename as I do = in this=20 example (called example.pdf) and you have the last generated PDF file = (also=20 example.pdf) open TCPDF will not be able to write the PDF (as it is = aleady=20 open, so a sharing violation error will occur internally). What I often = use for=20 random filenames during development is sha1(microtime()), this means to = check=20 changes I just need to press refresh on my PHP script and then visit my = PDFs=20 folder without having to close previous versions of my PDF.
S is useful if you want to sent the PDF as an attachment in an email = without=20 first saving it to disk somewhere.
Both I and D allow you to access the PDF quickly via the = browser. A note=20 about these two lads is this=E2=80=A6 Internet Explorer often looks at = the extension of=20 the file, (which will be .php) and assumes that the output will be HTML = and thus=20 will not present you a PDF, it will likely present a load of = binary=20 data in the webpage itself which obviously is not what you want. Firefox = handles=20 both I and D perfectly so I recommend using this during development, you = obviously need to keep this in mind when you go into production too as = your=20 users might have the same problem too. It might be an idea to save to = disk=20 first, provide a link to the pdf and then periodically purge your temp = PDFs=20 folder.
Conclusion
I guess you could say that was kind of an introduction =
to=20
TCPDF, my own introduction to it came from the TCPDF examples page. Thanks to Nicola Asuni for all =
her hard=20
work on the examples and on TCPDF itself of course.
At this stage I=E2=80=99m really only learning TCPDF myself too so at = the moment so I=20 can=E2=80=99t really comment on its real power yet. I=E2=80=99ve come = across a couple of issues=20 using it so far but none were without workarounds, I imagine the = commercially=20 available libraries will out do it but for a library that=E2=80=99s = free and=20 relatively easy to use I offer my closing statement as=E2=80=A6 so far = so good.
| One Comment on =E2=80=9CPHP to PDF conversion with = TCPDF=E2=80=9D |
| 1| David = Callan said,=20 | |
|
I=E2=80=99m also going to give dompdf a look, anyone used this = lad instead of=20 TCPDF, PDFLib etc? |
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