Generate PDF in PHP using TCPDF (TCPDF HTML to PDF)

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TCPDF is an open-source PHP library for generating PDF documents on-the-fly (TCPDF HTML to PDF). After downloading  TCPDF library, you can invoke all the basic functions of this class to generate your PDF. TCPDF Supports UTF-8, Unicode, RTL languages, XHTML, Javascript, digital signatures, barcodes and much more.

Let’s see step by step how you can use the TCPDF PHP library to create a PDF document.

TCPDF HTML to PDF

Step 1 : Create a project folder, and under that folder put this TCPDF PHP library(unzip)

Step 2 : Create a new php file under the project folder (e.g. index.php) and include the library in the header.

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

?>

Step 3 : Create new PDF document, it is an object of TCPDF

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

?>

Explanation of parameter:

  1. PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION:- It is used for page orientation like Portrait Landscape. Possible values are (case insensitive):
    • P or Portrait (default)
    • L or Landscape
  2. PDF_UNIT :- Possible values are:
    • pt: point
    • mm: millimeter (default)
    • cm: centimeter
    • in: inch
  3. PDF_PAGE_FORMAT :- The format is used for page size. Possible values are:
    • 4A0,2A0,A0,A1,A2,A3,A4 (default),A5,A6,A7,A8,A9,A10
  4. Unicode :- TRUE means that the input text is unicode (default = true)
  5. Encoding : – Charset encoding; default is UTF-8
  6. Encoding : – If TRUE, it reduces the memory usage by caching temporary data on filesystem (slower).

Step 4 : Set document information

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

?>

Step 5 : Set default header data

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

?>

Step 6 : Set header and footer fonts

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

// set header and footer fonts
$pdf->setHeaderFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_MAIN, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_MAIN));
$pdf->setFooterFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_DATA, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_DATA));

?>

Step 7 : Set margins

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

// set header and footer fonts
$pdf->setHeaderFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_MAIN, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_MAIN));
$pdf->setFooterFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_DATA, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_DATA));

// set margins
$pdf->setMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);
$pdf->setHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);
$pdf->setFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);

?>

Step 8 : Set auto page breaks and image scale factor

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

// set header and footer fonts
$pdf->setHeaderFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_MAIN, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_MAIN));
$pdf->setFooterFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_DATA, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_DATA));

// set margins
$pdf->setMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);
$pdf->setHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);
$pdf->setFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);

// set auto page breaks
$pdf->setAutoPageBreak(TRUE, PDF_MARGIN_BOTTOM);

// set image scale factor
$pdf->setImageScale(PDF_IMAGE_SCALE_RATIO);

?>

Step 9 : Set font

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

// set header and footer fonts
$pdf->setHeaderFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_MAIN, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_MAIN));
$pdf->setFooterFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_DATA, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_DATA));

// set margins
$pdf->setMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);
$pdf->setHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);
$pdf->setFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);

// set auto page breaks
$pdf->setAutoPageBreak(TRUE, PDF_MARGIN_BOTTOM);

// set image scale factor
$pdf->setImageScale(PDF_IMAGE_SCALE_RATIO);

// Set font
// dejavusans is a UTF-8 Unicode font, if you only need to
// print standard ASCII chars, you can use core fonts like
// helvetica or times to reduce file size.
$pdf->setFont('dejavusans', '', 14, '', true);

?>

Step 10 : Add a page

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

// set header and footer fonts
$pdf->setHeaderFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_MAIN, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_MAIN));
$pdf->setFooterFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_DATA, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_DATA));

// set margins
$pdf->setMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);
$pdf->setHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);
$pdf->setFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);

// set auto page breaks
$pdf->setAutoPageBreak(TRUE, PDF_MARGIN_BOTTOM);

// set image scale factor
$pdf->setImageScale(PDF_IMAGE_SCALE_RATIO);

// Set font
// dejavusans is a UTF-8 Unicode font, if you only need to
// print standard ASCII chars, you can use core fonts like
// helvetica or times to reduce file size.
$pdf->setFont('dejavusans', '', 14, '', true);

// Add a page
// This method has several options, check the source code documentation for more information.
$pdf->AddPage();

?>

Step 11 : Set some content to print in the pdf

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

// set header and footer fonts
$pdf->setHeaderFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_MAIN, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_MAIN));
$pdf->setFooterFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_DATA, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_DATA));

// set margins
$pdf->setMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);
$pdf->setHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);
$pdf->setFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);

// set auto page breaks
$pdf->setAutoPageBreak(TRUE, PDF_MARGIN_BOTTOM);

// set image scale factor
$pdf->setImageScale(PDF_IMAGE_SCALE_RATIO);

// Set font
// dejavusans is a UTF-8 Unicode font, if you only need to
// print standard ASCII chars, you can use core fonts like
// helvetica or times to reduce file size.
$pdf->setFont('dejavusans', '', 14, '', true);

// Add a page
// This method has several options, check the source code documentation for more information.
$pdf->AddPage();


$html = <<<EOD
<h1>Welcome to <a href="http://www.tcpdf.org" style="text-decoration:none;background-color:#CC0000;color:black;">&nbsp;<span style="color:black;">The</span><span style="color:white;">Technical Diaries</span>&nbsp;</a>!</h1>
<i>This is the first example of TCPDF library.</i>
<p>This text is printed using the <i>writeHTMLCell()</i> method but you can also use: <i>Multicell(), writeHTML(), Write(), Cell() and Text()</i>.</p>
<p>Please check the source code documentation and other examples for further information.</p>
EOD;

?>

Step 12 : Print text using writeHTMLCell()

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

// set header and footer fonts
$pdf->setHeaderFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_MAIN, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_MAIN));
$pdf->setFooterFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_DATA, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_DATA));

// set margins
$pdf->setMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);
$pdf->setHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);
$pdf->setFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);

// set auto page breaks
$pdf->setAutoPageBreak(TRUE, PDF_MARGIN_BOTTOM);

// set image scale factor
$pdf->setImageScale(PDF_IMAGE_SCALE_RATIO);

// Set font
// dejavusans is a UTF-8 Unicode font, if you only need to
// print standard ASCII chars, you can use core fonts like
// helvetica or times to reduce file size.
$pdf->setFont('dejavusans', '', 14, '', true);

// Add a page
// This method has several options, check the source code documentation for more information.
$pdf->AddPage();


$html = <<<EOD
<h1>Welcome to <a href="http://www.tcpdf.org" style="text-decoration:none;background-color:#CC0000;color:black;">&nbsp;<span style="color:black;">The</span><span style="color:white;">Technical Diaries</span>&nbsp;</a>!</h1>
<i>This is the first example of TCPDF library.</i>
<p>This text is printed using the <i>writeHTMLCell()</i> method but you can also use: <i>Multicell(), writeHTML(), Write(), Cell() and Text()</i>.</p>
<p>Please check the source code documentation and other examples for further information.</p>
EOD;

// Print text using writeHTMLCell()
$pdf->writeHTMLCell(0, 0, '', '', $html, 0, 1, 0, true, '', true);

?>

Step 13 : Close and output PDF document

index.php

<?php

//replace 'tcpdf_library_path' with the tcpdf library folder path
require('tcpdf_library_path/tcpdf.php');

//object of TCPDF
$pdf=new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);

// set document information
$pdf->setCreator(PDF_CREATOR);
$pdf->setAuthor('Nicola Asuni');
$pdf->setTitle('TCPDF Example 001');
$pdf->setSubject('TCPDF Tutorial');
$pdf->setKeywords('TCPDF, PDF, example, test, guide');

// set default header data
$pdf->setHeaderData(PDF_HEADER_LOGO, PDF_HEADER_LOGO_WIDTH, PDF_HEADER_TITLE.' 001', PDF_HEADER_STRING, array(0,64,255), array(0,64,128));
$pdf->setFooterData(array(0,64,0), array(0,64,128));

// set header and footer fonts
$pdf->setHeaderFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_MAIN, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_MAIN));
$pdf->setFooterFont(Array(PDF_FONT_NAME_DATA, '', PDF_FONT_SIZE_DATA));

// set margins
$pdf->setMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);
$pdf->setHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);
$pdf->setFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);

// set auto page breaks
$pdf->setAutoPageBreak(TRUE, PDF_MARGIN_BOTTOM);

// set image scale factor
$pdf->setImageScale(PDF_IMAGE_SCALE_RATIO);

// Set font
// dejavusans is a UTF-8 Unicode font, if you only need to
// print standard ASCII chars, you can use core fonts like
// helvetica or times to reduce file size.
$pdf->setFont('dejavusans', '', 14, '', true);

// Add a page
// This method has several options, check the source code documentation for more information.
$pdf->AddPage();


$html = <<<EOD
<h1>Welcome to <a href="http://www.tcpdf.org" style="text-decoration:none;background-color:#CC0000;color:black;">&nbsp;<span style="color:black;">The</span><span style="color:white;">Technical Diaries</span>&nbsp;</a>!</h1>
<i>This is the first example of TCPDF library.</i>
<p>This text is printed using the <i>writeHTMLCell()</i> method but you can also use: <i>Multicell(), writeHTML(), Write(), Cell() and Text()</i>.</p>
<p>Please check the source code documentation and other examples for further information.</p>
EOD;

// Print text using writeHTMLCell()
$pdf->writeHTMLCell(0, 0, '', '', $html, 0, 1, 0, true, '', true);

// Close and output PDF document

$pdf->Output('example_001.pdf', 'I');

// END OF FILE
?>

Parameters of Output() method

  1. @param string: name:- The name of the file when saved
  2. @param string: dest:- Destination where to send the document. It can take one of the following values:
    • I:- send the file inline to the browser (default).
    • D:- send to the browser and force a file download.
    • F:- It allows the generated pdf to be saved as a local file.
    • S:- return the document as a string.
    • FI:- equivalent to F + I option.
    • FD:- equivalent to F + D option.

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