Laravel DOMPDF – Generate PDFs

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Laravel DOMPDF is a package that allows you to generate PDF documents in your Laravel applications using the DOMPDF library. This is useful for creating downloadable invoices, reports, or any other content that needs to be printed or saved as a PDF.

Key Features

Easy Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Laravel for quick PDF generation.
HTML to PDF: Converts HTML content into PDF format, allowing you to use Blade templates.

Customizable: Supports custom fonts, images, and styling in PDFs.
Stream or Download: Offers options to either stream or download the generated PDFs.

Installation

You can install the package via Composer:

bash

composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf

1	composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf

Configuration

After installing the package, you may publish the configuration file:

bash

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Barryvdh\DomPDF\ServiceProvider"

1	php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Barryvdh\DomPDF\ServiceProvider"

This will create a configuration file at config/dompdf.php, where you can adjust various settings if needed.

Basic Usage

Generating a PDF

To generate a PDF, you can use the PDF facade provided by the package. Here’s a simple example:

Create a Blade TemplateCreate a Blade view file (e.g., resources/views/pdf.blade.php) with the content you want in your PDF:

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Invoice</title>
    <style>
        /* Add your custom styles here */
        body {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Invoice</h1>
    <p>Thank you for your purchase!</p>
    <p>Amount: $100</p>
</body>
</html>

<!DOCTYPE html>

<html>

<head>

<title>Invoice</title>

<style>

/* Add your custom styles here */

body {

font-family: Arial, sans-serif;

}

</style>

</head>

<body>

<h1>Invoice</h1>

<p>Thank you for your purchase!</p>

<p>Amount: $100</p>

</body>

</html>

Generate and Stream/Download the PDFIn your controller, you can generate the PDF from the Blade view:

php

use PDF; // Import the PDF facade

public function generatePDF()
{
    $pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf'); // Load the view
    return $pdf->stream('invoice.pdf'); // Stream the PDF
    // Or use return $pdf->download('invoice.pdf'); to download instead
}

use PDF; // Import the PDF facade

public function generatePDF()

{

$pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf'); // Load the view

return $pdf->stream('invoice.pdf'); // Stream the PDF

// Or use return $pdf->download('invoice.pdf'); to download instead

}

Passing Data to the PDF

You can also pass data to your Blade view to generate dynamic content in the PDF:

php

public function generatePDF()
{
    $data = [
        'amount' => 100,
        'customer' => 'John Doe',
    ];

    $pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf', $data); // Pass data to the view
    return $pdf->stream('invoice.pdf');
}

public function generatePDF()

{

$data = [

'amount' => 100,

'customer' => 'John Doe',

];

$pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf', $data); // Pass data to the view

return $pdf->stream('invoice.pdf');

}

Customizing PDF Settings

You can customize various settings in the dompdf.php configuration file, such as:

Paper Size: Set the default paper size (A4, A5, etc.).

Orientation: Set the default orientation (portrait or landscape).
Font Options: Specify custom fonts or load fonts from external sources.

Custom Fonts

To use custom fonts, you need to include them in your project and register them in the dompdf.php configuration file. For example:

Add Fonts: Place your custom font files in the storage/fonts directory.
Register Fonts: Update the font_dir and font_cache settings in config/dompdf.php to include your custom fonts.

Conclusion

Laravel DOMPDF provides an effective way to generate PDF documents from your Laravel applications using Blade templates. With its ease of use and flexibility, you can create customized PDFs tailored to your application’s needs.