Laravel PDF Generator – PDF generation

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2 months ago

Generating PDFs in a Laravel application can be accomplished easily using packages like DomPDF, Snappy, or Laravel PDF.

Step 1: Install DomPDF

You can install the DomPDF package via Composer. Run the following command in your terminal:

bash

composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf

1	composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf

Step 2: Publish the Configuration File (Optional)

To publish the configuration file (if needed), run the following command:

bash

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

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

This step is optional; you can also configure the settings directly in the service provider if needed.

Step 3: Create a Controller

Create a controller that will handle the PDF generation. You can do this with the following command:

bash

php artisan make:controller PDFController

1	php artisan make:controller PDFController

Step 4: Generate PDF in the Controller

In the newly created PDFController, you can add a method to generate the PDF. Below is an example:

php

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use PDF; // Import the PDF facade

class PDFController extends Controller
{
    public function generatePDF()
    {
        // Load a view to generate PDF content
        $data = ['title' => 'Welcome to Laravel PDF Generation'];
        $pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf.document', $data);

        // Download the PDF file
        return $pdf->download('document.pdf');
    }
}

<?php

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

use PDF; // Import the PDF facade

class PDFController extends Controller

{

public function generatePDF()

{

// Load a view to generate PDF content

$data = ['title' => 'Welcome to Laravel PDF Generation'];

$pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf.document', $data);

// Download the PDF file

return $pdf->download('document.pdf');

}

Step 5: Create a View for PDF Content

Create a Blade view that will serve as the template for your PDF. You c an create a new file at resources/views/pdf/document.blade.php

html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>{{ $title }}</title>
    <style>
        body {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
            margin: 20px;
        }
        h1 {
            color: #333;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>{{ $title }}</h1>
    <p>This is a simple PDF document generated using Laravel and DomPDF.</p>
</body>
</html>

<!DOCTYPE html>

<head>

<title>{{ $title }}</title>

<style>

body {

font-family: Arial, sans-serif;

margin: 20px;

}

h1 {

color: #333;

}

</style>

</head>

<body>

<h1>{{ $title }}</h1>

<p>This is a simple PDF document generated using Laravel and DomPDF.</p>

</body>

</html>

Step 6: Define a Route

Now, define a route in routes/web.php to access the PDF generation method:

php

use App\Http\Controllers\PDFController;

Route::get('/generate-pdf', [PDFController::class, 'generatePDF'])->name('pdf.generate');

use App\Http\Controllers\PDFController;

Route::get('/generate-pdf', [PDFController::class, 'generatePDF'])->name('pdf.generate');

Step 7: Testing the PDF Generation

Start your Laravel development server:

bash

php artisan serve

1

php artisan serve
Visit http://localhost:8000/generate-pdf in your browser.
The PDF should be generated and downloaded with the name document.pdf.

Step 8: Customizing the PDF

You can customize the PDF further by adding styles, images, and more complex layouts to your Blade view. Here are a few tips for customization:

CSS Styling: Use inline CSS or link to an external stylesheet to style your PDF.
Images: You can include images in your Blade view, but ensure to use absolute paths or publicly accessible URLs.
Page Size and Orientation: You can set the page size and orientation when loading the view:

php

$pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf.document', $data)->setPaper('a4', 'landscape');

1	$pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf.document', $data)->setPaper('a4', 'landscape');

Step 9: Additional Features

You can explore additional features of DomPDF, such as:

Custom fonts: You can add custom fonts to your PDF by configuring them in the config/dompdf.php file.
Streaming PDFs: Instead of downloading, you can display the PDF in the browser:

php

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

1	return $pdf->stream('document.pdf');

Summary

You’ve successfully set up PDF generation in your Laravel application using DomPDF! Here’s a recap of the steps:

Install DomPDF using Composer.
Create a controller to handle PDF generation.
Create a Blade view for the PDF content.
Define a route to access the PDF generation.
Test the PDF generation by visiting the defined route.

Step 1: Install DomPDF

Step 2: Publish the Configuration File (Optional)

Step 3: Create a Controller

Step 4: Generate PDF in the Controller

Step 5: Create a View for PDF Content

Step 6: Define a Route

Step 7: Testing the PDF Generation

Step 8: Customizing the PDF

Step 9: Additional Features

Summary

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