HTML to PDF Conversion Using TCPDF

HTML to PDF Conversion Using TCPDF: Web pages can be converted to PDF for plenty of uses, such as archiving and report creation. The TCPDF PHP library allows it to be simple to convert HTML to PDF. We’ll show how to use TCPDF to convert HTML to PDF in this tutorial.

HTML to PDF Conversion with TCPDF

By doing the use of the well-known HTML structure and the ability to use the power of PDF generation, TCPDF simplifies the HTML to PDF conversion process. This is a guide on how to do it:

1. Installation

Before diving into HTML to PDF conversion, make sure you have TCPDF installed in your project:

composer require tecnickcom/tcpdf

2. Converting HTML to PDF

To convert HTML content to PDF using TCPDF, follow these steps:

require_once('vendor/autoload.php');

use \TCPDF;

// Create a new PDF instance
$pdf = new TCPDF();

// Add a page
$pdf->AddPage();

// Define the HTML content
$html = '<h1>Hello, TCPDF!</h1><p>This is an example of converting HTML to PDF using TCPDF.</p>';

// Convert HTML to PDF
$pdf->writeHTML($html, true, false, true, false, '');

// Output the PDF
$pdf->Output('html_to_pdf_example.pdf', 'I');

In the previously mentioned example, the given HTML content is transformed into a PDF document using the writeHTML() method. The conversion’s parameters control a number of features, including handling hyperlinks and adding background images.

Advanced HTML to PDF Conversion

TCPDF also supports more advanced features when converting HTML to PDF:

1. CSS Styling

To manage the layout, fonts, colours, and other visual elements of the final PDF, include CSS styles in your HTML content.

2. Images and Assets

Make sure that TCPDF can access any assets or images that are mentioned in your HTML. It may be required to modify paths or offer unchanging URLs.

3. Header and Footer

Integrate headers and footers into your PDF by specifying them in your HTML content. This is useful for adding page numbers, logos, or other consistent elements.

Tips for Successful Conversion

1. CSS Compatibility

TCPDF’s HTML rendering capabilities might not perfectly match modern web browsers. Stick to more basic CSS and HTML elements for the best results.

2. Testing and Debugging

Always test your HTML-to-PDF conversion with various HTML content types and styles to ensure accurate rendering.

3. PDF Page Size and Orientation

You can control the page size and orientation using TCPDF’s methods like SetPageSize() and SetPageOrientation().

Conclusion

There are many ways to create dynamic and customizable PDF documents from online content using TCPDF’s ability to convert HTML to PDF. You can easily transform HTML content into visually appealing PDFs suitable for reports, documentation, or archiving Web pages by following the procedures described in this guide.

This guide has covered the basics of converting HTML to PDF with TCPDF. It has shown how to incorporate CSS styling, images, and headers, and has provided strategies for effective conversion. You can improve the user experience by sharing Web content in the ubiquitous PDF format by incorporating TCPDF into your projects. Start today to take advantage of the benefits of HTML to PDF conversion with TCPDF to enhance the document generation capabilities of your application.