php-tcpdfHow do I use PHP and TCPDF to convert HTML to PDF?

Using PHP and TCPDF to convert HTML to PDF is relatively straightforward. To get started, you'll need to include the TCPDF library in your project.

require_once('tcpdf_include.php');

Next, you'll need to create a new instance of the TCPDF class and set the page size, margins, and font.

$pdf = new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);
$pdf->SetMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);
$pdf->SetHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);
$pdf->SetFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);
$pdf->SetAutoPageBreak(TRUE, PDF_MARGIN_BOTTOM);
$pdf->SetFont('helvetica', '', 10);

Once the PDF instance is set up, you can use the writeHTML method to convert your HTML into a PDF.

$html = '<h1>My HTML</h1><p>Some sample text.</p>';
$pdf->writeHTML($html, true, false, true, false, '');

Finally, you can output the PDF to the browser or save it to a file.

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

Code explanation

1. require_once('tcpdf_include.php');: Includes the TCPDF library in your project.
2. $pdf = new TCPDF(PDF_PAGE_ORIENTATION, PDF_UNIT, PDF_PAGE_FORMAT, true, 'UTF-8', false);: Creates a new instance of the TCPDF class.
3. $pdf->SetMargins(PDF_MARGIN_LEFT, PDF_MARGIN_TOP, PDF_MARGIN_RIGHT);: Sets the page margins.
4. $pdf->SetHeaderMargin(PDF_MARGIN_HEADER);: Sets the header margin.
5. $pdf->SetFooterMargin(PDF_MARGIN_FOOTER);: Sets the footer margin.
6. $pdf->SetAutoPageBreak(TRUE, PDF_MARGIN_BOTTOM);: Sets the page break.
7. $pdf->SetFont('helvetica', '', 10);: Sets the font.
8. $html = '<h1>My HTML</h1><p>Some sample text.</p>';: Creates a sample HTML string.
9. $pdf->writeHTML($html, true, false, true, false, '');: Converts the HTML into a PDF.
10. $pdf->Output('my-pdf.pdf', 'I');: Outputs the PDF to the browser or saves it to a file.

Helpful links

• TCPDF Documentation
• TCPDF GitHub Repository

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