Generate PDF from HTML View File and Download using Dompdf in Laravel

Generating PDF files from HTML is a common requirement for many web applications. Laravel is a popular PHP framework that has built-in support for generating PDF files using the Dompdf library. In this article, we'll explore how to generate a PDF file from an HTML view file and download it using Dompdf in Laravel.

Setting up Dompdf

Before we can use Dompdf in Laravel, we need to install it. We can install Dompdf using Composer. Open your command prompt and type the following command:

composer require dompdf/dompdf

This command will install Dompdf and its dependencies in your Laravel project.

Generating PDF from HTML View File

To generate a PDF from an HTML view file in Laravel, we can use the Dompdf library. We'll start by creating a route that will generate a PDF file from an HTML view file. Add the following code to your routes/web.php file:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
use Dompdf\Dompdf;

Route::get('/generate-pdf', function () {
    $data = [
        'title' => 'Example PDF File',
        'content' => '<p>This is an example PDF file generated from HTML!</p>'
    ];

    $dompdf = new Dompdf();
    $dompdf->loadHtml(view('pdf', $data)->render());
    $dompdf->setPaper('A4', 'landscape');
    $dompdf->render();

    $pdf = $dompdf->output();
    file_put_contents('example.pdf', $pdf);

    return response()->download('example.pdf');
});

In the code above, we're creating an array of data that we'll pass to our view file. We're then creating a new instance of the Dompdf class and loading the HTML content of our view file. We also set the paper size to A4 and the orientation to landscape. Finally, we render the PDF and save it to a file on the server. We then return a download response to the client to download the PDF file.

Explanation

We use the Dompdf class to generate a PDF file from an HTML view file. We load the content of the view file into the Dompdf library, set the paper size and orientation, render the PDF, and save it to a file on the server. We then send a download response to the client to download the saved PDF file.

Use

This technique can be used in any Laravel project where we need to generate PDF files from HTML view files. It's especially useful in cases where we need to generate reports or invoices for our web application.

Important Points

• Dompdf is a library that can generate PDF files from HTML content.
• Laravel has built-in support for the Dompdf library.
• We can generate PDF files from HTML view files using the Dompdf library in Laravel.

Summary

In this article, we explored how to generate a PDF file from an HTML view file and download it using the Dompdf library in Laravel. We looked at how to set up the Dompdf library, how to generate PDF files from HTML view files, and how to handle the download response to the client. This technique can be used in any Laravel project where we need to generate PDF files from HTML content.