Generate PDFs with PHP

Square Peg, Round Hole

Lines aren't the only thing you can draw - circles and rectangles also figure prominently on the menu. Take a look at the following example, which demonstrates.

<?php  
// create handle for new PDF document  
$pdf = pdf_new();  
 
// open a file  
pdf_open_file($pdf, "shapes.pdf");  
 
// start a new page (A4)  
pdf_begin_page($pdf, 595, 842);  
 
// set a fill colour  
pdf_setcolor($pdf, "fill", "rgb", 1, 1, 0);  
 
// set a stroke colour  
pdf_setcolor($pdf, "stroke", "rgb", 0, 0, 0);  
 
// draw a rectangle  
pdf_rect($pdf, 50, 500, 200, 300);  
pdf_fill_stroke($pdf);  
 
// set a fill colour  
pdf_setcolor($pdf, "fill", "rgb", 0, 1, 0);  
 
// set a stroke colour  
pdf_setcolor($pdf, "stroke", "rgb", 0, 0, 1);  
 
// draw a circle  
pdf_circle($pdf, 400, 600, 100);  
pdf_fill_stroke($pdf);  
 
// end page  
pdf_end_page($pdf);  
 
// close and save file  
pdf_close($pdf);  
?>

Here's the output:

In this case, the pdf_rect() function has been used to draw a rectangle, given the coordinates of the lower left corner and the height and width. This rectangle has then been filled and outlined in two different colours, via the pdf_fill_stroke() function.

pdf_setcolor($pdf, "fill", "rgb", 1, 1, 0);  
 
pdf_setcolor($pdf, "stroke", "rgb", 0, 0, 0);  
 
pdf_rect($pdf, 50, 500, 200, 300);  
 
pdf_fill_stroke($pdf);

Circles are handled by the pdf_circle() function, which accepts three
arguments: the X and Y coordinates of the circle center, and the length of the circle radius.

pdf_circle($pdf, 400, 600, 100);

This ability to draw geometric shapes on the fly can come in handy in a number of different situations. Consider the following one, in which a couple of "for" loops have been combined with the pdf_lineto() function to generate a PDF line grid.

<?php  
// create handle for new PDF document  
$pdf = pdf_new();  
 
// open a file  
pdf_open_file($pdf, "grid.pdf");  
 
// start a new page (A4)  
pdf_begin_page($pdf, 595, 842);  
 
// set a stroke colour  
pdf_setcolor($pdf, "stroke", "rgb", 0, 0, 0);  
 
// draw vertical lines (move along X axis)  
for ($x=0; $x<=595; $x+=20)  
{  
 pdf_moveto($pdf, $x, 0);  
 pdf_lineto($pdf, $x, 842);  
 pdf_stroke($pdf);  
}  
 
// draw horizontal lines (move along Y axis)  
for ($y=0; $y<=842; $y+=20)  
{  
 pdf_moveto($pdf, 0, $y);  
 pdf_lineto($pdf, 595, $y);  
 pdf_stroke($pdf);  
}  
 
// end page  
pdf_end_page($pdf);  
 
// close and save file  
pdf_close($pdf);  
?>

Here's the output:

Heaven Is A Place On Earth

You can set document information with the pdf_set_info_*() family of functions; this information identifies the document creator, title and content. The following example demonstrates:

<?php  
// create handle for new PDF document  
$pdf = pdf_new();  
 
// open a file  
pdf_open_file($pdf, "philosophy.pdf");  
 
// start a new page (A4)  
pdf_begin_page($pdf, 595, 842);  
 
// set document information  
pdf_set_info_author($pdf, "William Shakespeare"); pdf_set_info_creator($pdf, "William Shakespeare"); pdf_set_info_title($pdf, "Hamlet"); pdf_set_info_subject($pdf, "Act I Scene 5"); pdf_set_info_keywords($pdf, "Horatio Hamlet philosophy");  
 
// get and use a font object  
$arial = pdf_findfont($pdf, "Arial", "host", 1); pdf_setfont($pdf, $arial, 10);  
 
// print text  
pdf_show_xy($pdf, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,", 50, 750); pdf_show_xy($pdf, "than are dreamt of in your philosophy", 50, 730);  
 
// end page  
pdf_end_page($pdf);  
 
// close and save file  
pdf_close($pdf);  
?>

And now, when you view the dynamically-generated PDF file in Acrobat Reader, you'll see this information in the Document Properties window.