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Articles Php Functions

PHP for PDF - Page 4

by: Luca Perugini
|
October 26, 2000

Generating PDF File

In order to generate PDF document, we need to do these steps:
  1. Open a PDF stream and associate a handle with it:
    $pdf = PDF_open();

  2. (Optional) Set document information like Author, Title, Subject, etc

  3. Start a new page (a PDF file can be made of different page with different layout, e.g. portrait, landscape...):
    PDF_begin_page($pdf, 595, 842);
  4. (Optional) Set an hyperlink :
    PDF_add_outline($pdf, "Item ".$data[1]);

  5. Choose font type, dimension
    (pdf_set_font($pdf, "Helvetica-Bold" , 20, winansi);) and rendering mode

  6. Insert text at X,Y position :
    PDF_show_xy($pdf, "Item : " .$data[1], 100, 700);
    or
    insert image at X,Y position on PDF document:
    pdf_place_image($pdf, $im, 100, 300, 3);

  7. Flush text buffer and close PDF stream.

PDF Coordinate Systems

What we need to do to locate a string or picture in some part of the PDF page, is to convert from metric/inch distance to DTP point correspondent value. At page 45 of PDFLib Manual we read: 
".. . The default coordinate system (or default user space in PDF lingo) has 
the origin in the lower left corner of the page, and
uses the DTP point as unit:
 1 pt = 1 inch / 72 = 25,4 mm / 72 = 0,3528 mm"
Here is a snapshot code for generating PDF file:

<?php

$pdf = PDF_open();
pdf_set_info_author($pdf, "Luca Perugini");
PDF_set_info_title($pdf, "Brochure for FlyStore");
pdf_set_info_creator($pdf, "See Author");
pdf_set_info_subject($pdf, "FlyStore");
PDF_begin_page($pdf, 595, 842);
PDF_add_outline($pdf, "Item ".$data[1]);
pdf_set_font($pdf, "Helvetica-Bold" , 20, winansi);
pdf_set_text_rendering($pdf, 0);
pdf_show_xy($pdf, "FlyStore Catalogue 2000",50,780);

PDF_show_xy($pdf, "Item : " .$data[1], 100, 700);

PDF_show_xy($pdf, "Description : " .$data[2], 100, 620);

$im = PDF_open_jpeg($pdf, "pass4_sml.jpg");
pdf_place_image($pdf, $im, 100, 300, 3);
pdf_close_image ($im);

pdf_stroke($pdf);
PDF_end_page($pdf);
PDF_close($pdf);


?>
In the end, I'd like to remind you that this article is not a PDF Tutorial, so if you need more information about the PDF language and its use, you must have a look at http://www.pdfzone.com/ and http://www.planetpdf.com/.

Files Used in This Tutorial:

I hope this has been of use to you.
Ciao
-- Luca

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