Laravel - generate PDF from html view file and download using dompdf

Laravel - Generate PDF from HTML View File and Download Using DomPDF

In Laravel, you can generate and download PDFs using the Dompdf package. Below is a step-by-step guide to implement it.

1. Install DomPDF Package

Run the following command to install barryvdh/laravel-dompdf:

composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf

Then, add the service provider in config/app.php (for Laravel 6):

'providers' => [
    Barryvdh\DomPDF\ServiceProvider::class,
],

'aliases' => [
    'PDF' => Barryvdh\DomPDF\Facade::class,
],

Publish the package configuration (optional):

php artisan vendor:publish --provider="Barryvdh\DomPDF\ServiceProvider"

2. Create a Controller

Run the following command to generate a new controller:

php artisan make:controller PDFController

Modify app/Http/Controllers/PDFController.php:

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;
use Barryvdh\DomPDF\Facade as PDF;

class PDFController extends Controller
{
    public function generatePDF()
    {
        $data = [
            'title' => 'Laravel PDF Example',
            'date' => date('m/d/Y'),
            'users' => [
                ['name' => 'John Doe', 'email' => 'john@example.com'],
                ['name' => 'Jane Doe', 'email' => 'jane@example.com'],
            ]
        ];

        $pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf.document', $data);
        return $pdf->download('document.pdf');
    }
}

3. Create a Blade View for PDF Content

Create a new Blade file:
resources/views/pdf/document.blade.php

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Laravel PDF</title>
    <style>
        body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; }
        table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 20px; }
        th, td { border: 1px solid black; padding: 8px; text-align: left; }
        th { background-color: #f2f2f2; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>{{ $title }}</h2>
    <p>Date: {{ $date }}</p>

    <table>
        <tr>
            <th>Name</th>
            <th>Email</th>
        </tr>
        @foreach($users as $user)
        <tr>
            <td>{{ $user['name'] }}</td>
            <td>{{ $user['email'] }}</td>
        </tr>
        @endforeach
    </table>
</body>
</html>

4. Define Route for PDF Generation

Modify routes/web.php:

use App\Http\Controllers\PDFController;

Route::get('/generate-pdf', [PDFController::class, 'generatePDF']);

5. Run the Application and Generate a PDF

Start the Laravel development server:

php artisan serve

Now, visit the URL in your browser:

http://127.0.0.1:8000/generate-pdf

The PDF file document.pdf will be generated and downloaded automatically.

6. Additional Features

Show PDF in Browser Instead of Downloading
```
return $pdf->stream('document.pdf');
```

Customize Paper Size and Orientation

$pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf.document', $data)->setPaper('a4', 'landscape');

Use External CSS (Inline CSS is recommended, but you can include a stylesheet like this):

$pdf->loadHTML('<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">'.view('pdf.document', $data)->render());

Conclusion

✅ Dompdf allows you to generate PDFs easily.
✅ Blade templates provide dynamic content rendering.
✅ Custom styling & layouts enhance document presentation.

Souy Soeng