Laravel 8 PDF: How To Generate PDF With DomPDF

Laravel Dynamic PDF Generation with DomPDF

In a custom Laravel-based CRM project, one common requirement is to generate PDF files dynamically—for example, exporting lead data. After exploring some options, I found a great Laravel wrapper for DomPDF: barryvdh/laravel-dompdf.

📌 What is DomPDF?

Dompdf is an HTML to PDF converter. It's a CSS 2.1-compliant HTML layout and rendering engine written in PHP. Dompdf supports inline styles, external style sheets, and many presentational HTML attributes.

Laravel 8 PDF Example: Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Create a Laravel Project

composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel laravelPDF

Then, open the project folder in your code editor (e.g., VS Code).

Step 2: Install DomPDF Package

composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf

This will also install all necessary dependencies like:

dompdf/dompdf
php-font-lib
php-svg-lib
php-css-parser

Step 3: Configure DomPDF

In config/app.php, add the provider and alias:

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

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

Step 4: Create a Layout Blade Template

Create resources/views/layout.blade.php:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Laravel PDF Example</title>
    <link href="{{ asset('css/app.css') }}" rel="stylesheet">
</head>
<body>
    <div class="container">
        @yield('content')
    </div>
    <script src="{{ asset('js/app.js') }}"></script>
</body>
</html>

Step 5: Create Model and Migration

php artisan make:model Disneyplus -m

Update the migration file:

public function up()
{
    Schema::create('disneypluses', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('show_name');
        $table->string('series');
        $table->string('lead_actor');
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

Then run:

php artisan migrate

Step 6: Create Controller and Routes

php artisan make:controller DisneyplusController

Define the routes in routes/web.php:

Route::get('disneyplus', 'DisneyplusController@create')->name('disneyplus.create');
Route::post('disneyplus', 'DisneyplusController@store')->name('disneyplus.store');
Route::get('disneyplus/list', 'DisneyplusController@index')->name('disneyplus.index');
Route::get('/downloadPDF/{id}', 'DisneyplusController@downloadPDF');

Step 7: Form Blade File

Create resources/views/form.blade.php:

@extends('layout')

@section('content')
<div class="card mt-4">
  <div class="card-header">Add Disneyplus Show</div>
  <div class="card-body">
    <form method="post" action="{{ route('disneyplus.store') }}">
        @csrf
        <div class="form-group">
            <label>Show Name:</label>
            <input type="text" name="show_name" class="form-control">
        </div>
        <div class="form-group">
            <label>Series:</label>
            <input type="text" name="series" class="form-control">
        </div>
        <div class="form-group">
            <label>Lead Actor:</label>
            <input type="text" name="lead_actor" class="form-control">
        </div>
        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary">Save Show</button>
    </form>
  </div>
</div>
@endsection

Step 8: Store and Display Data

DisneyplusController.php

use App\Disneyplus;
use PDF;

public function create() {
    return view('form');
}

public function store(Request $request) {
    $request->validate([
        'show_name' => 'required',
        'series' => 'required',
        'lead_actor' => 'required',
    ]);

    Disneyplus::create($request->all());
    return redirect()->route('disneyplus.index')->with('success', 'Show saved!');
}

public function index() {
    $shows = Disneyplus::all();
    return view('list', compact('shows'));
}

Disneyplus Model:

protected $fillable = ['show_name', 'series', 'lead_actor'];

Step 9: List Blade File

Create resources/views/list.blade.php:

@extends('layout')

@section('content')
<table class="table mt-4">
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>ID</th>
      <th>Show Name</th>
      <th>Series</th>
      <th>Lead Actor</th>
      <th>PDF</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    @foreach($shows as $show)
    <tr>
      <td>{{ $show->id }}</td>
      <td>{{ $show->show_name }}</td>
      <td>{{ $show->series }}</td>
      <td>{{ $show->lead_actor }}</td>
      <td><a href="{{ url('/downloadPDF/'.$show->id) }}">Download PDF</a></td>
    </tr>
    @endforeach
  </tbody>
</table>
@endsection

Step 10: Create PDF Blade View

Create resources/views/pdf.blade.php:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Show PDF</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h2>Disneyplus Show Information</h2>
    <table width="100%" border="1" cellpadding="10">
        <tr>
            <th>Show Name</th>
            <td>{{ $show->show_name }}</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th>Series</th>
            <td>{{ $show->series }}</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <th>Lead Actor</th>
            <td>{{ $show->lead_actor }}</td>
        </tr>
    </table>
</body>
</html>

Step 11: Generate PDF in Controller

public function downloadPDF($id) {
    $show = Disneyplus::find($id);
    $pdf = PDF::loadView('pdf', compact('show'));
    return $pdf->download('show-details.pdf');
}

Conclusion

With this setup, you've created a full Laravel CRUD system and enabled PDF export using laravel-dompdf. This is perfect for CRM systems or apps that need printed records, reports, or invoices.

Let me know if you’d like this cleaned up into a downloadable Laravel project or integrated with advanced features like charts, tables, headers/footers, or multi-page PDFs!

Souy Soeng