Convert page to PDF using dompdf
I am trying to convert a PHP page to PDF using dompdf, but I'm not sure of the best way to do it. I have wrote my page how I would like it to be presented in standard HTML/PHP, and would like it to be displayed like so, just as a PDF:
My PHP code is below. I believe I need to put my code into the $html variable to parse that into dompdf, but I'm a bit of a PHP newbie, so would appreciate some help as to what the best way to achieve this is. Obviously, the styling of the page is all being brought in from external CSS files, so I'm not sure if that's an issue or not?
<?php
include("checklog.php");
require_once("watchlist-controller.php");
require_once("dompdf/dompdf_config.inc.php");
$html =
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="img/fav.ico">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="img/apple-touch-icon.png">
<title>Screening - Your ticket to your movies - <?php echo $watchlist_name; ?></title>
<meta name="description" content="Screening is a brand new take on the traditional movie database, fusing social networking and multimedia to provide a clear, concise experience allowing you to share your favourite movies, and discover new classics.">
<meta name="keywords" content="Movies, Films, Screening, Discover, Watch, Share, experience, database, movie database, film database, share film, share films, discover film, discover films, share movie, share movies, discover movie, discover movies">
<!-- Bootstrap -->
<link href="css/bootstrap.css" rel="stylesheet" media="screen">
<link href="css/bootstrap-responsive.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="css/custom-bootstrap.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="fonts.css" type="text/css" />
<link rel="stylesheet/less" type="text/css" href="css/stylesheet.less" />
<script src="js/less-1.3.3.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script type="text/javascript" src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.8/jquery.min.js"></script>
<script src="js/bootstrap.min.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container"><?php
require_once ("header.php");?>
<div id="main" class="well main-content">
<p class="page-title"><?php echo $watchlist_name; ?></p>
<div class="row-fluid">
<section class="span12 watchlist-holder film-list"><?php
if (count($films) == 0) {?>
<div class="alert alert-info">This Watchlist is empty! Why not visit a movie page to add something to it?</div><?php
} else {?>
<ul class="unstyled"><?php
foreach($films as $key => $film_item) {
include("watchlist-film-controller.php");?>
<li class="well list-item clearfix">
<div class="row-fluid">
<a href="movie.php?id=<?php echo $rt_id; ?>" class="span1 pull-left" title="<?php echo $title; ?>"><img src="<?php echo $poster_thumb; ?>" alt="<?php echo $title; ?> poster" title="<?php echo $title; ?> poster" /></a>
<div class="span11 movie-info">
<p class="search-title"><a href="movie.php?id=<?php echo $film_item['film_id']; ?>" title="<?php echo $title; ?> (<?php echo $year; ?>)"><?php echo $title; ?></a> <small>(<?php echo $year; ?>)</small></p><?php
if ($critics_consensus == "") {?>
<p class="watchlist-synopsis">No overview available</p><?php
} else {?>
<p class="watchlist-synopsis"><?php echo $critics_consensus; ?></p><?php
}?>
</div>
</div>
</li><?php
}?>
</ul><?php
}?>
</section>
</div>
</div><?php
include 'footer.html'; ?>
</div>
</body>
</html><?php
$dompdf = new DOMPDF();
$dompdf->load_html($html);
$dompdf->render();
$dompdf->stream("sample.pdf");?>
Update
Based on BrianS's comment (thank you!), my new code looks like below, however I'm now getting just a plain blank page when trying to view the Watchlist. I've tested it without the dompdf stuff, and the page appears perfectly, showing all the information I want it to show, and presented correctly. I've also replaced the LESS file with CSS and removed all the JS.
<?php
include("checklog.php");
require_once("watchlist-controller.php");
require_once("dompdf/dompdf_config.inc.php");
ob_start();
?>
<!DOCTYPE html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="img/fav.ico">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="img/apple-touch-icon.png">
<title>Screening - Your ticket to your movies - <?php echo $watchlist_name; ?></title>
<meta name="description" content="Screening is a brand new take on the traditional movie database, fusing social networking and multimedia to provide a clear, concise experience allowing you to share your favourite movies, and discover new classics.">
<meta name="keywords" content="Movies, Films, Screening, Discover, Watch, Share, experience, database, movie database, film database, share film, share films, discover film, discover films, share movie, share movies, discover movie, discover movies">
<!-- Bootstrap -->
<link href="css/bootstrap.css" rel="stylesheet" media="screen">
<link href="css/bootstrap-responsive.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link href="css/custom-bootstrap.css" rel="stylesheet">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="fonts.css" type="text/css" />
<link href="css/stylesheet.css" rel="stylesheet">
</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<header>
<div class="navbar navbar-inverse">
<div class="navbar-inner">
<div class="container">
<a href="index.php" title="Screening"><img src="img/blue_logo.png" class="pull-left" title="Screening - Your ticket to your movies" alt="Screening - Your ticket to your movies" /></a>
<a class="brand" href="index.php">Screening</a>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</header>
<div id="main" class="well main-content">
<p class="page-title">"<?php echo $watchlist_name; ?>" Watchlist by <?php echo $first_name; ?> <?php echo $last_name; ?></p>
<div class="row-fluid">
<section class="span12 watchlist-holder film-list">
<ul class="unstyled"><?php
foreach($films as $key => $film_item) {
include("watchlist-film-controller.php");?>
<li class="well list-item clearfix">
<div class="row-fluid">
<a href="movie.php?id=<?php echo $rt_id; ?>" class="span1 pull-left" title="<?php echo $title; ?>"><img src="<?php echo $poster_thumb; ?>" alt="<?php echo $title; ?> poster" title="<?php echo $title; ?> poster" /></a>
<div class="span11 movie-info">
<p class="search-title"><a href="movie.php?id=<?php echo $film_item['film_id']; ?>" title="<?php echo $title; ?> (<?php echo $year; ?>)"><?php echo $title; ?></a> <small>(<?php echo $year; ?>)</small></p><?php
if ($critics_consensus == "") {?>
<p class="watchlist-synopsis">No overview available</p><?php
} else {?>
<p class="watchlist-synopsis"><?php echo $critics_consensus; ?></p><?php
}?>
</div>
</div>
</li><?php
}?>
</ul>
</section>
</div>
<p>This Watchlist was generated by <span class="bold">Screening</span>.</p>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html><?php
$html = ob_get_clean();
$dompdf = new DOMPDF();
$dompdf->load_html($html);
$dompdf->render();
$dompdf->stream("watchlist.pdf");?>
Also, if it helps, turning on error reporting gets me the following:
Notice: Undefined variable: submit in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\watchlist-controller.php on line 20
Warning: mysql_fetch_assoc() expects parameter 1 to be resource, boolean given in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\watchlist-controller.php on line 107
Notice: Undefined index: name in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\watchlist-controller.php on line 111
Notice: Undefined index: category in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\watchlist-controller.php on line 112
Notice: Undefined index: description in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\watchlist-controller.php on line 113
Notice: Undefined index: hash in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\watchlist-controller.php on line 114
Warning: mysql_fetch_assoc() expects parameter 1 to be resource, boolean given in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\watchlist-controller.php on line 119
Warning: require_once(//ICS-FILESHARE/WWW/newmedia.leeds.ac.uk/ug10/cs10aer/screening/dompdf/lib/php-font-lib/classes/font.cls.php): failed to open stream: No such file or directory in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\dompdf\dompdf_config.inc.php on line 335
Fatal error: require_once(): Failed opening required '//ICS-FILESHARE/WWW/newmedia.leeds.ac.uk/ug10/cs10aer/screening/dompdf/lib/php-font-lib/classes/font.cls.php' (include_path='.;C:\php\pear') in \\ICS-FILESHARE\WWW\newmedia.leeds.ac.uk\ug10\cs10aer\screening\dompdf\dompdf_config.inc.php on line 335
Answer
There are a number of ways of doing what you want. Your current logic should work, though the syntax isn't quite right. If you want to stick with your current structure, though, you might use output buffering instead.
<?php
include("checklog.php");
require_once("watchlist-controller.php");
require_once("dompdf/dompdf_config.inc.php");
ob_start();
?>
<html>...</html>
<?php
$html = ob_get_clean();
$dompdf = new DOMPDF();
$dompdf->load_html($html);
$dompdf->render();
$dompdf->stream("sample.pdf");
?>
Linked stylesheets are fine. JavaScript is not, dompdf doesn't support client-side JS. So if your LESS stylesheet is required you'll have to convert it to standard CSS.