Laravel Dompdf Laravel Package

Getting Started

Minimal Setup

1. Installation:

   composer require barryvdh/laravel-dompdf
   

   Publish the config (if needed):

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

2. First Use Case: Generate a PDF from a Blade view:

   use Barryvdh\DomPDF\Facade\Pdf;
   
   $pdf = Pdf::loadView('pdf.invoice');
   return $pdf->download('invoice.pdf');
   

3. Key Files:

   • config/dompdf.php (published config)
   • app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php (registers the service provider)
   • resources/views/pdf/*.blade.php (Blade templates for PDFs)

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

1. Loading Content:

   // From a Blade view
   Pdf::loadView('pdf.report', ['data' => $reportData]);
   
   // From a string
   Pdf::loadHtml('<h1>Hello World</h1>');
   
   // From a URL (if enabled)
   Pdf::load('https://example.com');
   

2. Output Methods:

   // Download
   return Pdf::loadView('pdf.invoice')->download('invoice.pdf');
   
   // Stream to browser
   return Pdf::loadHtml('<h1>Streamed PDF</h1>')->stream('streamed.pdf');
   
   // Save to file
   $pdf = Pdf::loadView('pdf.letter');
   $pdf->save(storage_path('app/letter.pdf'));
   
   // Return as response
   return Pdf::loadHtml('<h1>Inline PDF</h1>')->setOption('isHtml5ParserEnabled', true);
   

3. Dynamic Options:

   // Set options per instance
   $pdf = Pdf::loadView('pdf.document')
       ->setOption('defaultFont', 'Arial')
       ->setOption('isRemoteEnabled', true)
       ->setOption('isPhpEnabled', true);
   
   // Magic methods (Dompdf 2+)
   $pdf->setPaper('A4', 'portrait');
   $pdf->setPageSize('A4');
   

4. Reusable PDF Services:

   // In a service class
   class PdfService {
       public function generateInvoice($user) {
           return Pdf::loadView('pdf.invoices.invoice', compact('user'))
               ->setOption('defaultFontSize', 10)
               ->setOption('isHtml5ParserEnabled', true);
       }
   }
   

5. Blade Integration:

   // In a controller
   public function generateReport() {
       return Pdf::loadView('reports.detailed', [
           'report' => $this->generateReportData(),
           'logo' => asset('images/logo.png')
       ])->download('report.pdf');
   }
   

6. Queueing PDF Generation:

   // Dispatch a job
   GeneratePdfJob::dispatch($user, 'pdf.invoice');
   
   // Job implementation
   public function handle() {
       $pdf = Pdf::loadView('pdf.invoice', ['user' => $this->user])
           ->setOption('isRemoteEnabled', true);
       Storage::put('pdfs/' . $this->filename, $pdf->output());
   }
   

Gotchas and Tips

Common Pitfalls

1. Remote Content Security:

   • enable_remote is false by default in v3.x. Explicitly enable with:

     Pdf::setOption('isRemoteEnabled', true);
     

   • Configure allowedRemoteHosts in config/dompdf.php if needed.

2. Data URIs:

   • Dompdf v3.x requires data:// in allowed_protocols if using data URIs (e.g., base64 images). Update config:

     'allowed_protocols' => ['http', 'https', 'ftp', 'ftps', 'data'],
     

3. Font Issues:

   • Ensure fonts are installed or use @font-face in CSS. Common fix:

     Pdf::setOption('defaultFont', 'DejaVu Sans');
     

4. CSS Limitations:

   • Not all CSS properties are supported. Test with:

     Pdf::setOption('isHtml5ParserEnabled', true);
     

5. Memory Limits:

   • Large PDFs may hit memory limits. Adjust PHP memory_limit or optimize HTML/CSS.

6. Deprecated Methods:

   • Avoid setOptions() (use setOption() for granular control).
   • orientation config is deprecated; use default_paper_orientation.

Debugging Tips

1. Inspect Generated HTML:

   $html = view('pdf.template', $data)->render();
   $pdf = Pdf::loadHtml($html);
   

   Log $html to debug rendering issues.

2. Check Dompdf Logs: Enable logging in config:

   'log_output' => true,
   'log_errors' => true,
   

   View logs in storage/logs/laravel.log.

3. Validate Config: After publishing config, verify:

   config('dompdf.options');
   

Performance Optimization

1. Cache Fonts:

   Pdf::setOption('font_cache', storage_path('fonts'));
   

2. Disable Unused Features:

   Pdf::setOption('isPhpEnabled', false);
   Pdf::setOption('isJavascriptEnabled', false);
   

3. Stream Directly: Avoid saving to disk for large files:

   return Pdf::loadHtml($html)->stream('large-report.pdf');
   

Extension Points

1. Custom Dompdf Class: Bind a custom Dompdf class in AppServiceProvider:

   $this->app->bind('dompdf.wrapper', function ($app) {
       $dompdf = new \Barryvdh\DomPDF\Dompdf();
       $dompdf->setOption('defaultFont', 'YourFont');
       return $dompdf;
   });
   

2. Middleware for PDFs: Add headers or auth checks:

   Pdf::getDompdf()->setHttpContext([
       'headers' => [
           'User-Agent' => 'Laravel-Dompdf',
       ],
   ]);
   

3. Event Listeners: Hook into PDF generation:

   Pdf::getDompdf()->listen('start_document', function ($dompdf) {
       $dompdf->setPaper('A4', 'landscape');
   });
   

4. Testing: Use Pdf::loadHtml() in tests:

   $pdf = Pdf::loadHtml('<h1>Test</h1>');
   $this->assertStringContainsString('Test', $pdf->output());