Getting Started

Minimal Setup

Installation:
```
composer require whiteoctober/tcpdf-bundle
```
For Symfony 3.4+, use the fork instead.

Enable the Bundle: Add to AppKernel.php (Symfony < 4):

new WhiteOctober\TCPDFBundle\WhiteOctoberTCPDFBundle(),

For Symfony 4+, add to config/bundles.php:

WhiteOctober\TCPDFBundle\WhiteOctoberTCPDFBundle::class => ['all' => true],

First Use Case: Generate a basic PDF in a controller:

use WhiteOctober\TCPDFBundle\TCPDF\TCPDF;
use WhiteOctober\TCPDFBundle\TCPDF\TCPDFException;

public function generatePdfAction()
{
    $pdf = new TCPDF();
    $pdf->AddPage();
    $pdf->SetFont('helvetica', 'B', 20);
    $pdf->Cell(0, 10, 'Hello, TCPDF!', 0, 1, 'C');
    $pdf->Output('example.pdf', 'D'); // 'D' forces download
}

Where to Look First:
- Bundle docs: GitHub README
- TCPDF core docs: TCPDF Manual
- Symfony Twig integration (if used): twig/tcpdf.html.twig templates in the bundle.

Implementation Patterns

Core Workflows

PDF Generation in Controllers:

public function generateInvoicePdf($invoiceId)
{
    $pdf = new TCPDF();
    $pdf->AddPage();
    $pdf->SetFont('helvetica', '', 12);

    // Fetch invoice data (e.g., from Doctrine)
    $invoice = $this->getDoctrine()->getRepository(Invoice::class)->find($invoiceId);

    // Write data to PDF
    $pdf->Cell(0, 10, 'Invoice #'.$invoice->getNumber(), 0, 1, 'L');
    $pdf->Ln(10);
    $pdf->writeHTML($this->renderView('Invoice/pdf_content.html.twig', ['invoice' => $invoice]), true, false, true);

    return $pdf->Output('invoice_'.$invoiceId.'.pdf', 'D');
}

Twig Integration (if using Twig):

Create a Twig template (e.g., templates/Invoice/pdf_content.html.twig):

<table>
    <tr><td>Customer:</td><td>{{ invoice.customer.name }}</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Amount:</td><td>{{ invoice.amount }} €</td></tr>
</table>

Render in controller:

$html = $this->renderView('Invoice/pdf_content.html.twig', ['invoice' => $invoice]);
$pdf->writeHTML($html, true, false, true);

Reusable PDF Services: Create a service to encapsulate PDF logic:

# config/services.yaml
services:
    App\Service\PdfGenerator:
        arguments:
            $tcpdf: '@white_october_tcpdf.tcpdf'

// src/Service/PdfGenerator.php
class PdfGenerator {
    private $tcpdf;

    public function __construct(TCPDF $tcpdf) {
        $this->tcpdf = $tcpdf;
    }

    public function generateFromHtml(string $html, string $filename): string {
        $this->tcpdf->AddPage();
        $this->tcpdf->writeHTML($html);
        return $this->tcpdf->Output($filename, 'S'); // 'S' returns as string
    }
}

Streaming PDFs: Return PDF as a stream (e.g., for APIs):

public function streamPdfAction()
{
    $pdf = new TCPDF();
    $pdf->AddPage();
    $pdf->SetFont('helvetica', '', 12);
    $pdf->Cell(0, 10, 'Streamed PDF', 0, 1, 'C');

    return new StreamedResponse(
        function () use ($pdf) {
            $pdf->Output('streamed.pdf', 'S');
        },
        200,
        ['Content-Type' => 'application/pdf']
    );
}

Dynamic Styling: Use TCPDF methods for dynamic styling:

$pdf->SetFont('helvetica', 'B', 14); // Bold, size 14
$pdf->SetTextColor(0, 0, 255); // Blue text
$pdf->SetDrawColor(255, 0, 0); // Red borders
$pdf->Rect(10, 10, 50, 10, 'D'); // Draw a red box

Integration Tips

Doctrine Integration: Fetch entities and loop through collections:

foreach ($invoice->getItems() as $item) {
    $pdf->Cell(0, 10, $item->getDescription(), 0, 1);
    $pdf->Cell(0, 10, sprintf('%.2f €', $item->getPrice()), 0, 1, 'R');
}

Assets (Images/Fonts): Load custom fonts or images:

$pdf->AddTTFFont('path/to/font.ttf', 'TrueTypeUnicode', '', 32);
$pdf->Image('path/to/image.png', 15, 15, 20, '', 'PNG');

Headers/Footers: Use TCPDF's built-in methods:

$pdf->SetHeaderData('path/to/logo.png', 20, 'Title', 'Subtitle');
$pdf->SetFooterData(['Title', 'Page'], PDF_PAGE_COUNT);
$pdf->SetFooterMargin(10);

Gotchas and Tips

Common Pitfalls

Font Issues:
- TCPDF requires fonts to be in a specific format (e.g., .ttf for TrueType).
- Fix: Use AddTTFFont() with the correct path and encoding.
- Tip: Pre-load fonts in a service constructor to avoid repeated calls.
Memory Limits:
- Large PDFs (e.g., multi-page reports) may hit PHP memory limits.
- Fix: Increase memory_limit in php.ini or optimize PDF generation (e.g., use writeHTML() for complex layouts instead of Cell()).
Encoding Problems:
- Special characters (e.g., é, ü) may render incorrectly.
- Fix: Set the correct encoding:
```
$pdf->SetFont('helvetica', '', '', 'win1252'); // or 'utf-8'
```
Caching:
- TCPDF caches fonts and resources. Clear cache if fonts/images change:
```
$pdf->setFontCache('path/to/cache/dir');
```
Deprecated Methods:
- TCPDF v6+ deprecated some methods (e.g., AddPage() without parameters).
- Tip: Check TCPDF changelog for breaking changes.

Symfony 4+ Autowiring:

The bundle may not autowire TCPDF by default. Use:

services:
    App\Service\PdfService:
        arguments:
            $tcpdf: '@white_october_tcpdf.tcpdf'

Debugging Tips

Error Handling: Wrap TCPDF calls in try-catch:

try {
    $pdf->Output('file.pdf');
} catch (TCPDFException $e) {
    // Log or handle error
    throw new \RuntimeException('PDF generation failed: '.$e->getMessage());
}

Logging: Enable TCPDF debug mode:

$pdf->setPrintHeader(false);
$pdf->setPrintFooter(false);
$pdf->setDebug(true); // Logs errors to stdout

Output Modes:
- 'I': Send inline (browser displays).
- 'D': Force download.
- 'S': Return as string (for APIs).
- 'F': Save to file (specify path).
Performance:
- For dynamic content, pre-render HTML in Twig and pass to writeHTML().
- Avoid regenerating the same PDF repeatedly (cache results).

Extension Points

Custom TCPDF Class: Extend TCPDF to add reusable methods:

class CustomTCPDF extends TCPDF {
    public function addTitle(string $title, int $size = 16) {

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