How to Generate Content in a Single PDF File Using Dompdf in WordPress

Описание: Discover how to consolidate dynamic content into a single PDF file using Dompdf in WordPress without plugins. Learn step-by-step to resolve issues related to generating and attaching PDFs to user emails.
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How to Generate Content in a Single PDF File Using Dompdf in WordPress

If you're working with the Dompdf library in WordPress to generate PDF documents, you might encounter a scenario where a new output PDF is constantly being created instead of saving the content into a single designated PDF file. This guide will guide you through the process of achieving your goal through a step-by-step explanation, ensuring that your PDF documents are getting filled with the necessary content while remaining compatible with email attachments.

Understanding the Issue

As a WordPress user with some experience in PHP, you might have begun using Dompdf for creating PDF documents manually without relying on plugins. This is a great way to learn the library! However, in your case, it seems that every time you refresh the page, a new document.pdf is generated, rather than outputting the content into your predefined pdf-test.pdf file, which you want to attach to customer emails.

Why This is Happening

The main reasons you are unable to write to pdf-test.pdf and instead are generating a new document are:

The $dompdf->stream() function, which outputs the PDF directly to the browser.

You are not saving the rendered PDF string to your desired file path using the appropriate file handling functions in PHP.

Now let’s explore how to fix this issue step-by-step.

Step-by-step Solution

1. Remove the Streaming Output

First, remove the line of code that streams the PDF to the browser. The line you should look for is:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

By removing this line, you will stop the automatic output of the PDF file to the user's browser and instead focus on saving the file locally.

2. Save the PDF Output to a File

Next, you need to modify your code to save the output of the PDF. Instead of directly streaming it, you can capture the output as a string and then write it to your designated pdf-test.pdf file.

Here's how to do it:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Using the file_put_contents function, you can save the generated PDF content directly into pdf-test.pdf located in your theme's directory.

3. Ensure Dynamic Content is Included

Since you mentioned you want the PDF to include dynamic content, ensure that your pdf-test.php file generates the content you wish to see in the PDF. This means that whatever content you generate in pdf-test.php will be captured and saved into pdf-test.pdf.

4. Attach the PDF to Emails

With the PDF now generated and saved properly, you can attach it to the user emails as follows:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This code snippet ensures that pdf-test.pdf is attached to the WooCommerce emails, where it will be accessible to users.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can successfully generate and save dynamic content into a single PDF file using Dompdf. You will also be able to attach that file to user emails, allowing for a seamless user experience in your WordPress site.

If you have any further questions or need help implementing these changes, feel free to leave a comment below!