How to Create PDF from Scratch in PHP using PDF.co Web API

In this article will demonstrate how to create a PDF from scratch in PHP. We will use the PDF.co Web API to do this task.

Step 1: Start Apache Server

First, let’s start the Apache server so we can run the program in the local browser.

Step 2: PHP Source Code

Next, copy the PHP source code. Save it in a folder inside the /www or /htdocs directory depending on whether you are using XAMPP or WampServer.

Step 3: Setup Code

Let’s set up the code

In line 21, type in your desired output PDF file name.
In line 22, let’s leave the URL empty so we can create a new PDF.
In line 29, add your API Key. You can get the API Key in your PDF.co dashboard.

For the Annotation String param

add the X and Y coordinates of your text together with the page range.
Next, enter the text you want to add to your PDF document.
And add the font size, font name, and font color of your text.

For Image String param

We will add the coordinates and page of our image together with the direct URL.

For Field String param

This is usually used for filling out form fields. Since we’re creating a PDF from scratch, we will just skip this param.

Step 4: Run Program

Now, let’s run the program, on your browser type localhost/Name of folder/PHP filename.
Click on the Output File URL to view the generated PDF.

Step 5: Output PDF

Here’s the generated PDF output from scratch

In this article, you learned how to create PDFs from scratch in PHP using PDF.co Web API. You can check out how it can be done in C# or JavaScript as well.