Create PDF documents Online with TCPDF

Posted by OlafMay 27, 2010

Many web applications using PDF documents for invoices, contracts and many other doc types. There are a few PHP classes which are able to create PDF documents online, one of them is TCPDF. This tutorial is about how-to use the TCPDF class while creating a simple invoice document. If you like to take a sneak peak on the result, check this website which generates the PDF Invoice document on the fly.

Why TCPDF and not some other PHP class?

TCPDF is based on the FPDF class, a very stable project written for PHP4. Since several years has TCPDF much more features than FPDF and is written for PHP5 (there is also a PHP4 version). The TCPDF has also some great documentation and of course examples for all important PDF jobs like:
WriteHTML and RTL support, Multiple columns, JavaScript and Forms, Bookmarks (Table of Content), Multicell complex alignment, Barcodes, Set PDF viewer display preferences, EPS/AI vectorial images and many more.

The Zend Framework has some PDF class too…

Yes right, the first plan was to write this tutorial about the Zend Framework, but after writing a few rows of code I’ve noticed that the PDF Class is missing some important functions, like the MultiCell, which is used to wrap multiple rows of text. It’s a required function which was suggested as the Zend_Pdf_Cell 2 years ago and didn’t find the way to the core version until now. I like the Zend Framework a lot but not for creating PDF documents, the PDF class is much too limited.

Online Backup Service – Comparison

Online Backup Service – ComparisonPosted by finalwebsites.comJune 5, 2010

For those people spending a lot of time behind a laptop or desktop PC, some safe backup storage becomes very important. Until a few few weeks ago, I created every night an incremental backup for my files and stored this data on a USB connected hard-disk. While the HD was shock-proof (FreeCom), my motherboard was much weaker. It seems that the motherboard died during the daily backup was processed. Why? Because my hard-disk wasn’t accessible the next day. My backup seems to be worthless and I was very happy that a replacement of the motherboard was the rescue for my data.

Everyone will understand my next step: I started my search for a better backup solution!

Are online backup services the best solution?

Since my laptop has the Ubuntu operating system, I gave Ubuntu One a try. They offer 2GB of free backup space and since Ubuntu version 9.10 you need only to register an online account. That sounds easy right? Just put your backup data into the Ubuntu One directory and wait until the demon has uploaded all files. They offer great features too; synchronization between multiple PCs, sharing files with trusted contacts and there is  a web browser interface. They offer also a paid plan; 50GB storage for $10/month. Not so much actually, but maybe to much for a beta service. In my case Ubuntu One wasn’t the best solution for me. Uploading files took a lot of time and the demon/client needs a restart frequently.

Important: You need to trust your backup service provider!

There are more professional online backup services

There are many companies offering these services and they offering different packages for different needs. Since the synchronization features are very nice (think about how easy you can restore your data to a new computer) I searched  for services offering this features. A second requirement were multi-platform capabilities. The last one is very important because you never know where you need to work with your data. Maybe you need to switch from Linux to Windows or Mac. We tried the following 3 services, all of them offer 2GB of free backup space. So if you like, you can try them all for free.

Mozy – Home Edition