Exporting to PDF - PhpSpreadsheet

Overview

PhpSpreadsheet can export spreadsheets to PDF format using third-party PDF rendering libraries. You must install one of the supported libraries separately using Composer.

Supported PDF Libraries

Library	Package	Writer Class	Notes
Dompdf	`dompdf/dompdf`	`Writer\Pdf\Dompdf`	Good HTML/CSS support, moderate speed
mPDF	`mpdf/mpdf`	`Writer\Pdf\Mpdf`	Excellent Unicode support, feature-rich
TCPDF	`tecnickcom/tcpdf`	`Writer\Pdf\Tcpdf`	Comprehensive features, well-tested

PhpSpreadsheet does not include any PDF library by default. You must install your preferred library using Composer.

Installation

Install one of the PDF libraries:

# Install Mpdf
composer require mpdf/mpdf

# OR install Dompdf
composer require dompdf/dompdf

# OR install TCPDF
composer require tecnickcom/tcpdf

Basic Usage

Method 1: Using IOFactory

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Mpdf;

// Register the PDF renderer
IOFactory::registerWriter('Pdf', Mpdf::class);

// Create writer
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Pdf');
$writer->save('output.pdf');

Method 2: Direct Instantiation

Instantiate the writer directly:

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Mpdf;

$writer = new Mpdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.pdf');

Method 3: Using Specific Library Name

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;

// Use library-specific name
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Mpdf');
// or
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Dompdf');
// or
$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Tcpdf');

$writer->save('output.pdf');

Using Mpdf

Package: mpdf/mpdf
Class: PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Mpdf

Basic Example

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\IOFactory;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Mpdf;

// Register Mpdf
IOFactory::registerWriter('Pdf', Mpdf::class);

$writer = IOFactory::createWriter($spreadsheet, 'Pdf');
$writer->save('output.pdf');

Mpdf Options

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Mpdf;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\PageSetup;

$writer = new Mpdf($spreadsheet);

// Set orientation
$writer->setOrientation(PageSetup::ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE);

// Set paper size
$writer->setPaperSize(PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_A4);

// Set font
$writer->setFont('dejavusans');

// Set temporary directory
$writer->setTempDir('/tmp');

// Disable pre-calculation
$writer->setPreCalculateFormulas(false);

$writer->save('output.pdf');

Complete Example

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Mpdf;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\PageSetup;

$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

// Add data
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Hello');
$sheet->setCellValue('B1', 'World');

// Configure page setup
$sheet->getPageSetup()->setOrientation(PageSetup::ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE);
$sheet->setShowGridLines(false);

// Create PDF
$writer = new Mpdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.pdf');

Using Dompdf

Package: dompdf/dompdf
Class: PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Dompdf

Basic Example

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Dompdf;

$writer = new Dompdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.pdf');

Dompdf Options

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Dompdf;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\PageSetup;

$writer = new Dompdf($spreadsheet);

// Set orientation
$writer->setOrientation(PageSetup::ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT);

// Set paper size
$writer->setPaperSize(PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_LETTER);

// Set font
$writer->setFont('helvetica');

$writer->save('output.pdf');

Using TCPDF

Package: tecnickcom/tcpdf
Class: PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Tcpdf

Basic Example

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Tcpdf;

$writer = new Tcpdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.pdf');

TCPDF Options

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Tcpdf;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\PageSetup;

$writer = new Tcpdf($spreadsheet);

// Set orientation
$writer->setOrientation(PageSetup::ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE);

// Set paper size
$writer->setPaperSize(PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_A3);

// Set font (TCPDF has many built-in fonts)
$writer->setFont('helvetica');

$writer->save('output.pdf');

Common Options

All PDF writers support these common options:

Page Orientation

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\PageSetup;

// Set at worksheet level (preferred)
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()
    ->getPageSetup()
    ->setOrientation(PageSetup::ORIENTATION_LANDSCAPE);

// Or override at writer level
$writer->setOrientation(PageSetup::ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT);

Paper Size

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\PageSetup;

// Set at worksheet level
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()
    ->getPageSetup()
    ->setPaperSize(PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_A4);

// Or override at writer level
$writer->setPaperSize(PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_LETTER);

Available paper sizes:

PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_LETTER (default)
PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_LEGAL
PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_A3
PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_A4
PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_A5
PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_B4
PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_B5
And many more…

Multiple Worksheets

By default, only the first worksheet is exported:

// Export all worksheets
$writer->writeAllSheets();

// Or export specific sheet
$writer->setSheetIndex(2); // Export sheet 3

Formula Pre-calculation

// Disable for better performance
$writer->setPreCalculateFormulas(false);

Include Charts

$writer->setIncludeCharts(true);

Customizing PDF Output

Hide Grid Lines

$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->setShowGridLines(false);

Set Print Area

$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->getPageSetup()->setPrintArea('A1:F20');

Page Margins

$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

// Set margins in inches
$sheet->getPageMargins()->setTop(1);
$sheet->getPageMargins()->setRight(0.75);
$sheet->getPageMargins()->setLeft(0.75);
$sheet->getPageMargins()->setBottom(1);

Headers and Footers

$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

$sheet->getHeaderFooter()->setOddHeader('&C&HCompany Name');
$sheet->getHeaderFooter()->setOddFooter('&LPage &P of &N' . '&RDate: &D');

Edit HTML Callback

Modify the HTML before PDF generation:

function modifyHtml(string $html): string
{
    // Change styles
    $html = str_replace(
        '{border: 1px solid black;}',
        '{border: 2px solid blue;}',
        $html
    );
    return $html;
}

$writer = new Mpdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->setEditHtmlCallback('modifyHtml');
$writer->save('output.pdf');

Advanced Configuration

Custom TCPDF Implementation

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Tcpdf;

class CustomTcpdf extends \TCPDF
{
    // Custom configuration
    public function Header()
    {
        $this->SetY(10);
        $this->SetFont('helvetica', 'B', 12);
        $this->Cell(0, 10, 'Custom Header', 0, 1, 'C');
    }
}

class CustomTcpdfWriter extends Tcpdf
{
    protected function createExternalWriterInstance(
        string $orientation,
        string $unit,
        $paperSize
    ): \TCPDF {
        return new CustomTcpdf($orientation, $unit, $paperSize);
    }
}

$writer = new CustomTcpdfWriter($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.pdf');

Downloading PDFs

Browser Download

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Mpdf;

// Set headers
header('Content-Type: application/pdf');
header('Content-Disposition: attachment;filename="report.pdf"');
header('Cache-Control: max-age=0');

// Generate PDF to browser
$writer = new Mpdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('php://output');
exit;

Inline Display

header('Content-Type: application/pdf');
header('Content-Disposition: inline;filename="report.pdf"');

$writer = new Mpdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('php://output');
exit;

Number Formatting

Control decimal and thousands separators:

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Shared\StringHelper;

// Set before creating the writer
StringHelper::setDecimalSeparator('.');
StringHelper::setThousandsSeparator(',');

$writer = new Mpdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->save('output.pdf');

Choosing a PDF Library

Mpdf
Dompdf
TCPDF

Best for:

Unicode and international characters
Complex layouts
RTL (right-to-left) languages
Custom headers/footers

Pros:

Excellent Unicode support
Good HTML/CSS support
Active development
Good documentation

Cons:

Moderate speed
Higher memory usage

Troubleshooting

Memory Issues

// Increase memory limit
ini_set('memory_limit', '512M');

// Disable formula pre-calculation
$writer->setPreCalculateFormulas(false);

// Process sheets individually
for ($i = 0; $i < $spreadsheet->getSheetCount(); $i++) {
    $writer->setSheetIndex($i);
    $writer->save("sheet_{$i}.pdf");
}

Font Issues

// Use built-in fonts
$writer->setFont('helvetica'); // TCPDF
$writer->setFont('dejavusans'); // Mpdf

// For special characters
$writer->setFont('dejavusanscondensed');

Large File Performance

// Optimize for performance
$writer->setPreCalculateFormulas(false);
$writer->setIncludeCharts(false);
$spreadsheet->getActiveSheet()->setShowGridLines(false);

Best Practices

Performance

Disable formula pre-calculation for large files
Don’t include charts unless necessary
Export only required sheets
Hide grid lines for cleaner output
Increase PHP memory limit if needed

Quality

Test with sample data first
Verify fonts support your character set
Check page breaks in the output
Test with target PDF readers
Set appropriate paper size and orientation

Security

Validate input data before export
Set appropriate cache directories
Clean up temporary files
Use HTTPS for downloads
Sanitize user-provided content

Complete Example

use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Spreadsheet;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Writer\Pdf\Mpdf;
use PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Worksheet\PageSetup;

// Create spreadsheet
$spreadsheet = new Spreadsheet();
$sheet = $spreadsheet->getActiveSheet();

// Add data
$sheet->setCellValue('A1', 'Product');
$sheet->setCellValue('B1', 'Price');
$sheet->setCellValue('A2', 'Widget');
$sheet->setCellValue('B2', 19.99);
$sheet->setCellValue('A3', 'Gadget');
$sheet->setCellValue('B3', 29.99);

// Style header
$sheet->getStyle('A1:B1')->getFont()->setBold(true);
$sheet->getStyle('A1:B1')->getFill()
    ->setFillType(\PhpOffice\PhpSpreadsheet\Style\Fill::FILL_SOLID)
    ->getStartColor()->setRGB('CCCCCC');

// Configure page
$sheet->getPageSetup()
    ->setOrientation(PageSetup::ORIENTATION_PORTRAIT)
    ->setPaperSize(PageSetup::PAPERSIZE_A4);
$sheet->setShowGridLines(false);

// Set margins
$sheet->getPageMargins()->setTop(1);
$sheet->getPageMargins()->setRight(0.75);
$sheet->getPageMargins()->setLeft(0.75);
$sheet->getPageMargins()->setBottom(1);

// Create PDF
$writer = new Mpdf($spreadsheet);
$writer->setPreCalculateFormulas(false);
$writer->save('product-list.pdf');

echo 'PDF generated successfully!';

Getting Started

Core Concepts

Reading & Writing

Working with Data

Formatting

Advanced Features

Performance

Migration & Compatibility

​Overview

​Supported PDF Libraries

​Installation

​Basic Usage

​Method 1: Using IOFactory

​Method 2: Direct Instantiation

​Method 3: Using Specific Library Name

​Using Mpdf

​Basic Example

​Mpdf Options

​Complete Example

​Using Dompdf

​Basic Example

​Dompdf Options

​Using TCPDF

​Basic Example

​TCPDF Options

​Common Options

​Page Orientation

​Paper Size

​Multiple Worksheets

​Formula Pre-calculation

​Include Charts

​Customizing PDF Output

​Hide Grid Lines

​Set Print Area

​Page Margins

​Headers and Footers

​Edit HTML Callback

​Advanced Configuration

​Custom TCPDF Implementation

​Downloading PDFs

​Browser Download

​Inline Display

​Number Formatting

​Choosing a PDF Library

​Troubleshooting

​Memory Issues

​Font Issues

​Large File Performance

​Best Practices

Performance

Quality

Security

​Complete Example

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Overview

Supported PDF Libraries

Installation

Basic Usage

Method 1: Using IOFactory

Method 2: Direct Instantiation

Method 3: Using Specific Library Name

Using Mpdf

Basic Example

Mpdf Options

Complete Example

Using Dompdf

Basic Example

Dompdf Options

Using TCPDF

Basic Example

TCPDF Options

Common Options

Page Orientation

Paper Size

Multiple Worksheets

Formula Pre-calculation

Include Charts

Customizing PDF Output

Hide Grid Lines

Set Print Area

Page Margins

Headers and Footers

Edit HTML Callback

Advanced Configuration

Custom TCPDF Implementation

Downloading PDFs

Browser Download

Inline Display

Number Formatting

Choosing a PDF Library

Troubleshooting

Memory Issues

Font Issues

Large File Performance

Best Practices

Complete Example