Convert dynamic PHP report to PDF and then email results - iterate through database f

[phishee]

Hello all,

I am currently looking for a solution to my PDF creation issue. First, I can successfully create a PDF using htmldoc (Linux-based) from many different clients' MySQL data. My first question would be - Is there a way to generate the PDF's filename from a DB so that each PDF is uniquely named and move it to the appropriate "reports" folder that I desire?

Additionally, I would like to have a PHP or possibly even shell script which would run with Cron to take the newly created PDF, archive it according to the date the report was run, and email it to the client's designated email address. The email address and client info would be pulled from a MySQL db. One of the key requirements is that the script iterate through the DB so as to create/email PDF for each respective client. Obviously my goal is total automation.

I realize this is a lot to request but I have been working diligently for some time and only been able to come up with some minor solutions. Thanks for all of your participation and answers. They will be appreciated.

Brandon (phishee)

[sneakyimp]

i'm not familiar with htmldoc, but i suspect that it lets you specify what the filename is for your generated PDF.

as for what that pdf filename should be, there are a lot of ways you can be sure the filename is unique. You can use some combination of:

• client unique id from the database or client name
• the date
• the data involved
• cool php function uniqid()uniqid() which generates large random strings

as i understand it, cron can run php files. php can mail stuff and query mysql databases. it's just a matter of working out the particulars.