1. FPDF

FPDF, originally a PHP library, has been adapted for Python to facilitate PDF generation. It offers various features, such as converting text files into PDFs and formatting your data.

Although FPDF supports HTML, it is limited to understanding basic functionalities and lacks CSS comprehension. To utilize advanced HTML features, you must incorporate HTMLMixin, which enhances FPDF's capabilities.

You can install FPDF using pip with the following command:

pip install fpdf==1.7

FPDF supports: - Page formatting - Images, links, colors - Automatic line and page breaks

Here’s a sample code snippet:

from fpdf import FPDF, HTMLMixin

# Creating a class that inherits from both FPDF and HTMLMixin

class MyFPDF(FPDF, HTMLMixin):

pass

# Instantiating the class

pdf = MyFPDF()

# Adding a page

pdf.add_page()

# Opening an HTML file

file = open("file.html", "r")

# Reading data from the file as a string

data = file.read()

# Using HTMLMixin's write_html method

pdf.write_html(data)

# Saving the file as a PDF

pdf.output('Python_fpdf.pdf', 'F')

The above example converts an HTML file named "file.html" into a PDF titled "Python_fpdf.pdf" using the HTMLMixin library.

For more details about FPDF, visit its official documentation.

2. Reportlab

Reportlab is a Python library that enables PDF creation. It has both an open-source version and a commercial version, with the latter supporting Report Markup Language (RML). Both versions offer the following features:

• Dynamic web PDF generation
• Conversion of XML into PDF
• Support for vector graphics and the inclusion of other PDF files
• Creation of time charts and tables

To install Reportlab, use the following command:

pip install reportlab

Reportlab is quite complex but allows for extensive customization of your PDF’s format and style. Here’s a basic example:

from reportlab.pdfgen import canvas

c = canvas.Canvas("reportlab_pdf.pdf")

c.drawString(100, 100, "Hello World")

c.showPage()

c.save()

For additional information, refer to Reportlab's documentation.

3. Pyppeteer

Previously discussed in the "Generate a PDF with JavaScript" article, Puppeteer is a browser automation tool. Pyppeteer is an unofficial port of Puppeteer for Python.

Key differences between Puppeteer and Pyppeteer include: - Pyppeteer accepts both dictionary input parameters and keyword arguments - Python does not use $ in method names - Page.evaluate() and Page.querySelectorEval() may fail and require the force_expr=True option to evaluate input strings as expressions

Install it using the following command:

pip install pyppeteer

Here’s a code example:

import asyncio

from pyppeteer import launch

# Defining an async method

async def main():

# Launching a browser session

browser = await launch()

# Opening a new page

page = await browser.newPage()

# Navigating to a specific HTML file

await page.goto('path_to_html_file.html')

# Taking a screenshot of the page

await page.screenshot({'path': 'sample.png'})

# Saving the screenshot as a PDF

await page.pdf({'path': 'pyppeteer_pdf.pdf'})

# Closing the browser

await browser.close()

# Running the async main function

asyncio.get_event_loop().run_until_complete(main())

For more details, check out Pyppeteer’s documentation.

4. Python-Wkhtmltopdf

Wkhtmltopdf is a popular command-line tool for converting HTML URLs into PDFs. Python-Wkhtmltopdf acts as a wrapper for this command-line utility to be used in Python. Install it using the following command:

pip install py3-wkhtmltopdf==0.4.1

Usage is straightforward; import the library and provide the wkhtmltopdf API with the URL and the output file path.

from wkhtmltopdf import wkhtmltopdf

wkhtmltopdf(url='apitemplate.io', output_file='wkhtmltopdf.pdf')

For further information, refer to the official documentation.

5. Pdfkit

Pdfkit is a wrapper for wkhtmltopdf that simplifies generating PDFs from a range of formats, including files, strings, and URLs. Install it using:

pip install pdfkit

Pdfkit supports features like: - Vector graphics - Text formatting options, including wrapping and alignment - PNG and JPEG image embedding - Annotation features such as highlights and underlines - PDF security options like encryption

Here’s how to generate a PDF from a file:

import pdfkit

# Using the from_file method to convert a file to PDF

pdfkit.from_file('file.html', 'file.pdf')

It also supports generating PDFs from URLs using the from_url method:

pdfkit.from_url('https://apitemplate.io/', 'python.pdf')

You can also set page and font options:

options = {

'page-size': 'A4',

'margin-top': '0.75in',

'margin-right': '0.75in',

'margin-bottom': '0.75in',

'margin-left': '0.75in',

'encoding': 'UTF-8',

'custom-header': [

('Accept-Encoding', 'gzip')

],

'cookie': [

('cookie-empty-value', '""'),

('cookie-name1', 'cookie-value1'),

('cookie-name2', 'cookie-value2'),

],

'no-outline': None

}

pdfkit.from_file('file.html', 'file.pdf', options=options)

For more information on pdfkit, visit its documentation.