Greets -

I'm slapping together a web site for a guy and he wants the readers to be able to click on a button on the page and have it converted to a PDF, ready for downloading. On a regular site, I'd just convert all the pages to PDF and offer up a download link, but this site's composed of over a thousand pages.

There are lots of free online conversion services around, but they all bring you to their web site during the process so you can glance over their ad banners. What I'm looking for is a similar operation but one that offers up a pay option to bypass the off-site visit.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Jeff

And in what code? Because HTML can't do that.

Well, HTML can't, but I'd presume the snippet of code for the button would be Javascript or similar. The last one I used was, but it was a go-to-the-site freebie service, whereas we're trying to avoid that.

Jeff

Jeff, what type of server are you on?

If you're on a PHP box, I could quickly code a PDF generator using the webpages you have using the FPDF generator.

TIMU - Thanks, but it's a commercial server, and you know how those guys are about putting executables on the site. And, while big, it's just a straight vanilla HTML site. All people are doing is checking a few boxes and hitting a 'Submit' button, so there wasn't any reason to go the PHP route.

Jeff

So do the "Submit" button all go off site?

Chris - No, they go back to the home page after hitting 'Submit'. It's a 3-step process, with the form being the second, so we have to keep them on the site. Otherwise, you'd be right -- just send 'em to the conversion site, let 'em download the file and then go on their merry way. But in this case they have another step to do.

Jeff, what I'm hearing is that you can't load a script onto the server and you don't want to use an external commercial script?

In that case, setup a domain name elsewhere, install FPDF and have the external server generate the PDF based by loading and then saving the target page as a PDF file.

It's the same as using a commercial provider but without the need to credit them and the external site can be branded or simply redirect users back to the original site, sort of a 'ghost' site.

So what processes the form data on the home page?

TIMU, Chris - First off, if I see the word "server", we've gone too far. This is a relatively simple exercise and I used some online service a while back that performed the task perfectly, albeit going to the conversion site during the process. As I recall, it first offerred a download box for the PDF, then a link to go back to the original site.

What we want is the exact same thing, but one that offers a pay version that doesn't take people to their site. Or, maybe to their site for the download box, then automatically back to the first page afterward. I'm sure they're out there, it's just a matter of finding someone who's used one and has a name to pass along.

I don't think you're going to find any sort of 'plug in' or javascript solution. Converting to PDF is not a simple task, you're dealing with html, css, graphics and post-script, it requires something far more robust than a script you can embed in a web page. At best, you're going to need some sort of server-side solution.

LadynRed - You're correct that it's not an easy process -- that why we're letting an online service take care of it. But, like the last time I did it, it just takes a snippet of code to send the current page to the service for processing. The snippet even contained (correctly) a link to their site for the 'Covert to PDF' button. Slapped it in, worked perfectly. Except that it brought everybody to their site during the conversion. So, I'm just looking for a similar service, but one that offers up a "no nag screen" pay option.

Jeff

So, have the link to the 3rd party service open in a Lightbox type modal window. That way, they won't be taken away from your site for the conversion.. it'll just happen in a 'window' ON your site.

You might try Thickbox or Graybox, or any of the others that will pull in something besides just photos.

By the way, the days of preventing people from leaving your site are over. For usability, people know how to use their back buttons .

Okay, I'll think about a second window. We don't want to "prevent" people from leaving the site (they still have another step to do after the PDF), we just don't want them inconvenienced by being dragged off to some other site.

Jeff

It sounds to me like some peeps here could easily knock up a script to do exactly what you want it to (there is even a ready made open-source php script to do it on sourceforge). How much are you willing to pay per html-pdf conversion?

Possible cash making opportunity!

How about fPDF
http://www.elated.com/articles/creat...pdfs-php-fpdf/

You can get your hands on LadynRed. But, it is not an easy process. However, you can seek help from an online service staff.

You can get your hands on LadynRed.

Maybe you should rephrase that somewhat

By the way, the days of preventing people from leaving your site are over. For usability, people know how to use their back buttons

Hmmm, I'm not so sure, it wasn't that many months ago I had to teach somebody how to copy and paste, and this wasn't the highly advanced copy and paste lesson using Ctrl c and v, just right click mouse easy lesson, and not on right click disabled sites, never over estimate the intelligence of people out there, although I will admit that these days you don't need "click here" on your buttons anymore