Django Phantom PDF

A simple django app that takes the pain out of rendering PDFs from django views.

Quick start

1. Install node and phantomjs:

On Mac OSX:

brew install node npm
npm install -g phantomjs

On Ubuntu:

apt-get install node npm
sudo npm install -g phantomjs

1. Install django-phantom-pdf:

   pip install django-phantom-pdf
   

2. That's it, you can now start using it in your django views like so and rendering PDFs!

   from phantom_pdf import render_to_pdf
   from django.http import HttpResponse
   
   def home(request):
       # If 'print=pdf' in GET params, then render the PDF!
       if request.GET.get("print", None) == "pdf":
           basename = 'output'  # `.pdf` will be appended to this string.
           return render_to_pdf(request, basename)
           # If you want to change default format, orientation and margins for this view
           # return render_to_pdf(request, basename, format='A3', orientation='portrait', margin={'top': '4.5cm'})
       else:
           return HttpResponse("Hello World!")
   

Advanced Use

For more advanced use and control, you can set the following variables in your settings. They are already set to sane defaults, so it's not necessary unless you are looking for more fine grained control.

PHANTOMJS_COOKIE_DIR = Directory where the temp cookies will be saved.
PHANTOMJS_PDF_DIR = Directory where you want to the PDF to be saved temporarily.
PHANTOMJS_BIN = Path to PhantomsJS binary.
PHANTOMJS_GENERATE_PDF = Path to generate_pdf.js file.
KEEP_PDF_FILES = Option to not delete the PDF file after rendering it.
PHANTOMJS_FORMAT = Page size to use.
PHANTOMJS_ORIENTATION = How the page will be positioned when printing.
PHANTOMJS_MARGIN = The margins of the PDF.