You can generate .pdf files from within a PHP page using the fpdf module which you can download from fpdf.org. It's quick to grab, easy to set up (pure PHP), and free of charge / royalty. Until today's PHP Techniques course, it was just one of thousands of modules that I know are out there, but I've not had a chance to try. But a customer requirement today (specifically a discussion about a use of instance variables - another story) lead us to download and try the class.

In Summary - use is as easy as
1. Load the class
  require('fpdf.php');

2. Create a new FPDF object
  $pdf = new FPDF();

3. Add a page to the output document
  $pdf-> AddPage();

4. Set the font and font size
  $pdf-> SetFont('Arial', 'B',16);

5. Add your text
  $pdf-> Cell(80, 8,'07:00 - 09:00 - Breakfast',0,1,"C");

6. Send the pdf to the browser
  $pdf-> Output();

Clearly there are lots of repeats of these lines to create the sample I have shown above, and I've used setmargin, setx, sety and settextcolor too ... full code [here].

Pre-requisite to using classes such as these:
a) Some knowledge about the take they'll undertake (you must be able to answer "What is a .pdf"?)
b) Knowledge of Object Orientation and how it works in PHP - see [here] for the appropriate course if you know PHP, but "OO" is new to you!

(written 2012-07-24, updated 2012-08-11)

 H309 - PHP - Maps, Graphics and Geographics
  [320] Ordnance Survey - using a 'Get a map' - (2005-05-22)
  [563] Merging pictures using PHP and GD - (2006-01-13)
  [665] PHP Image viewing application - (2006-04-01)
  [937] Display an image from a MySQL database in a web page via PHP - (2006-11-22)
  [1104] Drawing dynamic graphs in PHP - (2007-03-09)
  [1194] Drawing hands on a clock face - PHP - (2007-05-19)
  [1389] Controlling and labelling Google maps via PHP - (2007-10-13)
  [1390] Converting from postal address to latitude / longitude - (2007-10-13)
  [1391] Ordnance Survey Grid Reference to Latitude / Longitude - (2007-10-14)
  [1628] Gant charts - drawing them with a PHP script - (2008-05-03)
  [1724] addslashes v mysql_real_escape_string in PHP - (2008-07-27)
  [1734] All around the world? - (2008-08-03)
  [1752] Dynamic maps / geographics in PHP - (2008-08-13)
  [1756] Ever had One of THOSE mornings? - (2008-08-16)
  [1923] Making it all worthwhile - (2008-12-04)
  [1956] Images for Christmas - (2008-12-21)
  [2343] World Flags in your PHP pages - (2009-08-10)
  [2361] Geocoding - converting address to latitude / Longitude with PHP via Google - (2009-08-14)
  [2390] Dynamic / changing images on your web page - (2009-09-01)
  [2583] Reducing image size on digital photos - PHP - (2010-01-17)
  [2675] Redirecting to your main domain for correct security keys - (2010-03-13)
  [2729] Uploading a document or image to its own URL via a browser - (2010-04-18)
  [2939] Protecting your images from use out of context - (2010-08-29)
  [3027] Server logs - drawing a graph of gathered data - (2010-11-03)
  [3133] An image from a website that occasionally comes out as hyroglyphics - (2011-01-14)
  [3197] Finding and diverting image requests from rogue domains - (2011-03-08)
  [3211] Computer Graphics in PHP - World (incoming data) to Pixel (screen) conversion - (2011-03-24)
  [3447] Needle in a haystack - finding the web server overload - (2011-09-18)
  [3536] UK Mapping Data - and more to come - under government Open Data measures - (2011-12-03)
  [3584] QR codes - graphics images that provide quick phone links - (2012-01-18)
  [3734] QR codes with marketing logos embedded - (2012-05-16)
  [4178] Where are you? How to write a geosensitive application - (2013-09-18)
  [4365] The changing face of Christmas - (2014-12-26)
  [4437] Adding a PHP build option, rotating an image based on camera data, and a new look at thumbnails in PHP - (2015-02-22)
  [4655] Image indexer / thumbnail display scripts in PHP - (2016-02-25)

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