PDF Export

TableCrafter turns the current table view into a genuine, server-generated PDF 1.4 document — a real %PDF- file with a valid object structure and cross-reference table, not an HTML page renamed to .pdf. This page explains how to enable the export, how the PDF is produced, and the layout limits you should plan around.

Overview

PDF is one of three formats produced by the canonical export handler in includes/class-tc-export-handler.php (alongside CSV and a real OOXML XLSX workbook). When a visitor picks PDF from the export menu, the already-rendered rows and column configuration are sent to the server, written into a structurally valid PDF, stored as a short-lived temporary file, and streamed back as a download.

The PDF is rendered as monospaced-style text lines using the standard Helvetica Type1 font on a single US Letter page. It is intentionally a lightweight, dependency-free generator: no TCPDF, FPDF, or headless-browser step is involved, so it works on any WordPress host without extra extensions.

Enabling export on a table

PDF export is part of the table-level export tools, which are off by default. Switch them on with the export attribute of the [tablecrafter] shortcode.

// Enable the export tools (CSV / Excel / PDF + Copy to Clipboard)
[tablecrafter source="https://example.com/data.json" export="true"]

With export="true", the rendered container carries data-export="true", and the frontend script attaches an Export Data ▾ dropdown plus a Copy to Clipboard button above the table. Because the default export configuration lists more than one format (['csv', 'excel', 'pdf']), the dropdown is shown and PDF appears as the 📑 PDF option.

Shortcode attributes relevant to export

How a PDF export flows end to end

1. The visitor opens the Export Data ▾ menu and clicks 📑 PDF. This calls handleExportFormat('pdf'), which routes to downloadEnhanced('pdf').
2. The script collects the exportable rows and columns, shows a "Generating PDF export..." overlay, and POSTs a FormData request to admin-ajax.php with action=tc_export_data, format=pdf, the JSON data and columns, a filename, an options blob, and a nonce.
3. The server verifies the tc_export_nonce, checks the read capability, then hands the payload to TC_Export_Handler::export_client_data() → export_data() → export_pdf().
4. create_basic_pdf() builds the text lines and render_pdf_document() assembles the PDF bytes. The file is saved to a protected temp directory and cached in a transient for 5 minutes.
5. The response returns a download_url (action tc_download_export, guarded by a tc_download_nonce). The browser follows it; the server streams the file with Content-Type: application/pdf, then deletes both the temp file and the transient.

// Simplified client request the PDF option fires
formData.append('action', 'tc_export_data');
formData.append('format', 'pdf');
formData.append('data', JSON.stringify(exportableData));
formData.append('columns', JSON.stringify(exportableColumns));
formData.append('filename', 'table-export');
formData.append('nonce', this.getExportNonce());

What the PDF contains

The text lines painted into the content stream are built by build_pdf_text_lines() in this order:

• Title line — the sanitized filename (the export base name).
• Header row — the column display labels joined with   |  , followed by a dashed separator, when headers are included.
• Data rows — each row's cells joined with the same pipe separator.
• Metadata footer (optional) — an "Export Information" block with the generation timestamp, total record count, and any applied filters/sort, when metadata is enabled.

Each cell passes through format_cell_value(), so values are cleaned and normalized before they reach the page:

Page layout and limits

The renderer (render_pdf_document()) is deliberately constrained to guarantee a well-formed, single-page file. Understanding these fixed values helps you size your data sensibly.

The pdf options blob (advisory only)

The frontend sends a small PDF options object — built from config.advancedExport.pdf — containing title, subtitle, orientation, and footer:

// Default advancedExport.pdf config sent with the request
pdf: {
  orientation: 'landscape',
  title:       'Data Export Report',
  subtitle:    '',
  footer:      'Generated by TableCrafter'
}

Filtered exports and column control

By default the export respects what the visitor is currently looking at. The frontend's exportFiltered setting is true, so getExportableData() returns the filtered/searched view rather than the full dataset. Columns marked non-exportable (column.exportable === false) are excluded by getExportableColumns(). Combine this with the shortcode's include/exclude attributes to keep PDFs focused and within the one-page budget.

Metadata and export templates

When metadata is enabled, the PDF appends an "Export Information" block (generation time, total records, applied filters, applied sort). Metadata is governed by the export template. Templates are defined in get_export_templates() and can be customized via the tc_export_templates filter:

// Register a custom export template (PHP, e.g. in your theme functions.php)
add_filter('tc_export_templates', function ($templates) {
    $templates['audit'] = [
        'name'             => 'Audit Report',
        'include_metadata' => true,
        'date_format'      => 'M j, Y',
    ];
    return $templates;
});

Listening for export events

When a PDF download succeeds, TableCrafter invokes the optional onExport callback with the format, the exported data and columns, the final filename, and the file size — useful for analytics or audit logging.

new TableCrafter(el, {
  exportable: true,
  exportFilename: 'quarterly-report',
  onExport(payload) {
    if (payload.format === 'pdf') {
      console.log('PDF exported:', payload.filename, payload.size);
    }
  }
});

Security and cleanup

• Nonces. The export request requires a valid tc_export_nonce; the download link requires a tc_download_nonce. Both are issued server-side.
• Capability. The export AJAX handler requires the read capability, so logged-out access depends on your site's policy.
• Protected temp files. Generated PDFs are written to wp-content/uploads/tablecrafter-exports/ with an .htaccess (deny-all) and an index.php guard. Filenames use a random UUID with a tc_export_ prefix.
• Self-cleaning. The temp file and its transient are deleted immediately after the download streams. The transient also expires after 5 minutes, and cleanup_old_exports() removes stragglers older than the max age (default 3600 seconds).

Quick reference

Next steps: For tabular data that exceeds one page, use the genuine spreadsheet output documented in export-excel.html, or the lightweight, fully-faithful option in export-csv.html.