website form to pdf possibility?

There are some PHP classes that let you write out PDF files. PHP can also email attachments to you. All free as well. You just have to track it down. I don't currently have time to look around, but PHP is one answer to your problem. There may be some pre-built stuff that you can use with little setup, but also likely cost some money.

 

The above would be the best way. But easier way that I might try is to have your web application output LeTex. It's is a markup language. then you run that through TeX and can get the output in PDF. Use any other markup language you like. The idea is that it is far easier to write the markup than to write the PDF. (Yes it is a wast of CPU power but I assume we are not talking about 1000 PDF files per hour rates.)

If you want "really easy" then use "text2pdf" (Google it) It is Open Source
You give up fine control over the typography but save hours and days of work.

But why bother? Why not just read a text version? Why PDF? Text would be trivial to do.

 

Why PDF?

PDF's are common in business for integrating graphics with text for media presentations and product literature. Not that it's impossible to adjust the source, but PDF's aren't as easy to modify and lock compared to Word and other formats. PDF's are easy to control in terms of margin and scaling so the format is used often by developers for ease of use (printing documentation, white papers, etc.) including embedding CSS and HTML as desired. PDF's are not for everyone, not the best thing since slice bread, but in the business world - it's SOP to use the format. Finally, PDF format is well supported across almost all major development platforms in open source format, where as it's less prevalent for developers to find libraries for Microsoft products other than .net.

That's when the "best way" really is better than easier!

-jim

 

Another option that might work for you would be to use Acrobat to create a fillable form, then put that up on your webpage. (Of course, whether or not that's feasible depends on your site traffic and bandwidth limitations.) You could put a big "Submit" button at the bottom of your PDF and have the PDF attach itself to an email in the user's default mail application, then they just press send and that's it.

Of course, that's probably only appealing if you've already got Acrobat Pro, as it's more expensive than free.