Creating output files from Drupal 6

Question

I need to produce PDF/HTML output from my Drupal 6 app; is there a "Drupal way" to create a template with variables and then substitute them when the output is rendered or do i have to realize it by hand?

EDITED

Data is not on a node, but need to select from a non-drupal table

Answer 1

If you're using Views, you could try the Views PDF module.

With this module you can output a view as a PDF document. Each field of the view can be placed on the PDF page directly in the administration interface. Therefore a new display called "PDF" is added.

Or perhaps the Print module if you're just creating a PDF from a node.

This module allows you to generate the following printer-friendly versions of any node:

• Printer-friendly version (webpage format) (at www.example.com/print/nid)
• PDF version (at www.example.com/printpdf/nid)
• Send by email (at www.example.com/printmail/nid)

Edit:

If you're willing to do a little legwork, you can use the Data module to expose your non-Drupal table to Views, and then use the previously mentions Views PDF

Answer 2

Have you checked Print Email and PDF module ? This module allows you to generate the following printer-friendly versions of any node:

• Printer-friendly version (webpage format) (at www.example.com/print/nid)
• PDF version (at www.example.com/printpdf/nid)
• Send by email (at www.example.com/printmail/nid)