Issue displaying Polish characters using FPDF?

Question

We are having problems trying to get Polish characters to appear correctly on our Invoice which is generated using FPDF. I am unsure if it is the FPDF or the Font we are using that is creating the issue. UTF-8 is set up correctly on the server in both PHP configuration and MySQL configuration. All Polish characters appear correctly on the website both text coming from the code and coming from the database.

In FPDF:
- Original Text:
Zażółć gęślą jaźń:

- // With no additional work appears as
Result: Zażółć gęślą jaźń:

- // After applying the following change

    html_entity_decode(utf8_decode($string),ENT_QUOTES)

Result: Za?ó?? g??l? ja??:

- // After applying the following change

    iconv("UTF-8", "ISO-8859-2", $string)

Result: Za¿ó³æ gê¶l± ja¼ñ:

This occurs with both the built in Fonts of Arial and Times. I built a font called Tellural using the steps http://www.fpdf.org/en/tutorial/tuto7.htm. However this does not appear to fix the issue.
This font is Tellural.php and contains:

    <?php
    $type='TrueType';
    $name='Tellural';
    $desc=array('Ascent'=>886,'Descent'=>-216,'CapHeight'=>699,'Flags'=>32,'FontBBox'=>'[-521 -216 1213 891]','ItalicAngle'=>0,'StemV'=>70,'MissingWidth'=>822);
    $up=-106;
    $ut=73;
    $fpdf_charwidths['tellural']=array(
           chr(0)=>822,chr(1)=>822,chr(2)=>822,chr(3)=>822,chr(4)=>822,chr(5)=>822,chr(6)=>822,chr(7)=>822,chr(8)=>822,chr(9)=>822,chr(10)=>822,chr(11)=>822,chr(12)=>822,chr(13)=>822,chr(14)=>822,chr(15)=>822,chr(16)=>822,chr(17)=>822,chr(18)=>822,chr(19)=>822,chr(20)=>822,chr(21)=>822,
           chr(22)=>822,chr(23)=>822,chr(24)=>822,chr(25)=>822,chr(26)=>822,chr(27)=>822,chr(28)=>822,chr(29)=>822,chr(30)=>822,chr(31)=>822,' '=>244,'!'=>323,'"'=>346,'#'=>539,'$'=>478,'%'=>743,'&'=>605,'\''=>185,'('=>348,')'=>348,'*'=>483,'+'=>518,
           ','=>289,'-'=>491,'.'=>274,'/'=>549,'0'=>518,'1'=>518,'2'=>518,'3'=>518,'4'=>518,'5'=>518,'6'=>518,'7'=>518,'8'=>518,'9'=>518,':'=>274,';'=>289,'<'=>518,'='=>518,'>'=>518,'?'=>409,'@'=>582,'A'=>602,
           'B'=>606,'C'=>605,'D'=>643,'E'=>567,'F'=>553,'G'=>639,'H'=>640,'I'=>268,'J'=>268,'K'=>623,'L'=>485,'M'=>805,'N'=>666,'O'=>688,'P'=>597,'Q'=>726,'R'=>613,'S'=>486,'T'=>530,'U'=>629,'V'=>624,'W'=>914,
           'X'=>571,'Y'=>532,'Z'=>562,'['=>386,'\\'=>549,']'=>386,'^'=>468,'_'=>342,'`'=>537,'a'=>586,'b'=>565,'c'=>558,'d'=>590,'e'=>558,'f'=>341,'g'=>570,'h'=>611,'i'=>275,'j'=>289,'k'=>508,'l'=>322,'m'=>873,
           'n'=>586,'o'=>560,'p'=>588,'q'=>576,'r'=>371,'s'=>411,'t'=>357,'u'=>597,'v'=>569,'w'=>877,'x'=>545,'y'=>602,'z'=>483,'{'=>356,'|'=>253,'}'=>356,'~'=>537,chr(127)=>822,chr(128)=>822,chr(129)=>822,chr(130)=>822,chr(131)=>822,
           chr(132)=>822,chr(133)=>822,chr(134)=>822,chr(135)=>822,chr(136)=>822,chr(137)=>822,chr(138)=>822,chr(139)=>822,chr(140)=>822,chr(141)=>822,chr(142)=>822,chr(143)=>822,chr(144)=>822,chr(145)=>822,chr(146)=>822,chr(147)=>822,chr(148)=>822,chr(149)=>822,chr(150)=>822,chr(151)=>822,chr(152)=>822,chr(153)=>822,
           chr(154)=>822,chr(155)=>822,chr(156)=>822,chr(157)=>822,chr(158)=>822,chr(159)=>822,chr(160)=>244,chr(161)=>567,chr(162)=>319,chr(163)=>470,chr(164)=>591,chr(165)=>470,chr(166)=>486,chr(167)=>674,chr(168)=>304,chr(169)=>486,chr(170)=>486,chr(171)=>488,chr(172)=>562,chr(173)=>491,chr(174)=>562,chr(175)=>562,
           chr(176)=>292,chr(177)=>586,chr(178)=>214,chr(179)=>293,chr(180)=>556,chr(181)=>423,chr(182)=>411,chr(183)=>376,chr(184)=>193,chr(185)=>411,chr(186)=>411,chr(187)=>459,chr(188)=>483,chr(189)=>406,chr(190)=>483,chr(191)=>483,chr(192)=>613,chr(193)=>602,chr(194)=>602,chr(195)=>602,chr(196)=>602,chr(197)=>470,
           chr(198)=>605,chr(199)=>596,chr(200)=>605,chr(201)=>567,chr(202)=>528,chr(203)=>567,chr(204)=>567,chr(205)=>268,chr(206)=>268,chr(207)=>643,chr(208)=>659,chr(209)=>666,chr(210)=>666,chr(211)=>688,chr(212)=>688,chr(213)=>688,chr(214)=>688,chr(215)=>537,chr(216)=>613,chr(217)=>629,chr(218)=>629,chr(219)=>629,
           chr(220)=>629,chr(221)=>532,chr(222)=>464,chr(223)=>541,chr(224)=>371,chr(225)=>586,chr(226)=>586,chr(227)=>586,chr(228)=>586,chr(229)=>341,chr(230)=>558,chr(231)=>558,chr(232)=>558,chr(233)=>558,chr(234)=>558,chr(235)=>558,chr(236)=>558,chr(237)=>224,chr(238)=>224,chr(239)=>698,chr(240)=>590,chr(241)=>586,
           chr(242)=>586,chr(243)=>560,chr(244)=>560,chr(245)=>560,chr(246)=>560,chr(247)=>537,chr(248)=>371,chr(249)=>597,chr(250)=>597,chr(251)=>597,chr(252)=>597,chr(253)=>602,chr(254)=>357,chr(255)=>148);
    $fpdf_charwidths['telluralB']=$fpdf_charwidths['tellural'];
    $fpdf_charwidths['telluralI']=$fpdf_charwidths['tellural'];
    $fpdf_charwidths['telluralBI']=$fpdf_charwidths['tellural'];
    $enc='iso-8859-2';
    $diff='128 /.notdef 130 /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef 142 /.notdef 145 /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef 158 /.notdef /.notdef 161 /Aogonek /breve /Lslash 165 /Lcaron /Sacute 169 /Scaron /Scedilla /Tcaron /Zacute 174 /Zcaron /Zdotaccent 177 /aogonek /ogonek /lslash 181 /lcaron /sacute /caron 185 /scaron /scedilla /tcaron /zacute /hungarumlaut /zcaron /zdotaccent /Racute 195 /Abreve 197 /Lacute /Cacute 200 /Ccaron 202 /Eogonek 204 /Ecaron 207 /Dcaron /Dcroat /Nacute /Ncaron 213 /Ohungarumlaut 216 /Rcaron /Uring 219 /Uhungarumlaut 222 /Tcommaaccent 224 /racute 227 /abreve 229 /lacute /cacute 232 /ccaron 234 /eogonek 236 /ecaron 239 /dcaron /dmacron /nacute /ncaron 245 /ohungarumlaut 248 /rcaron /uring 251 /uhungarumlaut 254 /tcommaaccent /dotaccent';
    $file='tellural.z';
    $originalsize=64356;
   ?>

I have also used http://acko.net/blog/ufpdf-unicode-utf-8-extension-for-fpdf/ however this does not appear to have any effect.

If using a PHP print in any of the functions e.g Write()/ Cell() Zażółć gęślą jaźń: appears correctly, it is only in the invoice itself that it does not appear with the correct characters.

Answer 1

You can also use TFPDF which is a fork of the FPDF project that has support for Unicode by using the PHP multi-byte functions.

http://fpdf.org/en/script/script92.php

Answer 2

Try a Dejavu font. I've used this one with czech characters and UTF-8, works perfectly. Usage:

$pdf->AddFont('DejaVu','','DejaVuSansCondensed.ttf',true);
$pdf->SetFont('DejaVu','',14);
//the rest

Answer 3

I use arialpl and arialbpl (bold) based on arial. My file has different assigments of sign numbers than yours.

Arialpl.php:

<?php
$type='Type1';
$name='ArialMT';
$desc=array('Ascent'=>905,'Descent'=>-212,'CapHeight'=>716,'Flags'=>32,'FontBBox'=>'[-46 -283 979 896]','ItalicAngle'=>0,'StemV'=>70,'MissingWidth'=>750);
$up=-106;
$ut=73;
$cw=array(
    chr(0)=>750,chr(1)=>750,chr(2)=>750,chr(3)=>750,chr(4)=>750,chr(5)=>750,chr(6)=>750,chr(7)=>750,chr(8)=>750,chr(9)=>750,chr(10)=>750,chr(11)=>750,chr(12)=>750,chr(13)=>750,chr(14)=>750,chr(15)=>750,chr(16)=>750,chr(17)=>750,chr(18)=>750,chr(19)=>750,chr(20)=>750,chr(21)=>750,
    chr(22)=>750,chr(23)=>750,chr(24)=>750,chr(25)=>750,chr(26)=>750,chr(27)=>750,chr(28)=>750,chr(29)=>750,chr(30)=>750,chr(31)=>750,' '=>278,'!'=>278,'"'=>355,'#'=>556,'$'=>556,'%'=>889,'&'=>667,'\''=>191,'('=>333,')'=>333,'*'=>389,'+'=>584,
    ','=>278,'-'=>333,'.'=>278,'/'=>278,'0'=>556,'1'=>556,'2'=>556,'3'=>556,'4'=>556,'5'=>556,'6'=>556,'7'=>556,'8'=>556,'9'=>556,':'=>278,';'=>278,'<'=>584,'='=>584,'>'=>584,'?'=>556,'@'=>1015,'A'=>667,
    'B'=>667,'C'=>722,'D'=>722,'E'=>667,'F'=>611,'G'=>778,'H'=>722,'I'=>278,'J'=>500,'K'=>667,'L'=>556,'M'=>833,'N'=>722,'O'=>778,'P'=>667,'Q'=>778,'R'=>722,'S'=>667,'T'=>611,'U'=>722,'V'=>667,'W'=>944,
    'X'=>667,'Y'=>667,'Z'=>611,'['=>278,'\\'=>278,']'=>278,'^'=>469,'_'=>556,'`'=>333,'a'=>556,'b'=>556,'c'=>500,'d'=>556,'e'=>556,'f'=>278,'g'=>556,'h'=>556,'i'=>222,'j'=>222,'k'=>500,'l'=>222,'m'=>833,
    'n'=>556,'o'=>556,'p'=>556,'q'=>556,'r'=>333,'s'=>500,'t'=>278,'u'=>556,'v'=>500,'w'=>722,'x'=>500,'y'=>500,'z'=>500,'{'=>334,'|'=>260,'}'=>334,'~'=>584,chr(127)=>750,chr(128)=>750,chr(129)=>750,chr(130)=>750,chr(131)=>750,
    chr(132)=>750,chr(133)=>750,chr(134)=>750,chr(135)=>750,chr(136)=>750,chr(137)=>750,chr(138)=>750,chr(139)=>750,chr(140)=>750,chr(141)=>750,chr(142)=>750,chr(143)=>750,chr(144)=>750,chr(145)=>750,chr(146)=>750,chr(147)=>750,chr(148)=>750,chr(149)=>750,chr(150)=>750,chr(151)=>750,chr(152)=>750,chr(153)=>750,
    chr(154)=>750,chr(155)=>750,chr(156)=>750,chr(157)=>750,chr(158)=>750,chr(159)=>750,chr(160)=>278,chr(161)=>667,chr(162)=>333,chr(163)=>556,chr(164)=>556,chr(165)=>556,chr(166)=>667,chr(167)=>556,chr(168)=>333,chr(169)=>667,chr(170)=>667,chr(171)=>611,chr(172)=>611,chr(173)=>333,chr(174)=>611,chr(175)=>611,
    chr(176)=>400,chr(177)=>556,chr(178)=>333,chr(179)=>222,chr(180)=>333,chr(181)=>292,chr(182)=>500,chr(183)=>333,chr(184)=>333,chr(185)=>500,chr(186)=>500,chr(187)=>375,chr(188)=>500,chr(189)=>333,chr(190)=>500,chr(191)=>500,chr(192)=>722,chr(193)=>667,chr(194)=>667,chr(195)=>667,chr(196)=>667,chr(197)=>556,
    chr(198)=>722,chr(199)=>722,chr(200)=>722,chr(201)=>667,chr(202)=>667,chr(203)=>667,chr(204)=>667,chr(205)=>278,chr(206)=>278,chr(207)=>722,chr(208)=>722,chr(209)=>722,chr(210)=>722,chr(211)=>778,chr(212)=>778,chr(213)=>778,chr(214)=>778,chr(215)=>584,chr(216)=>722,chr(217)=>722,chr(218)=>722,chr(219)=>722,
    chr(220)=>722,chr(221)=>667,chr(222)=>611,chr(223)=>611,chr(224)=>333,chr(225)=>556,chr(226)=>556,chr(227)=>556,chr(228)=>556,chr(229)=>222,chr(230)=>500,chr(231)=>500,chr(232)=>500,chr(233)=>556,chr(234)=>556,chr(235)=>556,chr(236)=>556,chr(237)=>278,chr(238)=>278,chr(239)=>615,chr(240)=>556,chr(241)=>556,
    chr(242)=>556,chr(243)=>556,chr(244)=>556,chr(245)=>556,chr(246)=>556,chr(247)=>549,chr(248)=>333,chr(249)=>556,chr(250)=>556,chr(251)=>556,chr(252)=>556,chr(253)=>500,chr(254)=>278,chr(255)=>333);
$enc='iso-8859-2';
$diff='128 /.notdef 130 /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef 142 /.notdef 145 /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef /.notdef 158 /.notdef /.notdef 161 /Aogonek /breve /Lslash 165 /Lcaron /Sacute 169 /Scaron /Scedilla /Tcaron /Zacute 174 /Zcaron /Zdotaccent 177 /aogonek /ogonek /lslash 181 /lcaron /sacute /caron 185 /scaron /scedilla /tcaron /zacute /hungarumlaut /zcaron /zdotaccent /Racute 195 /Abreve 197 /Lacute /Cacute 200 /Ccaron 202 /Eogonek 204 /Ecaron 207 /Dcaron /Dcroat /Nacute /Ncaron 213 /Ohungarumlaut 216 /Rcaron /Uring 219 /Uhungarumlaut 222 /Tcommaaccent 224 /racute 227 /abreve 229 /lacute /cacute 232 /ccaron 234 /eogonek 236 /ecaron 239 /dcaron /dcroat /nacute /ncaron 245 /ohungarumlaut 248 /rcaron /uring 251 /uhungarumlaut 254 /tcommaaccent /dotaccent';
$file='arialpl.z';
$size1=5911;
$size2=25241;
?>

After import:

{
        $this->AddFont('arialpl', '', 'arialpl.php');
        $this->AddFont('arialbpl', '', 'arialbpl.php');
}

and setting font:

{
         $this->SetFont('arialpl', '', 12);
}

I had to use also text conversion:

{
$text = iconv('UTF-8', 'iso-8859-2//TRANSLIT//IGNORE', $text);
}