The FPDF library is made of the following elements: - the main file, fpdf.php, which contains the class - the font metric files (located in the font directory of this archive) The metric files are necessary as soon as you want to output text in a document. They can be accessed from three different locations: - the current directory (the one where the running script lies) - one of the directories defined by the include_path parameter - the directory defined by the FPDF_FONTPATH constant Here is an example for the last case (note the mandatory final slash): define('FPDF_FONTPATH','/home/www/font/'); require('fpdf.php'); If the files are not accessible, the SetFont() method will produce the following error: FPDF error : Could not include font metric file If so, check if you have correctly defined the constant. Remark: you can also define it directly at the beginning of fpdf.php. But in case of version upgrade, don't forget to put it back!