QR Code

What it's for

Make a QR code for a link or some text, to open on a phone or print.

• When you want to send a link from your computer to your phone without emailing it to yourself.
• When you want to put a scannable link on a poster, slide or label.
• When you have a screenshot or photo of a QR code and want to see what it says without scanning it with a phone.

How to use it

Type or paste text or a URL, and the QR code appears as you type, with its size in bytes and modules (the small squares). Choose an Error correction level: higher levels still scan when the code is damaged, dirty or partly covered, but make a denser code. Download PNG saves it as an image.

Make a QR code for also builds the two most useful special codes. A Wi-Fi network takes the network name, security and password: guests scan it to join without typing anything (Spell out the password gives it in the phonetic alphabet, for anyone who can’t scan). A contact takes a name, organisation, phone, email, website and address as a vCard, which phones offer to save to their contacts. The text the code holds is shown in the box. To read a code, choose an image under Read a QR code, or drop or paste one (a screenshot, say). Every code found is listed with its text and a Copy button. A web link is shown as text only, with its host, and is never opened for you. A Wi-Fi code is also split into its network, security and password, with Spell it out buttons. Reading works in every browser, but only Chrome and Edge find several codes in one image; Safari and Firefox read one.

Example

Type this:

https://toolbox.thoughtasylum.com

With Medium (15%) error correction, the tool reports 33 bytes, 29 × 29 modules. Point your phone’s camera at the code to open the link. To try the reader, click Download PNG, then choose that file under Read a QR code: it finds https://toolbox.thoughtasylum.com and says it is a link to toolbox.thoughtasylum.com.

Good to know

Long text makes a dense code that’s harder to scan, especially when printed small. Keep URLs short, and use Low or Medium unless the code will be printed somewhere it could get damaged.