Participant

Question

QR code does not decode right on iOS

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
March 19, 2021
4 replies
3461 views

Hey guys,
we have come upon a problem generating QR codes in InDesign (Version 16.0.2).

What we want to do is create business cards including a QR code in order to launch the contact app on the phone and input the contact data directly.
The codes contain two sets of phone numbers and we generate it from InDesign.

We have the following issue:
Scanning two different business cards' QR codes (both with two different phone numbers) with the iPhone SE (current iOS) and two newer models
- only one phone number is migrated into the contact app on business card 1,
- while both numbers are transferred from business card 2.
The QR code is largely the same in terms of complexity.
So the basis is identical but the scan result differs .

We tested both business cards on three different iPhones (SE & newer).
On an Android smartphone both work fine.

Is this a bug that is known? What can we do? Our client is obviously not happy ...
Best
Arne

Bug

This topic has been closed for replies.

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hi Arne,

you should be able to do all that with valid QR encoding with Type: Plain Text

In your German InDesign Art: Nur Text

The main issue is to generate the right encoding. Colin Flashman gave you some links.

But if you figured this out Plain Text is the way to go, because Type: Business Card could miss some specific fields.

The contents of this screenshot is from VCard 3.0 at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCard

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

T

Test Screen Name

Legend

A QR code decodes simply into text. Within the text there may be control info, URLs, phone numbers etc. I suggest you find a QR code decoder (that just gives the raw text) and decode the "good" and "bad" codes. You might find they are different, or something is lost.

But also, QR codes have a break point where the length stops it working with some decoders. Watch out for including very long info. When you compare, compare the total length too (not just the contents).

Colin Flashman

Community Expert

Depends on the syntax that the QR code contains. In InDesign it is possible to add address details (inc. phone numbers) using the Business Card type QR Code dialog e.g.

But QR codes can be more specific and contain text outside of the scope of ID's QR code creator, and may require using a different QR code maker to create. Here is a link to the many kinds of syntax that can be put into a QR Code:

https://github.com/zxing/zxing/wiki/Barcode-Contents

If the answer wasn't in my post, perhaps it might be on my blog at colecandoo!

A

Arne 5CE9Author

Participant

Thank you Colin, unfortunately the sheer scope (500 different cards) won't allow us using a different creator. But we might have found the problem: Invisible line breaks in the Excel source.

Ian Sayers

Inspiring

Can you share the QR codes - even privately and i can check here ? I use QR codes a lot and have not had any issues in the past - but not set it up as you mentioned... Happy to test it for you and check further into this ...

A

Arne 5CE9Author

Participant

Thanks, but the client won't let us share details ... data privacy is sacrosanct in Germany;-)

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