Dynamic QR Codes in Adobe InDesign

Report · Oct 07, 2021

Is it possible to create dynamic QR codes in InDesign? I realize that static QR codes can be generated, but what about dynamic QR codes? I would like to create codes that will be printed on products that link to videos and other educational information that may change over time so the codes need to be dynamic but still link to data that may change. Can this be done? How can this be done? If it isn't currently possible please MAKE THIS POSSIBLE ADOBE! 🙂

Report · Oct 08, 2021

I believe the QR code that's generated could be dynamic. The dynamic aspect of a QR code comes from the site managing the QR link. If you're hosting the link(s) you would create the URL and then where the URL points to, making the QR code dynamic. You want to change the link, change the redirect.

Report · Oct 11, 2021

Thanks for the suggestion, davecourtemanche! I didn't think of that. However our website is setup with an outsourced Sitelink management team and our URLs are pretty static as we have a couple of hundred products along with some educational links that haven't changed much over the years. I was hoping that the same QR code link could be changed without the QR code itself being changed since we are considering printing the codes that will be generated on literature, banners, etc. In this case we may decide that we want the printed codes to redirect elsewhere altogether at a later date, but using the same QR code instead of redirecting the link itself. I am grateful for this input. This may work for other applications. Thanks so much!

Report · Oct 05, 2022

Did you ever figure out if dynamic qr codes are possible? I have a printed banner with a qr code that needs the link changing, without a re-print.

Report · Oct 05, 2022

QR codes are static. If you need the URL changed you'll have to create a redirect.

Report · Sep 28, 2023

nope. that is the case for old / static qr codes; dynamic qr codes are also possible. its time to get out of the cave "community expert"!

"Dynamic QR codes send users on to specific information or web pages, just like any other QR code. What makes them "dynamic" is that the URL encoded in them redirects to a second URL that can be changed on demand, even after a code is printed. Static QR codes can't be changed in that way." https://www.scantrust.com/what-is-a-dynamic-qr-code/

Report · Sep 28, 2023

It's not the "first" URL redirects to "second" URL - URLs can't redirect you anywhere - URLs are ALWAYS static - server is doing redirection based on its configuration - and that's the meaning of what you've copy&pasted.

Report · Sep 28, 2023

Marketing vapor doesn't change a word I've said or a single fact about QR codes.

The graphical codes are as static as the Gutenberg Bible. Always have been, are now, are never likely to be any different.

What happens behind a URI encoded in a QR code, no matter how fancy, does not make anything "dynamic."

The only entities who argue this point, as you stopped in to do, are those who cry themselves to sleep because there are codes out there not earning you click fees because your model depends on co-opting the link processing, and selling wholly unnecessary services to misinformed users.

Back to your cave now.

Report · Jun 09, 2025

your original point was not only unhelpful in how limited in scope it was, but your second agressive reply is juvenile.

Report · Jun 09, 2025

The original question was whether InDesign could create "dynamic" QR Codes. It can't.

I'm locking this thread since it's obvious that nothing useful is about to be added.

Report · Jun 09, 2025

not true.

Report · Oct 05, 2022

As Bob says, QR codes are static once generated.

How... on earth... do you expect a printed banner layout to be changed in any way without a new print layout?

I have often updated community and business banners by having a small area of banner vinyl printed with just the different date, time or location, and gluing it to the existing banner. It helps if you plan for this and leave a solid color area around the component to be changed (white preferred). The flexible vinyl glue (HH-66) is a bit costly but don't use anything else.

If the QR code points to a URL, you can always redirect that URL as well.

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Report · Oct 05, 2022

I realise this thank you. Yes I have suggested to client they get a vinyl overlay for their banner.
You can create dynamic QR codes through some tracking apps.

Report · Oct 05, 2022

You can create dynamic QR codes through some tracking apps.

Well, yes, for certain values of dynamic; you can create a QR code based on dynamic input, but it's still static after that, especially when printed. That in no way makes an existing code "dynamic" in any meaningful sense.

There are only three ways to achieve your goal: reprint the banner, print an overlay, or reidrect the code's URL. All are quite static.

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Report · Oct 05, 2022

A QR code is just a pointer. It can point to anything. What it points to is determined by the endpoint, not the QR code. So every QR code is dynamic or static or whatever - it's just a pointer.

Report · Oct 05, 2022

All true, but there's a persistent — and to me, slightly weird — perception that the codes themselves are somehow "dynamic" or changeable after being generated. That an app or interface can generate one on the fly to provide things like device linking or a custom URL to a product only applies to digital display, and even then the code is not changeable, only replaceable.

AFAIK, no one thinks of bar codes as being "dynamic" in this way; maybe it's just the spooky "Martian fingerprint" format (as we used to call it) that makes people think it's something different from a SKU or ISBN bar code.

So I always tiptoe around discussion of "dynamic QR codes" until I know what the question actually means. 🙂

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Report · May 10, 2023

Your arguments make no sense. If i create a subdomain, i always can change the destination. Same should be able with QR Codes. There should be some type of interface where all of your generated QR Codes are listed where you can click "edit" and change the destination of that particular QR Code. This is what people mean by asking for "dynamic QR Codes". You can also print a domain on a banner and still can change the destination of the link. Same should be able with QR Codes

Report · May 10, 2023

Roni22428162sn95, on the other hand, your statement demands that as well as offering a DTP app that Adobe also offer a perpetual service for making up links and redirecting them later. For anyone reading this who says "why don't Adobe just offer dynamic QR codes like those other sites"... It is vital to understand and accept that ALL QR CODES ARE STATIC. That's how they work, that's the only kind that there are. BUT... some QR codes have a URL which redirects. You are free to generate a QR code to a domain of your own, and control the redirects. You are also free to pay someone else to manage redirects (or take links away after a while). Sites which sell "dynamic QR codes" are making people think there is a special kind of QR code where a printed page can magically be changed months later - that would be very useful, and not just for QR codes, but it DOESN'T EXIST. The people who sell "dynamic QR codes" are therefore selling a static QR code PLUS a link that can be redirected later. You pay for this. Adobe don't offer this paid service (which is largely marketed at people who don't understand QR codes), but are free to pay for this service then use InDesign to generate the QR codes for free. Or, generate QR codes any other way and place them as graphics.

Report · May 10, 2023

You are still talking about "changing prints" nobody is talking about that. WE KNOW that the visual apperance of that printed QR Code can't change because it is physically printed. We want to change it's destination link wich. We dont assume something. We ask for a change because it is a huge gap in the creation and administration if you have client projects wich include QR Codes

Report · May 10, 2023

I'm glad that you (and some others) understand this, but we often see posts which do not understand this, and don't understand that there is no such thing as a "dynamic QR code". So, a question for the people that want Adobe to do something with a link redirection service - there are already plenty of such services... so why do you want Adobe to do something? They offer a design tool, not (in InDesign) a promotion management tool.

Report · May 10, 2023

But there is no "bulk edit" capability for Hyperlinks either - if you want to edit QR codes - you need an external tool - plugin or script.

Report · Apr 18, 2024

yes. But HOW?! I created a product listing for a client as an .Indd file. I then clicked "Share" in Indd and it created a url link to that product listing file. I then took the url and generated a QR code (that points to the product listing), and printed this QR code on client's business cards. They now want the Product Listing updated...but without reprinting their business cards. I cannot figure out if this is possible in Adobe CC. It appears that I cannot simply use the same QR code and just update the file that it is linking to. HELP!! They are pissed they have to reprint business cards. This is my bad and I will have to eat some (if not all) of the cost.

Report · Apr 18, 2024

The URL in the QR code is fixed. If you put another page/document at the same URL, the code will point to it. It's that simple.

If it's the client who doesn't want the existing URL changed or used, then it's all on them, unless you sold them on the faulty notion of how "dynamic" codes work.

If the problem is that you cannot generate a new Publish Online doc using the same URL... well, there's a reason most pro/seasoned users avoid the whole system. It's never, ever wise to base critical business products and support on a platform you don't fully control, whether it's one of the asocial mediums or a "free" hosting platform from any provider.

Use a redirect URL next time. And always. And don't try to save a client money by using a resource neither of you control. Except for very short term/ephemeral items, things like an online brochure should either be hosted on their website/web host, or one you can provide and control without reservation.

Report · Jun 09, 2025

Wowza, what an incorrect answer. Generate a dynamic QR code that you can redirect from the source. Community expert lol.

Report · Nov 28, 2022

https://www.qrcode-tiger.com/how-do-dynamic-qr-codes-work

for those who think a vinyl overlay is the only solution...

"The dynamic QR code is an editable and trackable type of QR code.

Unlike the Static QR codes, dynamic QRs has a more advanced features which allows you to update the embedded information anytime.

Moreover, users can also have access to a dashboard where they can track the overall performance of their QR code campaigns.

You can see the report of your QR code's total number of scans, location of the scanners, time when it was scanned, and the device used in scanning.

All these extensive report enables you to maximize your QR code campaign."