I created a QR code with InDesign CC and it doesn't do anything

[Andross Moonah]

I created a QR code with a website URL inside of it, when I use my phone to scan it to see if it works, it doesn't do anything. But I scan another QR code with the same phone and app and it brings up the website from that other QR code.

Any advice? Thanks.

[Bill Silbert]

The other QR codes which you successfully scanned—were they also created in InDesign? If so then I would suggest checking to make sure that you have the correct URL for the one that isn't working. If they were created through some other means then try using one of their URLs to generate a QR code in InDesign. I have found this feature to be relatively simple to use. You don't even need the "https://" or "www." in the URL. For instance I tested it by just putting in "amazon.com" and it worked fine.

[Andross Moonah]

The other QR codes which you successfully scanned—were they also created in InDesign?

I am not 100% if the answer is yes or no

Another fellow told me that he just uses an online QR code generator and it seemed to work fine for him, save in EPS and I think from there it can be Placed into InDesign.

Thanks for your reply.

[Marley C.]

I am also having the same issue. InDesign does make it stupidly simple to generate QR codes, so I am unsure why it wouldn't be working?

Anyone have any solutions for this?

[Softmatic GmbH]

From my testing, the QR generator in ID works like this:

- Select "Web Hyperlink" as type

- If you enter example.com, the generated code will encode http://example.com

- If you enter https://example.com, the code will encode https://example.com

- The generator will not escape spaces and the like, e.g. https://example.com?k1=v 1&k2=v2 is encoded verbatim

- If the code doesn't scan in your phone or is not recognized as an URL, make a screenshot or export as PNG and decode it with https://zxing.org to see the actual content; it may be that there are unescaped spaces or other characters in the URL

[Marley C.]

The only other thing I can suggest is that some phones do not work with QR codes. All Android phones should workfine, and all devices running iOS 11 or later will be natively compatible with QR. Some older devices might not have that capability.

Also, if the QR code is too small, your phone will not be able to read the details. 

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Apps have been available for years for phones and OS versions that don't have native QR capability. In the (old) OP, though, it was claimed that some codes worked but ones generated in ID did not — so the ability to read QR codes wasn't the issue.

I wonder if — now or three years ago — the OP was selecting the wrong QR code model (text block instead of URL) and if that caused the code to be invalid for automatic decoding.

PSA: malware is rampant in QR codes, especially those used in restaurants in place of a paper menu. I'd recommend setting your phone to DISPLAY the link for manual activation rather than automatically following it.

[Christian28184378rix5]

Hi there,
is this case closed?
Otherwise I just had the same problem - luckily it was simply an issue with viewing quality...
So I just right clicked and set the quality to "high".  I could scan it right away 🙂

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Yes, it seems to have been a case of ID in 'Fast' mode. I find it a bit odd that it would blur down its own graphic, but there you have it.

[hanaa311124049ee9]

Thanks a lot, it worked for me too

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Very old post, but I wanted to insert a correction since it's still evidently coming up in searches.

If you choose the "Web Hyperlink" creation option, you can enter any text string you like and it will be encoded as a URL. InDesign will prepend 'http://' if you don't include it. (If you want the secure version, 'https://', you must enter it as an override.)

But in no case does ID validate the string as a URL or add other elements (www., etc.)