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Madeleine22193658m6ip
Known Participant
February 28, 2025
Question

QR Code Not Working Properly

  • February 28, 2025
  • 2 replies
  • 1929 views

Hello, 

 

I am working on a project where multiple files have individual QR codes. The layout of each file stems from a template I made. For some odd reason, a majority of these files' QR codes do NOT work properly. When clicked on through Adobe Acrobt, they all seem to go to a certain link. However, when scanned via your phone, it goes to the proper link. Within InDesign, the links appear correct. Can someone tell me why it keeps taking us to the improper link on Adobe Acrobat? This is how the majority of our viewers will interact with the QR Code, so we desperately need it to work properly. 

Is this an InDesign issue or Adobe issue? Any info is welcome. Thanks! 

2 replies

Mike Witherell
Community Expert
Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 28, 2025

Share the PDF file?

Mike Witherell
James Gifford—NitroPress
James Gifford—NitroPress
Legend
February 28, 2025

QR code and click-on links are two different things, managed separately. In print (or on a screen) a QR code is just an image file that can be read by an optical reader. When clicked in an interactive document, they are just an image with an assigned link.

 

If they're not working when clicked on, the problem is entirely in the URL assigned as a hyperlink to the "Image." The QR code is irrelevant.

    M
    Madeleine22193658m6ipAuthor
    Known Participant
    February 28, 2025

    Yes, I am aware the two things are separate. The "Web Hyperlink" associated with the QR code within InDesign is correct, yet when click on through Adobe Acrobat, it is brining up an entirely different link that does NOT exist anywhere on the document. 

    Can you explain that? Thank you

    M
    Madeleine22193658m6ipAuthor
    Known Participant
    March 3, 2025

    Okay, got that one.

     

    And you're mostly correct, from what I see. The URL assigned to the QR code is valid. The QR code responds to reading correctly.

     

    But unless something got broken in the reduction to a single page, there's no URL assigned to the QR code image for click-through in a PDF reader. I had no problem assigning a simple URL to it and getting a successful click-through, but there isn't one assigned in the file provided. (I did have to switch to Print PDF and enable hyperlink export, but I think that's just an artifact of the document history.)

     

    I wonder — again — if you're confusing the URL assigned through the QR code with one assigned for a clickable link. When I hover over the QR code, I do see the popup with the code contents (just the URL). But that has nothing to do with being a clickable object. Once again, these are two completely separate processes:

    • A URL assigned to/used to create the QR code for optical scanning.
    • A URL assigned to the graphic image/frame of the QR code, for screen clicking.
      • That the graphic image is a QR code is irrelevant here — it could be a logo or a kitty-cat or a photo of Adrien Brody. It's the link assigned to it to make it a click-object that matters.

     

    You have to set up both. One does not affect the other in any way.


    Thank you for looking into it.

    I already tried doing both and still experienced the same issue for this file and others. I also tried making an entirely new re-design with fresh links and a QR code image/link and still ran into the issue. 

    It's like the template's QR Code link has somehow embedded itself.   

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