Urgent: Can I edit a QR code that was created in Indesign if I didn't save the indesign file?

[fraidym94034590]

Hi!

I created a QR code in indesign and then exported it as a pdf. I then made additional changes to that file (including deleting the QR code) so I can't edit the QR code in indesign by opening the file.
Does indesign store this code somewhere? I need to change the link. THe posters were printed already but the link won't work.

Any ideas?

[BobLevine]

This has absolutely nothing to do with InDesign. QR Codes are static.

If you created it with the wrong URL and printed the piece, there is absolutely nothing you can do other than use a 301 redirect from the wrong URL to the correct one.

That of course depends on your access to the wrong one.

[fraidym94034590]

Normally I use an online QR code generator and I can always log in and edit the link. I was hoping I can do the same here 🙂

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Going to the editor/creator to change something is a given; it retains the data separately from the generated graphic. InDesign does just that, but its QR code feature is a bit streamlined, and it doesn't have any ability to read a code and enable editing of it.

When you include URL codes in things that have a steep printing hurdle (cost, widely distributed, long potential shelf life) and the URL is not something that is likely to remain static (like the base page of a major company)... it's  best to encode a redirect URL that is then managed with one of the redirect techniques, so it can be corrected and adjusted over time.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

And — this is so obvious to me that I forgot to include it — always test your QR codes, both at the time you generate and place them, and always-always from your very final layout (PDF for print, on the screen if not printed out), just before you send it off. Testing with more than one reader, ideally one Android and one iOS, is the truly suspenders-and-belt method.

But not testing it at all before print, trusting that you entered the data correctly and that it encoded correctly... that's up there with not opening a print PDF before sending it off. Or worse.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

You mean you can edit redirection of the static QR code you've generated ?

If you change contents of the QR code - you'll get new set of pixels in the code = completely new code. 

[Jeffrey_Smith]

Unfortunately, there is no advantage in having the original QR code, just create a new one with the correct url/information. If piece is printed and not distributed, you can obviously reprint. But if piece has been distributed, then you may be out of luck.

A redirect, as Bob mentioned, can be setup to the correct destination. If URL was to a public site, and the error was a typo in the domain that nobody owns, you could purchase and redirect to correct destination.