QR Actions help

What this does

A normal QR code just holds a web link. An action QR code holds an instruction the phone understands: join this Wi-Fi network, start a text to this number, save this contact, add this event to my calendar, open this payment page.

Pick the action, fill in a couple of fields, and press Generate. The code appears on the right, ready to download, copy, or share. It also reads codes: drop in a picture of one, or point your camera at it, and the tool tells you what is inside and fills in the matching form so you can edit and re-make it.

How to use it

1. Choose an action from the dropdown. The short line under it explains what a scan will do.
2. Fill in the fields. Required ones are marked with a star. Generate stays greyed out until the form is valid.
3. Press Generate. On a computer the image is also copied to the clipboard so you can paste it straight into a document.
4. Download the PNG, copy it, or use Share to send it to another app on your phone.

The actions

• URL / Link and App Store: opens a web address. Bare domains get https:// added for you.
• Wi-Fi Join: the phone joins your network. Use WPA/WPA2 for almost every home network, including WPA3.
• Email Draft, SMS / Text, WhatsApp, Telegram: opens a pre-filled message. WhatsApp wants the number as digits only, no plus sign.
• Phone Call: one-tap dial.
• Contact (vCard): saves a contact card. Needs a name and at least a phone or an email.
• Calendar Event: either a .ics file that any calendar app imports, or a link that opens the Google Calendar add-event form. Times are local to whoever scans it.
• Payment: PayPal.Me, Cash App, or Venmo link, with an optional amount. Venmo can also carry a note.
• Video Meeting: a Zoom or Google Meet join link. Zoom IDs can be pasted with spaces or dashes.
• Map / Address: fill in the address, open it in Google or Apple Maps, then paste the URL from the map page into the Map URL field. The code opens that exact place rather than a guess.
• Plain Text: whatever you type, exactly as typed.

Reading a QR code

Drop an image onto the preview box, paste one from the clipboard, use Read a QR image to pick a file, or Scan with camera. The tool works out which action it is and fills in the form. The raw text is shown underneath and copied to your clipboard.

Camera scanning needs permission the first time. If a code does not read, move closer, hold still, and make sure the whole code is in view.

Printing a code people can actually scan

• Print it at least three centimetres across, bigger for anything scanned from a distance.
• Plain black on white scans most reliably. The white margin around the edge is part of the code, so do not crop it.
• Always test a printed code with a real phone before putting it out.

Need Ideas?

Press the yellow button for a random suggestion from a list of a thousand things people put on QR codes: menus, instructions, tip jars, event invites, and so on.