Rejuvenating QR Codes
Covid-19 made us implement numerous habits and changes, the most significant one was — doing everything contactless.
It started from contactless delivery then contactless payments (this added QR code in the picture) and now it is incorporated into everything. You can notice these contactless QR codes everywhere around you these days, from virtual menus to virtual invitation cards. For instance, the NHS as of late delivered a contact-tracing app that utilizes QR codes to follow the spread of COVID-19 and help forestall “super-spreader” episodes. The application gives a registration highlight that permits clients to examine a QR code that records their visit to a public spot, for example, a café.
Although QR codes have been around since the 1990s, they hadn’t been widely adopted because the infrastructure didn’t exist to support them. Until a couple of years prior, most cell phones required a different application to read them, so they didn’t give an extraordinary user experience. Today, practically all iOS and Android cell phones can locally peruse QR codes without an outsider application. Thus, more applications are currently accessible to help things like versatile installments and registration utilizing QR codes.
Make your own QR codes, here’s how :
For information’s sake, the QR Code is a two-dimensional barcode that is readable by smartphones. It allows encoding over 4000 characters in a two-dimensional barcode. QR Codes may be used to display text to the user, to open a URL, save a contact to the address book, or to compose text messages. Depending on your purpose, you have to decide whether you should create a static QR code or a dynamic QR code.
- Static QR Code Generator
The information encoded in the static QR code is fixed. The destination/data is stored directly in the QR Code graphic. Any typo in an already printed QR code cannot be changed, as with any other printed material.
There are numerous sites to create a static QR code in multiple formats. However, this is the one that is being used extensively as it gives various customizations and features - https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/
2. Dynamic QR Code Generator
A Dynamic QR code has a modifiable destination URL. A Short URL is placed into the QR code which then transparently re-directs the user to the intended destination. The destination of a dynamic QR code can be changed at any time and as often as you want — even if your marketing material has already been printed.
Here’s what I use for generating dynamic QR codes: https://app.qr-code-generator.com/ This website gives you a 14-day free trial to use their premium management and QR code generation tools. This website provides a feature of scan tracking, which gives you more insight into your audience.
IOS Users: Share your Wi-Fi password via a QR code
The screenshots below correspond to the Shortcuts app for iOS 14.
step 1: Download the Shortcuts app (if you haven’t done it). Open the app, and in the My Shortcuts (Library in iOS 12) tab, hit “+” on top to create a new shortcut.
step 2: Tap the “Settings” icon, and give the shortcut a name, for example, “QR Wi-Fi.” You can also tap the “Icon” to change it to something that matches your shortcut’s function better.
step 3: click on “Add action”, search for “Get Network Details” and add it.
step 4: The next step is to provide the corresponding password. This can be done in several ways. You could write out the Wi-Fi password as text. If you want to do this, you’ll need to add a “Text” action, and then enter the password in it. Click on + sign, search for “Text” and add it.
step 5: To generate a QR code for a Wi-Fi network, you’ll need to create a new string that follows the following format: WIFI:T:WPA;S:<your Wi-Fi network name>;P:<your Wi-Fi network password>;;
“T” stands for the authentication type (WPA or WEP), “S” stands for the network name, and “P” stands for the password. The order of the fields doesn’t matter.
In simple terms, add one more “Text” field, and write the code mentioned in the image below as it is.
step 6: Once you have created the string, you can generate the QR code using the “Generate QR Code” action. After adding the “Generate QR Code”, click on the “play” icon at the bottom right, and your QR Code will be generated. You can save it to share with others or for printing purposes!
If you know HTML/JavaScript and want to learn more about QR codes, check this mini-project out — https://gitlab.com/muskaan_aswani/qr-code-generator
