QR Code Generator

6 minutes to read

With the QR Code Generator extension, you can create various types of QR codes based on your table data and save them directly in your tables. This extension allows you to customize QR codes with logos, colors, and styles to align with your brand or specific requirements.

Using QR Code Generator

Prerequisites: Install the extension.

On the list of extensions, click Open next to QR Code Generator.
On the Agents screen, click Create agent.
In the right panel that opens, enter the name of your agent.
Select the profile for this agent. See Profile Settings.
Under Trigger, select the data source and the type of event that will activate this agent.
In the Outgoing data items section, specify your QR code content. The system will display input fields relevant for QR code type selected in the profile settings.
Optionally, add a company logo. See Outgoing Data Items.
In the Incoming data items section, specify where the generated QR code image and the generation status will be stored in your table.
Click Create.

Profile Settings

Profile, or a configuration shared between agents, has the following options for QR Code Generator:

QR code type: Select the type of QR code to generate. This setting determines which input fields are visible in the Agent configuration. The following QR code types are available:
- Numeric: Contains numbers only.
- Alphanumeric: Contains numbers (0–9) and uppercase letters (A–Z).
- Byte: Contains any ASCII byte data, including special characters. ASCII is a standard encoding format used for text and symbols in computers and electronic devices.
- Kanji: Contains Japanese characters, including Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanji.
- UTF-8: Contains international characters and symbols, compatible with most modern applications and languages.
- URL: Links to a website. This is the default option.
  Example: https://example.com
- Wi-Fi: Contains Wi-Fi credentials for automatic connection. Required input values: Wi-Fi name, encryption, and password.
- Email: Creates an email with a predefined subject and body. Required input values: recipient email address, email subject and body.
- SMS: Sends a predefined text message. Required input values: recipient phone number and message content.
- Geolocation: Provides location data for map coordinates. Required input values: longitude and latitude.
- iCalendar: Contains event details for calendar applications. Required input values: summary, location, event date, start and end time.

Modules: Choose the grid size of the individual blocks in the QR code. Options range from 21×21 to 177×177. The more modules you set, the more characters will be available in the outgoing data items fields. If you want this setting to automatically adjust depending on the QR code content, select Auto.
Note: The specific combination of the two selections for QR code type and modules determines the character limit for the QR code content. For Wi-Fi, Email, SMS, Geolocation, and iCalendar QR code types, the content length is calculated by adding up the character count of all text inputs in the required fields.
Module style: Select the visual style of the QR code. A selection of squares, circles, and bars is available to give QR code images an individual look.
Background color: Specify the background color in hexadecimal format (for example, #FFFFFF for white).
Ink color: Specify the color of the modules in hexadecimal format (for example, #000000 for black).

Generated image dimensions: Define the image size in pixels. The value applies equally to width and height since QR codes are square images. The following table presents the recommended sizes depending on your modules setting.

Modules (Range)	Recommended Image Size
21 x 21 – 33 x 33	240
37 x 37 – 41 x 41	280
45 x 45 – 49 x 49	300 – 320
53 x 53 – 65 x 65	340 – 400
69 x 69 – 77 x 77	420 – 460
81 x 81 – 97 x 97	480 – 560
101 x 101 – 177 x 177	580 – 960

Generated image format: Choose the image file format: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, or TIFF.

Here are some samples of QR codes that you can generate using this extension.

Outgoing Data Items

The outgoing data items configuration depends on the QR code type selected in the profile settings:

For Numeric, Alphanumeric, Byte, Kanji, UTF-8, and URL QR code types, in the Content for QR code field, provide the content that the generated QR code will show upon scanning. You can use fields from your tables. The allowed values are determined by the QR code type selected See Profile Settings.
For Wi-Fi, Email, SMS, Geolocation, and iCalendar QR code types, enter the content in the relevant fields. For example, for SMS QR code type, input fields for recipient number and message are available.

Additionally, for all QR code types, you can configure a Logo or image: select a File or Attachment data type field to embed a logo or image in the central part of the QR code. Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, BMP, GIF, TIFF.

Incoming Data Items

Generated QR code: Stores the created QR code in your table as File or Attachment data type.
Note: If the Attachment data type field is selected, make sure it accepts the image format selected in the profile settings.
Generation status: Provides the result of the QR code creation process. Possible status messages include:
- “Success.”
- Failure errors with a description, usually about the provided content not meeting the respective requirements of a particular QR code type or the character limit.

Limitations and Requirements

Error correction levels: QR codes include error correction levels to ensure they remain scannable even if partially damaged or obscured. The extension supports Level M (medium correction, 15% error recovery), and if a logo or image is used, Level H (high correction, 30% error recovery).
Distinct colors: Background and ink colors must have sufficient contrast to ensure the QR code is easily scannable.
Size: Larger QR codes with dense data require high-quality printing for readability.

Character limit: The maximum number of characters a QR code can store depends on its type and module size. The following table shows the maximum characters allowed per each combination of the modules setting and QR code type.

Modules	Numeric	Alphanumeric	Byte, UTF-8, URL	Kanji	Wi-Fi, Email, SMS, Geolocation, iCalendar
21 x 21	17	10	7	4	10
25 x 25	34	20	14	8	20
29 x 29	58	35	24	15	35
33 x 33	82	50	34	21	50
37 x 37	106	64	44	27	64
41 x 41	139	84	58	36	84
45 x 45	154	93	64	39	93
49 x 49	202	122	84	52	122
53 x 53	235	143	98	60	143
57 x 57	288	174	119	74	174
61 x 61	331	200	137	85	200
65 x 65	374	227	155	96	227
69 x 69	427	259	177	109	259
73 x 73	468	283	194	120	283
77 x 77	530	321	220	136	321
81 x 81	602	365	250	154	365
85 x 85	674	408	280	173	408
89 x 89	746	452	310	191	452
93 x 93	813	493	338	208	493
97 x 97	919	557	382	235	557
101 x 101	969	587	403	248	587
105 x 105	1056	640	439	270	640
109 x 109	1108	672	461	284	672
113 x 113	1228	744	511	315	744
117 x 117	1286	779	535	330	779
121 x 121	1425	864	593	365	864
125 x 125	1501	910	625	385	910
129 x 129	1581	958	658	405	958
133 x 133	1677	1016	698	430	1016
137 x 137	1782	1080	742	457	1080
141 x 141	1897	1150	790	486	1150
145 x 145	2022	1226	842	518	1226
149 x 149	2157	1307	898	553	1307
153 x 153	2301	1394	958	590	1394
157 x 157	2361	1431	983	605	1431
161 x 161	2524	1530	1051	647	1530
165 x 165	2625	1591	1093	673	1591
169 x 169	2735	1658	1139	701	1658
173 x 173	2927	1774	1219	750	1774
177 x 177	3057	1852	1273	784	1852

Resource Usage

This extension uses two types of resources:

Credits: Each QR code uses 0.4 Credits. See Caspio Credits.
Integrations calls: An agent makes 3 to 7 integrations calls per task, depending on the use case, to perform actions such as sending the request and an optional logo, storing the QR code image, and logging.