How to make a QR code for plain text

Choose Plain text in QR by Zaweba, type the words or number you want, and save the code. That's all there is to it. When someone scans it, their phone shows exactly the text you typed, with nothing added, and doesn't try to open a website or join a network.

It is the simplest kind of code, and QR by Zaweba makes it free, on your own PC, with no account.

Good reasons to use plain text

A plain text code is for something to be read rather than acted on. A short message for a treasure hunt. A serial or asset number stuck on equipment, so it can be scanned instead of typed. A reference on a storage box. A quiz answer. A line of instructions on a classroom worksheet.

It is also right when you need precise characters, exactly these and nothing else, for a system or a game that expects them.

Typing it in and saving

Open QR by Zaweba. Choose Plain text from the kinds of code. Type or paste your text into the box.

The preview draws the code as you type and reads it back. When it says Checked: it reads back exactly, the code holds exactly what you typed. If there is a problem, such as colours that are too close or a margin that is too small, it tells you what to fix.

Set the size in millimetres. Short text makes a simple code that can be quite small; longer text makes a denser code that needs more room. Then save it as a PNG for documents and home printing, an SVG for designers and anything that has to scale, or a PDF for a one-page vector file the size of the code. Copy picture puts it on the clipboard so you can paste it straight into a worksheet or a slide.

Keeping it scannable

Every character goes into the code. A few words or a number make a light, easy code. A paragraph makes a busy grid of tiny squares, which needs printing larger to scan well. If you find yourself typing a lot, ask whether a web page and a Web address code would serve the reader better.

Dark on light colours are the safest. Leave the margin round the code clear, and don't let text or pictures crowd it.

Scan the printed code with your own phone. What appears should match what you typed, character for character.

When plain text is the wrong choice

If you want the phone to do something, use the matching kind instead. A link typed as plain text may not open the same way as one made with the Web address kind. Wi-Fi details typed as text won't join a network; the Wi-Fi network kind writes them in the form phones need. The same goes for a contact card, an email, a phone call, a text message and a map location, each of which has its own kind in QR by Zaweba.

So: plain text to show something, the matching kind to do something.

Many codes at once

For a sheet of labels, each with its own reference or serial, the QR creator is also built into Labels by Zaweba. Open it from Insert, QR code creator, and Put on the label adds the code to the label design with the same size, colour and error correction.