How to Make QR Code in Excel

A step-by-step guide on how to create QR codes within Microsoft Excel, exploring its importance and practical uses.| …

Updated September 9, 2023

|A step-by-step guide on how to create QR codes within Microsoft Excel, exploring its importance and practical uses.|

Introduction

QR codes have become an essential tool in modern marketing, customer engagement, and data management. These two-dimensional barcodes can hold a vast amount of information and are easily scannable by smartphones using QR code reader apps. Generating QR codes is not limited to specialized software; you can also create them within Microsoft Excel, leveraging its robust capabilities for calculations, data manipulation, and integration with other digital tools.

Concept: What Are QR Codes?

A QR (Quick Response) code is a type of matrix barcode that contains information in the form of black squares arranged on a white background. It was originally developed in 1994 by Denso Wave to track parts during manufacturing processes. However, its application soon expanded into marketing and advertising.

QR codes can store various types of data, including:

URL links
Text messages
Email addresses
Phone numbers
Contact information (vCard)
Voucher codes
Shortened URLs

Importance and Use Cases

The importance of QR codes lies in their versatility and the convenience they offer to both creators and users. Here are some use cases:

Marketing and Advertising: Companies place QR codes on promotional materials, such as flyers, posters, magazines, or even on product packaging. When scanned, these codes can redirect customers to a landing page for more information, promotions, or direct sales.
Customer Engagement: Businesses often embed QR codes in their customer-facing apps to offer exclusive deals, updates about products and services, or even surveys for feedback.
Event Promotion: Events like concerts, conferences, and festivals use QR codes to share essential details, such as schedules, venue maps, and ticket purchase links.
Data Management: QR codes are also used in inventory management systems to track items in a warehouse. They can quickly identify the item, its quantity, price, etc., facilitating easier stockroom operations.

How to Make QR Codes in Excel

Now that we have covered the basics of QR codes and their significance, let’s move into creating them within Microsoft Excel:

Prerequisites:

Ensure you’re using Microsoft Excel 2010 or later. Previous versions may not support all features.
Familiarize yourself with basic Excel functions and formulas.

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a QR Code in Excel:

Step 1: Prepare Your Data

Open your Excel spreadsheet, go to the cell where you want to create the QR code, and prepare any necessary information (like URLs or text messages) that you wish to store within the QR code. Ensure it’s clean and free of errors.

Step 2: Convert Text into URL-Encoded Format

If you’re storing a URL in your QR code, Excel’s built-in URLENCODE function can convert the URL into its encoded format, necessary for creating a QR code that links to a website.

To do this:

Open the Formula tab.
Choose Define Name or use the shortcut Ctrl+M (Windows) or Cmd+M (Mac).
In the New Name dialog box, specify a name for your formula, and in the Refers to: box, enter =URLENCODE(A1) where A1 is the cell containing the URL. Adjust the cell reference as needed.
Click OK.

Step 3: Apply QR Code Formula

Now, use the following formula to generate the QR code:

=IMAGE("https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?chs=200x200&cht=qr&choe=UTF-8&chl=" & URLENCODE(A1))

Replace A1 with the cell containing your URL (or other data) that you wish to encode. If using Excel 2016 or later, use =IMAGE("https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?chs=200x200&cht=qr&choe=UTF-8&chl=" & A1) instead.

In this formula:

"https://chart.googleapis.com/chart" is the base URL for Google Charts API to generate QR codes.
"?chs=200x200" specifies the size of your QR code in pixels (width x height).
"cht=qr" indicates that you’re requesting a QR code.
"choe=UTF-8" states the encoding scheme used in the data. This should remain as it is for most standard use cases.
&chl= starts specifying the data to be encoded within the QR code.
URLENCODE(A1) converts your text or URL into a format suitable for creating a QR code.

Step 4: Adjust and Customize

Adjust the size of the QR code by changing "200x200" in the formula to any other dimension you prefer. Ensure it fits within your Excel cell without exceeding its width or height limits.

Additional Tips:

For text data, ensure the encoded text fits within the QR code’s capacity for readable characters.
Be mindful of space when resizing the QR code image; very large images may not fit well in an Excel spreadsheet.

Conclusion

Creating QR codes directly within Microsoft Excel is a powerful feature that combines the strengths of both Excel and QR codes. Whether you’re involved in marketing, customer engagement, event management, or inventory tracking, using QR codes as part of your strategy can significantly enhance user experience and operational efficiency.