A QR code is useful for capturing information with a camera of a mobile device. You can scan a code to visit a website and get contact details. To make sharing easy, here’s how to create a QR code in Google Sheets.
After you create and insert a QR code into Google Sheets, you or your audience can scan it to get the additional information they need. There are two effective methods for creating that code. You can use a function and formula or a Google Sheets add-on. Let’s look at both.
Create QR code using image function
Google provides a link that you can insert into the image function formula to create the QR code. It may sound complicated, but it’s actually super simple. This allows you to use the code to link to a website, contact details and text.
RELATED: Generate a QR code for a web link in Google Chrome
Select the cell where you want to insert the QR code. Here’s a basic formula that links to a website in cell A1. We’ll break down the formula and explain the options you can use.
=image("https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?chs=300x300&cht=qr&chl="&ENCODEURL(A1))
Here are the pieces for the formula:
https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?: This is the sitelink you need to add to create the QR code.
chs=300x300: This determines the size of the QR code in pixels such as width and height. Ours is 300 by 300 pixels.
cht=qr: This specifies the QR code type.
chl="&ENCODEURL(A1): This determines which data should be encrypted. Here we encode the link in cell A1I
The ampersand operators between each of these pieces connect the string. Since you can use the formula to create a QR code that does more than just link to a website, let’s look at another example.
With this formula, our code will give our company phone number in cell A2. The QR code is 500 pixels wide and 400 pixels high.
=image("https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?chs=500x400&cht=qr&chl="&ENCODEURL(A2))
Remark: Depending on the size you enter for the code, you may need to resize the column or row in your sheet to match the QR code.
You can include a few optional pieces in the formula:
choe=(output_encoding): This determines how to encode the data in the QR code. The default value, if omitted, is UTF-8, but you can also use Shift_JIS or ISO-8859-1.
child=(error_correction_level)(margin): QR codes provide four levels of error correction to recover misread or masked data. Allows you to select a level.
The above is from the Google Charts > Infographics site. You can visit the site for details on the formula options and additional information on how QR codes work.
Create a QR code using an add-on
If you search the Google Workspace Marketplace, you will find several QR code generators. For example, you want to create codes in bulk. But for a simple QR Code add-on that works well, check out this QR Code Maker.
Keep in mind that installing a third-party add-on through Marketplace means you’ll need to grant access to certain items for your Google Account. Make sure you and your organization are aware of the security risks. Should you decide to check out this add-on, here’s how it works.
Go to Extensions > QR Code Maker > Insert QR Code to generate a code.
This will open a sidebar for the add-on. Type the text or link for the code in the box at the top. Then click on ‘Generate’.
You will see your QR code displayed so you can grab your mobile device and scan the code for a quick test.
Select ‘Insert’ to add the code to your sheet. The code will then be displayed as a large image that you can move and resize at will.
The next time you want an easy way to share information right from your Google spreadsheet, consider creating a QR code using one of these options.
RELATED: How to create your own QR codes from your iPhone or Android phone