Generate QR Code With Javascript (Very Simple Examples)

Welcome to a tutorial on how to generate QR code with Javascript. Unfortunately, Javascript does not provide any native means to create QR codes. But thankfully, there are a whole load of libraries on the Internet that we can use today.

That’s all for the basics, but let us walk through a few more examples in this guide – Read on!

TLDR – QUICK SLIDES

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

JS Generate QR

Download & Notes

Extra Bits & Links

The End

1) BASIC QR CODE

<!-- (A) LOAD QRCODEJS LIBRARY -->
<!-- https://cdnjs.com/libraries/qrcodejs -->
<!-- https://github.com/davidshimjs/qrcodejs -->
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/qrcodejs/1.0.0/qrcode.min.js"></script>

<!-- (B) GENERATE QR CODE HERE -->
<div id="qrcode"></div>

<!-- (C) CREATE QR CODE ON PAGE LOAD -->
<script>
window.addEventListener("load", () => {
  var qrc = new QRCode(document.getElementById("qrcode"), "https://code-boxx.com/");
});
</script>

Yep, the basic usage as adapted from the official GitHub page is as easy as that:

1. Load the library. Download the entire script from Github and host it on your own, or use the CDN.
2. Create an empty <div> element to hold the QR code.
3. Finally, just use new QRCode(TARGET, TEXT) to create the QR code.

That’s all!

2) QR CODE OPTIONS

<script>
window.addEventListener("load", () => {
  var qrc = new QRCode(document.getElementById("qrcode"), {
    text: "https://code-boxx.com/",
    width: 100,
    height: 100,
    colorDark: "#ff0000",
    colorLight: "#ffffff",
    // QRCode.CorrectLevel.L | QRCode.CorrectLevel.M | QRCode.CorrectLevel.H
    correctLevel : QRCode.CorrectLevel.H
  });
});
</script>

For you guys who want some customizations, the library does offer a few basic options… Pretty self-explanatory.

3) QR FOR EMAIL, SMS, TEL, VCARD, ETC…

<!-- (B) GENERATE QR CODE HERE -->
Website <div id="qrA"></div>
Tel <div id="qrB"></div>
SMS <div id="qrC"></div>
VCARD <div id="qrD"></div>

<!-- (C) CREATE QR CODE ON PAGE LOAD -->
<!-- https://github.com/zxing/zxing/wiki/Barcode-Contents -->
<script>
window.addEventListener("load", () => {
  // (C1) WEBSITE
  new QRCode(document.getElementById("qrA"), "https://code-boxx.com/");
 
  // (C2) TEL
  new QRCode(document.getElementById("qrB"), "tel:+12345678");
 
  // (C3) SMS
  new QRCode(document.getElementById("qrC"), "sms:+12345678");
 
  // (C4) VCARD
  let card = "BEGIN:VCARD\r\n";
  card += "VERSION:3.0\r\n";
  card += "FN:John Doe\r\n";
  card += "TEL;TYPE=home:tel:+1-123-456-789";
  card += "EMAIL;TYPE=internet:john@doe.com";
  new QRCode(document.getElementById("qrD"), card);
});
</script>

Some beginners probably don’t know this, but QR codes can be used to do a plethora of things. These can be telephone numbers, SMS, email, vcard, event, open an app (deep linking), and even more. I shall leave a link to all the barcode data types in the extra section below.

4) PRINT PART OF THE PAGE WITH QR CODE

<!-- (B) QR CODE HERE -->
<div id="printable">
  <h1>FOO BAR!</h1>
  <p>This can be a Vcard, event, special offer, or something that you want users to print.</p>
  <div id="qrcode"></div>
</div>
<button id="qrprint">PRINT</button>
 
<!-- (C) CREATE QR CODE ON PAGE LOAD -->
<script>
window.addEventListener("load", () => {
  // (C1) CREATE QR
  var qrc = new QRCode(document.getElementById("qrcode"), {
    text: "https://code-boxx.com/",
    width: 100,
    height: 100,
    colorDark: "#bf2a2a"
  });

  // (C2) PRINT
  document.getElementById("qrprint").onclick = () => {
    var printwin = window.open("");
    printwin.document.write(document.getElementById("printable").innerHTML);
    printwin.stop();
    let qr = printwin.document.querySelector("#qrcode img");
    qr.addEventListener("load", () => {
      printwin.print();
      printwin.close();
    });
  });
});
</script>

This final example is kind of an extra. Yep, we can print part of a page containing the QR code. This can be pretty useful for stuff like VCARDs, events, discount coupons, and stuff.

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EXAMPLE CODE DOWNLOAD

Click here for the source code on GitHub gist, just click on “download zip” or do a git clone. I have released it under the MIT license, so feel free to build on top of it or use it in your own project.

LINKS & REFERENCES

• QRCode JS – Github
• Barcode Contents – Github
• How To Print A Page Using Javascript – Code Boxx

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