Add QR codes and barcodes from your data

You want a QR code or barcode on every record, generated from your data.

Before you start – prepare the frame in InDesign

The placeholder must be the only content of its frame – for both QR codes and barcodes. For QR codes there’s one extra rule: the frame must be square (height = width).

📷 Screenshot [NEU]: the InDesign frame with only the placeholder (square for a QR code)

Step 1 – Mark the frame as a QR code or barcode

On the field, click the question mark and choose Replace with QR-Code or Replace with Barcode. Then click Edit to open the editor.

From here the steps differ slightly – follow the barcode path or the QR code path.

For barcodes

A Barcode central node has a single data input.

1. Add a data node pointing at the column you want to encode, and connect it to the Barcode central node’s data input.
2. Choose the barcode type (symbology) in the Barcode central node’s properties panel.

📷 Screenshot [NEU]: the barcode type selector in the Barcode central node’s properties

Then continue at Preview and export below.

For QR codes

A QR-Code central node is dynamic – its inputs depend on the QR type you choose.

1. In the QR-Code central node’s properties panel, choose the QR type – Text, URL, Email, SMS, or vCard. The type decides the inputs: simple types like URL give a single input, while vCard gives several (first name, last name, and so on).
2. Add a data node for each input and connect it to the matching socket.

📷 Screenshot [NEU]: the QR type selector in the QR-Code central node’s properties

Then continue at Preview and export below.

Preview and export

Open the Preview (the eye icon, top right) to check the result, then click Validate all records (the button in the bottom-right corner of the workspace), and export as usual. Each record gets its own code.

Supported symbologies

For the full list of barcode types DataMergeStudio can produce, see All Supported Barcode Formats in the Reference section.

Result

A scannable code per record – product links, ticket IDs, SKUs – straight from your data.

Related

• Central node types
• Data nodes