Publishing a Preconfigured QR Code on a SharePoint Page

Introduction

QR Code Generator is more than a tool for making a code and taking it away. The configuration of the web part is saved with the page, so the page itself can carry a ready QR code: the guest Wi-Fi on the page of a meeting room, the contact card of the help desk, a link to a registration form on the page of an event. This article explains what is saved, how to publish a prepared code and what the visitors of the page can do with it.

What is saved with the page

When the page is edited, every change in the web part is written to its configuration:

• the selected data tab and the values of the fields on all tabs, not only on the selected one;
• the design: Shape, Colors with the gradient, Corner Square, Corner Dots;
• the logo together with its Logo size and Logo margin;
• the Error Correction level and the Size of the downloaded image;
• the title of the web part.

The configuration becomes permanent when the page is saved or published.

Preparing and publishing the code

1. Open the page and click Edit.
2. Add the QR Code Generator web part, or use the one that is already on the page.
3. Select the tab and fill in the data. For a guest network, for example, open the Wi-Fi tab and enter Network, Password and Encryption.
4. Set up the design in the sections below the tabs and, if needed, upload a logo.
5. Type a heading in the Web Part Title placeholder above the generator, so that the visitors understand what the code is for, for example Guest Wi-Fi — scan to connect.
6. Scan the preview with a smartphone and make sure that the code works.
7. Click Republish (or Publish for a new page).

What the visitors see

A visitor who opens the published page sees the web part with the prepared tab selected and the QR code in the preview, ready to be scanned from the screen. No action is needed.

The web part stays a working generator for the visitor as well. The tabs, the fields and the design sections remain available, so a visitor can:

• scan the prepared code, copy it or download it in any format;
• change the data or the design and make a code of their own.

Changes made by a visitor exist only in their browser until the page is reloaded. They are not saved and are not seen by other people; after a reload the web part returns to the published configuration.

Changing a published code

1. Open the page and click Edit.
2. Change the data or the design in the web part.
3. Click Republish.

Until the page is republished, the visitors continue to see the previous code. If you leave edit mode without saving, the changes are discarded.

Reusing the setup

The configuration belongs to the web part instance, which gives several ways to reuse a prepared design:

• Several codes on one page. Add the web part several times; each instance keeps its own data and design.
• A copy of the page. Use Copy of this page in the page command bar. The copy contains the web part with the same configuration; change only the data.
• A page template. Save a page with a styled web part as a template, and every new page created from it starts with the corporate design of the code.

Summary

Everything that is set up in QR Code Generator while the page is edited is saved when the page is published, and the visitors see the prepared code at once. They can still use the generator for themselves, but only an editor of the page changes what is published. Remember that the saved data is readable by everyone who has access to the page.