Simple QrCode

• Introduction
• Translations
• Configuration
• Simple Ideas
• Usage
• Helpers
• Common QrCode Usage
• Usage Outside of Laravel

Introduction

Simple QrCode is an easy to use wrapper for the popular Laravel framework based on the great work provided by Bacon/BaconQrCode. We created an interface that is familiar and easy to install for Laravel users.

Translations

We are looking for users who speak Chinese, Korean or Japanese to help translate this document. Please create a pull request if you are able to make a translation!

Configuration

Composer

First, add the Simple QrCode package to your require in your composer.json file:

"require": {
	"simplesoftwareio/simple-qrcode": "~1"
}

Next, run the composer update command.

Service Provider

Laravel 4

Register the SimpleSoftwareIO\QrCode\QrCodeServiceProvider in your app/config/app.php within the providers array.

Laravel 5

Register the SimpleSoftwareIO\QrCode\QrCodeServiceProvider::class in your config/app.php within the providers array.

Aliases

Laravel 4

Finally, register the 'QrCode' => 'SimpleSoftwareIO\QrCode\Facades\QrCode' in your app/config/app.php configuration file within the aliases array.

Laravel 5

Finally, register the 'QrCode' => SimpleSoftwareIO\QrCode\Facades\QrCode::class in your config/app.php configuration file within the aliases array.

Simple Ideas

Print View

One of the main items that we use this package for is to have QrCodes in all of our print views. This allows our customers to return to the original page after it is printed by simply scanning the code. We achieved this by adding the following into our footer.blade.php file.

<div class="visible-print text-center">
	{!! QrCode::size(100)->generate(Request::url()); !!}
	<p>Scan me to return to the original page.</p>
</div>

Embed A QrCode

You may embed a qrcode inside of an e-mail to allow your users to quickly scan. The following is an example of how to do this with Laravel.

//Inside of a blade template.
<img src="{!!$message->embedData(QrCode::format('png')->generate('Embed me into an e-mail!'), 'QrCode.png', 'image/png')!!}">

Usage

Basic Usage

Using the QrCode Generator is very easy. The most basic syntax is:

QrCode::generate('Make me into a QrCode!');

This will make a QrCode that says "Make me into a QrCode!"

Generate

Generate is used to make the QrCode.

QrCode::generate('Make me into a QrCode!');

Heads up! This method must be called last if using within a chain.

Generate by default will return a SVG image string. You can print this directly into a modern browser within Laravel's Blade system with the following:

{!! QrCode::generate('Make me into a QrCode!'); !!}

The generate method has a second parameter that will accept a filename and path to save the QrCode.

QrCode::generate('Make me into a QrCode!', '../public/qrcodes/qrcode.svg');

Format Change

QrCode Generator is setup to return a SVG image by default.

Watch out! The format method must be called before any other formatting options such as size, color, backgroundColor, and margin.

Three formats are currently supported; PNG, EPS, and SVG. To change the format use the following code:

QrCode::format('png');  //Will return a PNG image
QrCode::format('eps');  //Will return a EPS image
QrCode::format('svg');  //Will return a SVG image

Size Change

QrCode Generator will by default return the smallest size possible in pixels to create the QrCode.

You can change the size of a QrCode by using the size method. Simply specify the size desired in pixels using the following syntax:

QrCode::size(100);

Color Change

Be careful when changing the color of a QrCode. Some readers have a very difficult time reading QrCodes in color.

All colors must be expressed in RGB (Red Green Blue). You can change the color of a QrCode by using the following:

QrCode::color(255,0,255);

Background color changes are also supported and be expressed in the same manner.

QrCode::backgroundColor(255,255,0);

Margin Change

The ability to change the margin around a QrCode is also supported. Simply specify the desired margin using the following syntax:

QrCode::margin(100);

Error Correction

Changing the level of error correction is easy. Just use the following syntax:

QrCode::errorCorrection('H');

The following are supported options for the errorCorrection method.

Error Correction	Assurance Provided
L	7% of codewords can be restored.
M	15% of codewords can be restored.
Q	25% of codewords can be restored.
H	30% of codewords can be restored.

The more error correction used; the bigger the QrCode becomes and the less data it can store. Read more about error correction.

Encoding

Change the character encoding that is used to build a QrCode. By default ISO-8859-1 is selected as the encoder. Read more about character encoding You can change this to any of the following:

QrCode::encoding('UTF-8')->generate('Make me a QrCode with special symbols ♠♥!!');

Character Encoder
ISO-8859-1
ISO-8859-2
ISO-8859-3
ISO-8859-4
ISO-8859-5
ISO-8859-6
ISO-8859-7
ISO-8859-8
ISO-8859-9
ISO-8859-10
ISO-8859-11
ISO-8859-12
ISO-8859-13
ISO-8859-14
ISO-8859-15
ISO-8859-16
SHIFT-JIS
WINDOWS-1250
WINDOWS-1251
WINDOWS-1252
WINDOWS-1256
UTF-16BE
UTF-8
ASCII
GBK
EUC-KR

An error of Could not encode content to ISO-8859-1 means that the wrong character encoding type is being used. We recommend UTF-8 if you are unsure.

Merge

The merge method merges an image over a QrCode. This is commonly used to placed logos within a QrCode.

QrCode::merge($filename, $percentage, $absolute);

//Generates a QrCode with an image centered in the middle.
QrCode::format('png')->merge('path-to-image.png')->generate();

//Generates a QrCode with an image centered in the middle.  The inserted image takes up 30% of the QrCode.
QrCode::format('png')->merge('path-to-image.png', .3)->generate();

//Generates a QrCode with an image centered in the middle.  The inserted image takes up 30% of the QrCode.
QrCode::format('png')->merge('http://www.google.com/someimage.png', .3, true)->generate();

The merge method only supports PNG at this time. The filepath is relative to app base path if $absolute is set to false. Change this variable to true to use absolute paths.

You should use a high level of error correction when using the merge method to ensure that the QrCode is still readable. We recommend using errorCorrection('H').

Merge Binary String

The mergeString method can be used to achieve the same as the merge call, except it allows you to provide a string representation of the file instead of the filepath. This is usefull when working with the Storage facade. It's interface is quite similar to the merge call.

QrCode::mergeString(Storage::get('path/to/image.png'), $percentage);

//Generates a QrCode with an image centered in the middle.
QrCode::format('png')->mergeString(Storage::get('path/to/image.png'))->generate();

//Generates a QrCode with an image centered in the middle.  The inserted image takes up 30% of the QrCode.
QrCode::format('png')->mergeString(Storage::get('path/to/image.png'), .3)->generate();

As with the normal merge call, only PNG is supported at this time. The same applies for error correction, high levels are recommened.

Advance Usage

All methods support chaining. The generate method must be called last and any format change must be called first. For example you could run any of the following:

QrCode::size(250)->color(150,90,10)->backgroundColor(10,14,244)->generate('Make me a QrCode!');
QrCode::format('png')->size(399)->color(40,40,40)->generate('Make me a QrCode!');

You can display a PNG image without saving the file by providing a raw string and encoding with base64_encode.

<img src="data:image/png;base64, {!! base64_encode(QrCode::format('png')->size(100)->generate('Make me into an QrCode!')) !!} ">

Helpers

What are helpers?

Helpers are an easy way to create QrCodes that cause a reader to perform a certain action when scanned.

E-Mail

This helper generates an e-mail qrcode that is able to fill in the e-mail address, subject, and body.

QrCode::email($to, $subject, $body);

//Fills in the to address
QrCode::email('foo@bar.com');

//Fills in the to address, subject, and body of an e-mail.
QrCode::email('foo@bar.com', 'This is the subject.', 'This is the message body.');

//Fills in just the subject and body of an e-mail.
QrCode::email(null, 'This is the subject.', 'This is the message body.');

Geo

This helper generates a latitude and longitude that a phone can read and open the location up in Google Maps or similar app.

QrCode::geo($latitude, $longitude);

QrCode::geo(37.822214, -122.481769);

Phone Number

This helper generates a QrCode that can be scanned and then dials a number.

QrCode::phoneNumber($phoneNumber);

QrCode::phoneNumber('555-555-5555');
QrCode::phoneNumber('1-800-Laravel');

SMS (Text Messages)

This helper makes SMS messages that can be prefilled with the send to address and body of the message.

QrCode::SMS($phoneNumber, $message);

//Creates a text message with the number filled in.
QrCode::SMS('555-555-5555');

//Creates a text message with the number and message filled in.
QrCode::SMS('555-555-5555', 'Body of the message');

WiFi

This helpers makes scannable QrCodes that can connect a phone to a WiFI network.

QrCode::wiFi([
	'encryption' => 'WPA/WEP',
	'ssid' => 'SSID of the network',
	'password' => 'Password of the network',
	'hidden' => 'Whether the network is a hidden SSID or not.'
]);

//Connects to an open WiFi network.
QrCode::wiFi([
	'ssid' => 'Network Name',
]);

//Connects to an open, hidden WiFi network.
QrCode::wiFi([
	'ssid' => 'Network Name',
	'hidden' => 'true'
]);

//Connects to an secured, WiFi network.
QrCode::wiFi([
	'ssid' => 'Network Name',
	'encryption' => 'WPA',
	'password' => 'myPassword'
]);

WiFi scanning is not currently supported on Apple Products.

##Common QrCode Usage

You can use a prefix found in the table below inside the generate section to create a QrCode to store more advanced information:

QrCode::generate('http://www.simplesoftware.io');

Usage	Prefix	Example
Website URL	http://	http://www.simplesoftware.io
Secured URL	https://	https://www.simplesoftware.io
E-mail Address	mailto:	mailto:support@simplesoftware.io
Phone Number	tel:	tel:555-555-5555
Text (SMS)	sms:	sms:555-555-5555
Text (SMS) With Pretyped Message	sms:	sms::I am a pretyped message
Text (SMS) With Pretyped Message and Number	sms:	sms:555-555-5555:I am a pretyped message
Geo Address	geo:	geo:-78.400364,-85.916993
MeCard	mecard:	MECARD:Simple, Software;Some Address, Somewhere, 20430;TEL:555-555-5555;EMAIL:support@simplesoftware.io;
VCard	BEGIN:VCARD	See Examples
Wifi	wifi:	wifi:WEP/WPA;SSID;PSK;Hidden(True/False)

##Usage Outside of Laravel

You may use this package outside of Laravel by instantiating a new BaconQrCodeGenerator class.

use SimpleSoftwareIO\QrCode\BaconQrCodeGenerator;

$qrcode = new BaconQrCodeGenerator;
$qrcode->size(500)->generate('Make a qrcode without Laravel!');