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A QR Code is a computed field. For each record it produces a downloadable QR image that encodes the value of another field on the same row, usually the record’s Short URL. You point it at a source field, optionally give it a caption field, and optionally choose a QR Style for its look. Terminus generates the image for you, you do not type anything into a QR Code field.

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When to use it

  • Print collateral (posters, flyers, packaging, signage) that should link back to a trackable short URL.
  • Anywhere a person scans instead of clicks, and you want scans and clicks to stay distinguishable in analytics.
  • Any time you want a ready-to-download QR image attached to a record without running a separate QR service.
Don’t use it for arbitrary strings unrelated to a record. A QR Code always encodes the resolved value of another field on the same row. To make a QR for a destination, add the destination as a field first (typically a Short URL) and point the QR Code at it.

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How it works

Each time the submission is saved, the QR Code recalculates from its source:
  1. It reads the value of the field set in source_field_id. If that value is blank, the QR Code stays empty.
  2. If the source is a Short URL field, it appends a ?qr marker to the URL before encoding it. That marker is what lets analytics tell a QR scan apart from a click on the same short link. See tracking.
  3. If label_field_id is set, it reads that field’s value to show as a caption beneath the image. The caption is not encoded into the QR payload, scanners still land on the source value.
  4. It produces the QR image, styled by the chosen QR Style (or your account default).
A QR Code field is read-only in the form and the grid. Where it appears, you get a “View QR code” button that opens a dialog to preview and download the image.

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Settings reference

SettingRequiredDefaultDescription
source_field_idYesNoneThe field whose resolved value is encoded into the QR image. Usually a Short URL field so scans stay separable from clicks. Cannot point at another QR Code or a Constant field.
label_field_idNoNoneOptional field whose value is shown as a caption underneath the image. Not part of the scanned payload.
qr_style_idNoAccount defaultOptional QR Style for the visual design. Omit it to follow the account default, which means the look updates automatically if an admin changes the default. Set it to pin a specific style that stays put even when the default changes.
A QR Code field has no prefix or suffix, and its size and image format are chosen at download time, not in these settings.

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Example

The qr_code field from the computed-fields tutorial, pointed at the campaign’s short URL: 
name: QR Code
type: qr_code
computed: true
settings:
  source_field_id: short_url   # the Short URL field on this row
For a record whose short URL resolves to https://ter.li/aB3xK9, the QR Code encodes https://ter.li/aB3xK9?qr. Someone who scans the printed code lands on the same shortener, but the ?qr marker records the visit as a scan rather than a click.

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QR Styles

The visual design of a QR image (dot and corner shapes, colors and gradients, a logo, an optional “SCAN ME” frame, and caption styling) comes from a QR Style. QR Styles are account-level and managed by account admins under Settings, so the same brand look can be reused across every QR Code field in your account. You do not design styles on the field. You only pick one in qr_style_id, or leave it blank to use the account default. Every account starts with a built-in default style, and there is always exactly one default. Admins can create more styles from a few starter templates and mark a different one as the default.

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Downloading a QR image

A QR Code field shows a “View QR code” button in the record grid and in the submission builder. The dialog lets you:
  • Pick a size: 300, 500, 1000, or 2000 px (with a hint for what each suits, from screen and email up to posters and billboards).
  • Pick a format: PNG, JPEG, SVG, or PDF.
  • Preview the image, then download it.
The preview and download use the field’s configured QR Style.

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Scan tracking

When the source is a Short URL, the encoded link carries a ?qr marker, so a scan is recorded as a scan, distinct from a click on the short link elsewhere. You can see scans and clicks separately in analytics. If you point a QR Code at a plain URL instead of a Short URL, the marker is not added and scans will not be separable from clicks.

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Gotchas

  • Point the source at a Short URL, not a plain URL. The ?qr scan marker is only added when the source is a Short URL field. A plain URL still works, but scans will not be distinguishable from clicks in analytics, and edits to that URL flow straight into the QR, which can leave already-printed codes pointing somewhere stale.
  • A blank source means a blank QR. If the source field has no value on a record, that record’s QR Code produces nothing. There is no error, just no image.
  • The caption is not scanned. label_field_id only sets the text printed beneath the image. Scanners still land on the source field’s value.
  • Style is chosen, not validated. qr_style_id references an account-level QR Style. Its existence is not checked when you save the field, so a style that no longer exists falls back to the account default rather than breaking. Previously printed or embedded QR images keep working even if their style is later deleted.
  • Size and format live on the download, not the field. You choose them in the View QR code dialog each time you download. The field settings hold only the source, caption, and style.
  • Short URL field: the usual source for a QR Code.
  • Analytics: where QR scans show up, tracked separately from link clicks.