How to add a QR code to a Word document

How to insert a QR code in Word

This works in Word for Windows, Word for Mac and Microsoft 365, and gives you full control over how the code looks.

1. Make your code in a QR code generator. Choose Link for a web page, or Wi-Fi, contact card, email or another type.
2. Download it as PNG at a large size, or as SVG. Recent versions of Word, including Microsoft 365, accept SVG and keep it sharp at any size.
3. In Word, click where you want the code, then choose Insert, Pictures, This Device on Windows, or Insert, Pictures, Picture from File on a Mac.
4. Select the file. The code appears in your document.
5. Resize it by dragging a corner handle, so it stays square. Aim for at least 2 × 2 cm on paper.
6. Use Layout Options to choose In Line with Text, or Square if you want text to wrap around it.
7. Print a page, or export a PDF, and scan the code with your phone to check it.

Word's built-in QR code field

Desktop versions of Word can also draw a QR code with a field code called DISPLAYBARCODE. It is plain black and white, with no logo or styling, but it lives inside the document and can change with each record in a mail merge.

Press Ctrl+F9 on Windows, or Cmd+F9 on a Mac, to insert a pair of field braces. Inside them, type DISPLAYBARCODE, then your link in quotation marks, then QR, for example DISPLAYBARCODE "https://example.com" QR \q 3. The \q 3 switch sets the highest error correction. Right-click the field and choose Update Field, or Toggle Field Codes, to show the code.

In a mail merge, you can put a merge field inside the barcode field so every letter gets its own code. If you would rather have styled codes, the bulk generator turns a CSV into a ZIP of image files named after each row, ready to insert.

How to add a QR code to Google Docs

Google Docs has no QR code tool either. Insert the code as an image instead. Use PNG, because Google Docs does not accept SVG images.

1. Make the code and download it as a large PNG.
2. In your document, choose Insert, Image, Upload from computer, or drag the file into the page.
3. Click the image and choose In line, or Wrap text, from the bar that appears under it.
4. Drag a corner to resize it, keeping it at least 2 × 2 cm when printed.
5. Download the document as a PDF and scan the code from the PDF before sharing it.

How to add a QR code to PowerPoint

A QR code on a slide lets the audience open your link, feedback form or slides without typing anything. The steps are the same as in Word.

1. Download the code as SVG or a large PNG.
2. In PowerPoint, choose Insert, Pictures, This Device, or Picture from File on a Mac.
3. Resize it from a corner and place it on a plain, light part of the slide.
4. Make it large. People at the back of a room are several metres away, so the code needs to fill a good part of the slide's height.
5. Leave the slide up long enough for people to scan, and put the short link in text beside the code for anyone who cannot.

• Google Slides works the same way: Insert, Image, Upload from computer, using a PNG.
• Avoid animations that move or fade the code while people are trying to scan it.

Size and print tips for documents

• Print the code at least 2 × 2 cm, and bigger for anything read from further away.
• Keep a clear margin around it. Do not let text, borders or page edges touch the code.
• Do not put the code on a coloured shape or a watermark image. Dark on light scans best.
• Do not stretch it. Always resize from a corner.
• A blurry code usually means a small PNG was enlarged. Download a bigger size or use SVG.
• Low toner turns black codes grey. Check the printout before you hand out a stack of copies.

Keep the code working after you send the file

Once a QR code is in a Word file, it goes wherever the document goes: printed letters, PDFs, email attachments and shared drives. A code that expires would break every copy at once, so use a static code that stores the link itself. NeoReader codes are static, with no redirect, no expiry and no tracking of the people who scan.

It also helps to print the link as text near the code. Some readers will be on a computer, some use screen readers, and some simply prefer to type.