Static codes are pictures of a destination. Dynamic codes are pictures of a ShareKit address you can retarget. This page is for choosing which one you are printing, then making it. The old /qrcodegenerator address redirects here.
The tool encodes what you type and downloads PNG or SVG in the browser. It also checks locally whether the result still scans. That check is not a print test.
Static code versus a code you can update
| Static generator | Dynamic file or short link | |
|---|---|---|
| What is inside the image | The URL, text, email, phone, SMS, Wi-Fi, or vCard you typed | A ShareKit /q/… address |
| Change the destination later | Print a new image | Replace the file (up to 5 times) or edit the short-link URL in Settings → Links |
| Scan tracking | None. The phone reads the image and never contacts ShareKit. | A counter on the upload, or a per-code count on the link |
| Best for | Wi-Fi cards, a vCard, a URL that will never move | Menus, schedules, and packaging that will be revised |
Signed-in short links are stored without an automatic expiry. Guest short links are refused after 7 days. A file behind a dynamic code stores 7 days as a guest, 30 days on an account, or at least a year if you buy Keep One File. The public file page stays up until you delete it.
Example: a restaurant table tent
The tent should open today’s menu, not a photo of last month’s menu. Upload the PDF while signed in, and print the QR from that upload — it encodes /q/slug, not the raw PDF address. A diner’s camera hits ShareKit, the scan count goes up, and the phone lands on the share page where the PDF previews. Next month you replace the PDF on that same upload. The tent stays. A static code from the generator on this page would have baked in whatever URL you typed; after a menu change you would reprint every tent. Styled colors and a logo, if you need them on the tent, are a separate step in QR design.
Print size and scan distance
- File QR PNGs are 512 pixels with a one-module quiet zone from the generator library. Do not crop to the black modules.
- Styled codes from QR design use error correction level H and a three-module quiet zone. A center logo is limited so it stays inside what level H can tolerate (about 22% of the code).
- For a table tent, print the code at least about 2 cm (0.8 in) on the short side. Further away — a poster across a lobby — print larger. A rule of thumb used by printers is scan distance ≈ 10 × the code width. It is a rule of thumb, not a measurement ShareKit performs.
- Prefer SVG when the printer will scale the artwork. PNG is the practical file for a slide or a chat message. Test with an iPhone and an Android phone under the room’s actual light.
Where the scan numbers show up
- File codes: the public share page shows views, downloads, and QR scans. The owner sees the same QR total in Settings → Uploads. One scan of
/q/slugusually also opens the page, so it becomes a view too. Do not add them. - Short-link codes: Settings → Links lists each QR and its own scan count. Create more than one code if you need the tent and the window poster counted apart.
- Static codes from the tool on this page: nowhere. There is no request to log.
Steps when the destination must survive a reprint
- If the target is a file, upload it on an account so you can replace it later.
- Print the dynamic QR, not a static export of the current file URL.
- Read scans on the share page or under Settings → Links, depending on which object you created.
Printed codes in the field
- Restaurant menu QR — the table-tent case in more detail.
- Update a printed menu QR code — how to tell whether an existing code can be retargeted.
- A product manual behind a packaging code — the same idea on a box instead of a table.
Supported here: Static payloads: URL, text, email, phone, SMS, Wi-Fi, and vCard. Dynamic targets: an uploaded file or an editable short link.
Guest uploads store a 7-day expiry. Account uploads store a 30-day expiry. Keep One File ($4.99) moves that date out by at least a year for one file, its URL, and its QR code. When that date passes, the public page, download, and QR stop serving the file. Delete the upload sooner if it should go offline earlier. Guest short links are refused after 7 days. Uploads under 20MB cost no credits.
Questions about codes that outlive the artwork
If I edit a static QR image’s colors, can I also change where it goes later?
No. A static code from the generator on this page stores the destination inside the image. Changing the URL, Wi-Fi password, or vCard means exporting a new PNG or SVG and reprinting. ShareKit never sees the scan.
Where do I read scan counts for a file QR code?
On the public share page for that upload, and again in Settings → Uploads. The number is qrScans, incremented when someone opens /q/slug. It is not a list of people.
Where do I read scan counts for a short-link QR code?
Settings → Links shows each QR attached to the link and that code’s scan count. Editing the link destination does not change the printed image, because the image points at /q/{id}, not at the final URL.
What size should a restaurant table tent be printed at?
Leave the quiet zone intact and print the code at least about 2 cm wide for a phone at arm’s length. A common rule of thumb is that reliable scan distance is roughly ten times the printed width. Test the physical tent. ShareKit does not certify a distance.