QR Factory 3

QR Factory 3 is a complete solution for generating QR codes, either individually or in batches. It is available for both macOS and iPadOS on the respective App Stores.

There's no cost to download it and has a 1 week trial to try everything out for free. All codes are generated on-device and belong to the user with no re-directing to ads or interference. To learn more about the handy features and professional options, see the homepage for QR Factory 3.

One of the most powerful features is that it can generate an unlimited number of QR codes in one batch. This can be three codes, ten codes, one hundred codes, or even 10,000 codes. All at once, with optional verification and/or saving to templates for printing to Avery or DYMO labels.

The following sections explain in detail how to setup and create a CSV file that QR Factory 3 uses to generate multiple codes in one batch.

Note: The documentation for the older QR Factory 2.x is also available here.

Before beginning to setup for generating multiple codes, there are two things that need to be done. The first is to make sure you have QR Factory 3 and it's open. The second is to ensure you have an app that's capable of editing spreadsheets - this is usually Numbers, or Microsoft Excel.

The reason that a spreadsheet app is used is that it makes it easy to format the data and then export it to a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file, which is the format QR Factory 3 reads to generate the multiple codes. The data is formatted in a grid system, with columns and rows. The columns are used for setting the options and information that will go into a QR code, and each row has all the necessary information for exactly one QR code.

The instructions in the following sections will apply to both macOS or iPadOS, so it doesn't matter which one is being used.

There are two choices for this tutorial, either start from a blank spreadsheet, or download the sample files and use them instead.

To start, we're going to create a blank spreadsheet, so go ahead and open either Numbers or Excel.

For Excel: Use the File menu and choose "New".
For Numbers: Use the File menu and choose "New…", then "Blank".

It will look something like this (the screenshots are from Excel, but it will be similar for Numbers):

Now that the spreadsheet is created and ready to fill in, it's time to add some data. There are two ways to add the data that QR Factory understands.

The first is to use columns, which is the easiest as well.

The second way is to use key-value pairs where all the content for a QR code goes into a special column labelled Content.

Note: Regardless of which method is used, the final CSV file must contain the Type column so QR Factory can properly determine which type of QR code to create for each row.

Now that we have an empty spreadsheet, let's go ahead and add a few columns that tell QR Factory what type of QR codes to create, what will be in them and what to name the generated files.

In this example, we will be adding in the necessary columns to create SMS (test message, URL and Text QR codes.

Each column needs to have its name in the first row (so row #1) so when QR Factory reads the file, it knows what the data is for. For a full list of all the possible columns to use, click here.

Add the following columns (the capitalization doesn't matter):

Type (what type of code the row will be)
Content (for code types that only text)
Number (specific for SMS codes)
Message (specific for SMS codes)
Filename (the name of the file that will be created)
FileType (which format to use, ex: PNG)

It will look like this once those have been added:

Next, we'll add a few rows of data, with each row representing all the data for one QR code. For the URL and Text types, the data goes into the Content column since it doesn't have any other optional parameters. For the SMS type, the data goes into the Number and Message columns.

As an alternative way to add the data to the spreadsheet, instead of using a column for each parameter, it's possible to use key-value pairs, such as "subject=Please sign documents". All the pairs are combined and separated by a semicolon. Here's an example of how an Email code content column/row could look like:

email=support@tunabelly.com;subject=Hello;body=Type your email here;cc=example@example.org;bcc=hidden@example.org

Note: If this format is used, then a semicolon cannot be used in the actual data or the parsing will fail.

Here are a few tips to help make it easier to setup and fill in the appropriate data.

Use a comma: If a comma is needed in the data, for example, say a company name like Tunabelly Software, Inc. then Excel or Numbers should wrap that row/column cell in quotes when the spreadsheet is exported to a CSV file. However if it doesn't, just add a quote at the beginning of the text in the cell and one at the end. For example, it would change

Tunabelly Software Inc. —> "Tunabelly Software Inc."

Use a quote: If a quote is needed in the data, again Excel or Numbers should escape the quotes, which changes each quote that's needed into a double quote, and also wrap the cell in quotes. For example, it would change

This is the "text" for a QR code —> "This is the ""text"" for a QR code"

• QR codes can be saved in RGB, CMYK or Grayscale color spaces using the ColorSpace column. Please note the only format that supports all three color spaces is TIFF, which is only available on macOS.
• Color values can be specified in one of three ways:
• Hex (web): In the format #RRGGBB
• RGB: In the format "rgb(R,G,B)", with the quotes since there are commas between the values. The RGB values should be between 0-255.
• CMYK: In the format "cmyk(C,M,Y,K), and also with the quotes. The CMYK value should be between 0-100.

The last step in getting the data organized is to export the spreadsheet to a CSV file. This type of file is plain text with each column and row separated by a comma. Here's how, depending on which app is being used:

Numbers: From the File menu, choose "Export To", then "CSV…".
Excel: From the File menu, choose "Save As", then set the format to "CSV UTF-8 (Comma delimited) (.csv)".

The resulting file should have a ".csv" extension and look similar to the following. It can also be clicked to download the CSV file to try out if needed.

We have a full assortment of sample files to use, which include already exported CSV files for all QR code types, using both columns or key-value pairs. It also includes an example with all the appearance related options such as colors, using text at the bottom, adding a logo, modifying the safe zone and more.

Download Sample Files

Now that the CSV file is finished, the fun part is to use it with QR Factory to generate the QR codes in one batch. The steps are the same for both platforms, although we'll be using macOS for most of the screenshots.

The first thing is to switch over to the Multiple Codes section in the app. Here's how:

The next steps are to choose which CSV file will be used and where the generated QR codes will be stored.

1. Choose the CSV file to use. In this example, we'll use the one created in the previous section. Note that it will only allow selecting a file that has the ".csv" extension.
2. Choose where the QR codes will be saved. This can be any folder. For this example, we'll choose a folder on the Desktop.
3. If any of the QR codes will have a logo in the middle, choose the folder where the logo images are stored. In this example, we're not using this feature.

Verify codes: Enable this to have a document generated showing the readability of each QR code.
Combine codes for printing to labels: Enable this to have all the QR codes arranged in specific patterns for printing them to Avery or DYMO labels.

It should now look like this, and the Start button will be enabled:

Click/tap the Start button and it will being generating the QR codes in one batch. Since this example only has three, it will be done almost as soon as it was started.

Once it's finished, check out the folder that was chosen in Step 2 and there will be three new files, just like this:

One feature that has been requested is to have each generated code tested to ensure they can be scanned properly (ex: a middle logo isn't obscuring too much of the code, the foreground and background colors aren't too similar, etc) with the summary in a PDF file. If this feature is needed, just turn on the checkbox/slider labeled Verify codes and generate results file.

Once the generation is finished, there will be a file in the same folder as the QR codes labelled Verification Result.pdf. Here's an example of what one looks like:

One other optional feature to enable is to have the QR codes laid out in a specific pattern so they can be printed directly onto Avery or DYMO labels. To enable this, turn on the checkbox/slider labelled Combine codes into PDF file for printing labels. Once this is enabled, new options will appear to the right to choose which model of labels will be used. Choose the correct options for label type and then generate the codes using the Start button.

Once it's finished, instead of having a file for each QR code generated, there will be a PDF containing the codes, in the exact same layout that's needed for printing to the labels. Here's an example of how it would look like:

The following details every single column that can be used to modify the appearance of a QR code, how it's stored, what type it is and what's contained inside it.

All of the columns can be used as key-value pairs instead, with the exception of Type and Content - those must be actual columns.

For columns that contain a color, there are multiple formats that define which color to use:

• Web (also known as hex) written as #RRGGBB where RR, GG and BB are the hex values for each colour channel. Ex: #FF0000 is pure red.
• RGB, written as rgb(R,G,B), where R, G and B are between 0-255. Example: rgb(0, 0, 255) is pure blue.
• CMYK, written as cmyk(C,Y,M,K) where C, Y, M and K are between 0-100. Example: cmyk(91, 11, 75, 19) is a shade of green.

There is only one column that is required, and that's the Type, which must be present so QR Factory knows which type of QR code to create for each row.

These columns are common to all QR code types and are used for changing the appearance or how the file is stored. They are all optional, with default values being used if they aren't used.

Parameters for how the center icon should look along with an optional border.

Parameters for how the text below the QR code should appear.

Parameters for how the optional safe zone around the QR code should appear.

The following sections describe the available columns for each QR code type. The type used is specified in the required column labeled Type.

Social profiles are a bit different because QR Factory doesn't know which services will be used, so there aren't any hardcoded column names. To add a social profile, use a column that starts with "SocialProfile" then add the service name. For example, to add a Twitter profile, the column name would be "SocialProfileTwitter", or for YouTube, it would be "SocialProfileYouTube".

For the value, the format is the full URL to the social profile, a vertical divider, then the username.

For example, the Tunabelly Software Twitter username is tunabelly, and the full URL to the account is https://twitter.com/tunabelly, so the value would be https://twitter.com/tunabelly|tunabelly

For another example, the Tunabelly Software YouTube username is @tunabellysoftware5670 and the full URL to the account is https://www.youtube.com/@tunabellysoftware5670, so the value would be https://www.youtube.com/@tunabellysoftware5670|@tunabellysoftware5670

SERVICE_NAME = The service name to use. For example: Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube, Vimeo, etc.
FULL_URL = The full URL to the social profile. For example: https://twitter.com/tunabelly
USERNAME = Just the username. For example: tunabelly