HOSTED FILE, EDITABLE AFTER PRINTING

PDF QR code generator

Upload a document and get a small, permanent code that opens it. Replace the file later without reprinting anything.

A PDF QR code stores a link to a hosted document, so a phone opens the PDF without anyone downloading it first.

Add the content

File nameUp to 20MB per file. Larger documents load slowly on mobile data — split or compress them first.

Style this code

Style this code — colour, shape, branding, frame and output

Colour & contrastThe ink, the paper behind it, and the three eyes. Every choice is contrast-checked as you make it.

Foreground

18.0:1 against the background — clears the 4.5:1 a camera wants margin on.

Background

Transparency0%

Eye colours

ShapeHow the squares are drawn. The three eyes are styled apart from the data, because a scanner finds the code by them.

Modules

Every shape here is decode-tested before it is offered. Shapes that lose the symbol — diamond, star, heart — are not on this list, however good they look.

Eye frame

Eye centre

BrandingYour mark on the code. Every picture here costs scanability — the notes say how much, and the preview is the truth.

Logo image

Upload a logo

PNG, JPEG or WebP, up to 2MB. The modules beneath it are cleared and error correction rises to cover the hole.

Background picture

Upload a picture

Sits behind the modules, quiet zone included. A busy picture is the classic reason a decorated code stops scanning — check the preview with a phone before printing.

Foreground texture

Upload a texture

Washes over the ink itself, so it is capped well below full strength — at full strength there is no code left to scan.

Frame & captionA border and a line of text around the code — the "scan me" that tells a passer-by what it is for.

Frame style

A frame is drawn outside the quiet zone, never into it — the canvas grows instead, so the border cannot cost the code its margin.

OutputWhat comes out of the download buttons, and what the symbol actually carries.

Options

PNG size

Margin4 modulesError correctionEncoding

Automatic picks the smallest encoding that carries your text, and is right almost always. The other three exist for older scanners that expect one specific encoding; each refuses text it cannot carry rather than mangling it. Encodings we cannot convert to correctly are not offered at all.The margin never goes below 4 — ISO/IEC 18004's minimum; smaller is not a QR code. A logo raises error correction to at least Q. Encoding is chosen by the encoder per symbol and shown in the readout — a manual charset menu only makes codes bigger.

Embedded data

https://qrrd.in/a8K92xThe exact text the symbol carries — what any scanner will read out.

Save this design — free account, the code stays editable →

Your code

v225×25 modulesbyteEC-M24/28mask 2

4/4 4 of 4 checks passHow we measure

No account · no watermark · no scan limits

The file is hosted, so the code stays small

A PDF cannot fit inside a QR code — what the code carries is a 22-character short link, which keeps it at version 2 and printable from about 16mm. The document itself sits in our storage behind a signed URL.

Can I replace the PDF without reprinting?

Menus, price lists and manuals change. Upload a new version and every printed code points at it immediately — no reprint, no new sticker. Previous versions stay in the history so you can roll back.

Consider a page instead of a PDF

On a phone, a PDF means pinch-zooming through a desktop-sized layout. For menus and brochures a hosted landing page reads far better, loads in under a second, and gives you block-level analytics. Use PDF when the document must stay exactly as designed — forms, certificates, spec sheets.

PDF QR code questions

What is the file size limit?

20MB per document. Compress image-heavy files first — a 15MB PDF is a slow open on a 4G connection.

Can I password-protect it?

Yes. Password, age gate and email capture are all available on the dynamic code in front of the file.

Does the code break if I delete the file?

The redirect keeps resolving — it shows your custom expiry page rather than a browser error. Under Continuity Mode the code itself never dies.

Is the document indexed by Google?

No. Hosted files are noindex by default; you can opt in per file.

Want to change it after it’s printed?

Make it a dynamic code: it carries a short link you can point somewhere new at any time, and it counts every scan. A free account includes 5 dynamic codes and needs no card — and a dynamic code keeps redirecting even if you never upgrade.

Make it dynamic, free How dynamic codes work