Excel Barcode How-Tos

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Home > Barcode Excel Add-In > MS Excel Barcode Creating > Excel QR Code Barcode Generator Plug-In, also supports 1d barcode images generation

MS Excel Barcode Generator Add-In for QR Code

How to Generate Dynamic QR Code Barcode in MS Office Excel 365/2021/2019/2016

Generate one or more QR Code barcodes in Excel with few easy steps
Able to link cells with QR Code barcode images on Excel spreadsheet
Easy to adjust QR Code settings like error correction levels and symbol versions
Generated QR Code 2D barcode images are compatible with all printers
Capable of generating popular linear barcodes in Excel like Code 39, EAN-13
Support other major 2D barcode types, including PDF 417 and Data Matrix

Installation and Setup

Download and Install the Add-in

First, we need to get the Barcode Generator installed so Excel knows it exists.

Download: Click the top right button "Download Now" to get the free trial package.
Install: Run the downloaded exe file. Follow the simple on-screen instructions (usually just clicking "Next" a few times) to complete the installation.
Restart Excel: Close Microsoft Excel completely and then open it again. This ensures Excel recognizes the new add-in.

Locate and Open the Add-in Pane

Now, let's find the controls for our new tool.

Find the Tab: In Excel, look at the top ribbon menu. Click on the tab labeled "Add-ins" . (This is where Excel places all third-party tools).
Open the Pane: In the "Add-ins" tab, you will see a group named "BarcodeLib" . Inside that group, click the button that says "Create Barcode" .
Verify: A new panel should slide out and appear on the right side of your Excel window. It will be titled "Barcode Settings." If you see this, you are ready to go!

Creating Your First QR Code

Prepare Your Target Cell

In Excel, every piece of data lives in a cell. Our QR Code will also live in a cell, and it will represent the data from that cell.

Click on a single cell to select it. For this example, let's click on cell C4.
What happens: When we generate the code, it will encode the text that is currently in C4. If C4 is empty, the QR Code will be empty. If C4 contains the word "Hello," the QR Code will encode "Hello."

Configure Basic Settings

The "Barcode Settings" pane on the right is your control center. Let's set it up correctly.

Choose the Barcode Type: Look for the dropdown menu labeled "Barcode Type" . Click it and scroll down to select "QR Code / GS1 QR Code" . (GS1 is a specific standard for business data, but for now, just think of it as the standard QR Code option).
Adjust the Cell for the Image: Find the checkbox that says "Resize Covered Cell" and check it.

Generate the Code

You are now ready to create your first QR Code.

At the bottom of the "Barcode Settings" pane, click the blue Generate button.
A QR Code image should immediately appear in the cell you selected (C4). You can scan it with your phone to see if it reads the text that was in C4. Note: If you do not see a QR Code, double-check that you selected a cell before clicking "Generate." The add-in needs to know where to place the image.

Customize and update QR Code

Updating the Data (What if the text changes?)

Let's say you typed "Apples" in C4, but now you want the QR Code to say "Oranges." You don't need to delete and start over.

Select the Code: Click on the QR Code image in cell C4.
Change the Data: In the "Barcode Settings" pane, find the text box labeled "Data" . Delete the old text and type your new text (e.g., "Oranges").
Apply the Change: Click the Update button (located just below the "Data" box).
The QR Code in C4 will refresh and now encode the new word, "Oranges."

Resizing the Image (Adjusting the "Sticker" Size)

What if the QR Code is too big or too small for your document?

Select the Code: Click on the QR Code image you want to resize.
Find the Size Controls: In the "Barcode Settings" pane, click on the tab named "Barcode Size" (it's one of the tabs at the top of the pane).
Enter Dimensions: You will see boxes for "Image width" and "Image height" .
Important: A QR Code is always a perfect square. Therefore, you should type the same number in both boxes. For example, type 1.5 in both boxes.
Apply the New Size: Click the Update button again.
Your QR Code will now be a perfect 1.5-inch square (or whatever unit of measure you are using).

Working with Multiple QR Codes

For example, you have a list of 100 product links in column B (from B2 to B101) and you need a unique QR Code for each one in column C.

Preparation (The Template)

Create a "Smart" QR Code: First, you need one QR Code that knows how to pull data from another cell. Follow the steps in Phase 2 to create a QR Code in cell C2.
Link the Data: Instead of typing text into the "Data" box, type this formula: =LINK(B2) and then click Update.

This tells the QR Code in C2: "Don't use your own text. Go look at cell B2, take whatever text is there, and encode that." So now, the QR Code in C2 automatically encodes the product link from B2.

The Bulk QR Code Generation

Select the Template: Click once on your "smart" QR Code in cell C2 to select it. The "Barcode Settings" pane will show a message confirming this cell is the source.
Select the Target Range: Click and hold your mouse to drag downwards, selecting all the cells in column C where you want new QR Codes to appear. For this example, select the range C3 through C101.
Duplicate the Settings: In the "Barcode Settings" pane, look for and click the button labeled "Duplicate All" .
The add-in will instantly fill cells C3 to C101 with QR Codes. Each one will automatically encode the link from its neighbor in column B (C3 will encode B3, C4 will encode B4, and so on).

Note: If you get an error during duplication, it is often because the destination cells (C3, C4, etc.) are not wide or tall enough. Try widening column C a bit before using the "Duplicate All" function.

Keeping Your Barcodes Fresh: Handling Data Changes

Automatic Updates (The "Live" Connection)

If the "Barcode Settings" pane is open and you change the text in a linked cell (like B2), you will see the corresponding QR Code (in C2) update instantly. It happens automatically!

Manual Updates (The "Refresh" Button)

If you close the "Barcode Settings" pane, save your file, and then later change the data in column B, the QR Code images will look old and wrong.

Now you need manually update the QR Codes. Go back to the "Add-ins" tab and click "Create Barcode" to open the pane again. Once it's open, find and click the "Update All" button at the bottom of the pane. This forces Excel to re-check all linked data and redraw every QR Code correctly.

Understanding Key QR Code Settings

Here are some terms you will see in the "2D Barcode" tab. Understanding them helps you create better codes.

Data mode

AUTO (Recommended): Let the software decide the best way to pack your data.
BYTE: Use this if you have symbols or non-English letters (like "café" or Chinese characters). It's like using a bigger suitcase for bulky items.
NUMERIC: Best for packing long strings of numbers only (like 1234567890). It's very efficient.

Error correction

Think of this as a shield. A higher level (like H level, 30% recovery) makes the code more resistant to damage. You can put a logo over the center, or if the label gets a little dirty, the code will still scan. A lower level (like L level, 7% recovery) creates a cleaner, simpler code but is less forgiving.

Version

This refers to the size of the QR Code matrix (Version 1 is small, Version 40 is huge). If you have a lot of text to encode, you may need a higher version. It's best to leave this on "Auto" and let the software choose the right size for your data length.

How to Create GS1 Compatible QR Code Barcode

GS1 data can be encoded into QR Code. To create GS1 compatible QR Code barcodes, follow the steps below:

Barcode type should be QR Code
Under tab "2D Barcode" in property panel, check property "GS1 Compatible Barcode"
In barcode "Data" property, around AI code with "()", and followed by AI data, such as "(02)225(03)33344". Here "02", "03" are the AI code, "225", "33344" is the AI data.

How to Encode Non-printable Chars in QR Code

To encode non-printable chars (such as char 'TAB'), follow the steps:

Check property "Apply Tilde (~)"
Use 3-digits '~ddd' for non-printable chars. For example, ASCII char [GS] is non-printable, and its decimal value is 29. In barcode data, you need use ~029 for char [GS].

QR Code Barcode Property Settings

Set the Barcode Type property to QRCODE
Set the Data property with the value to encode. Type is string.
Set the Data mode property. Default is QRCodeEncoding.Auto.

AUTO: It allows encoding all 256 possible 8-bit byte values. This includes all ASCII characters value from 0 to 127 inclusive and provides for international character set support
AlphaNumeric: It allows encoding alphanumeric data (digits 0 - 9; upper case letters A -Z; nine other characters: space, $ % * + - . / : ).
Byte: It allows encoding byte data (default: ISO/IEC 8859-1).
Numeric: It allows encoding numeric data (digits 0 - 9).
Kanji: It allows encoding Kanji characters.

Set the Version property. Default is V1.
Set the Error correction level property. QRCode Error Correction Level. Default is L.

Check the GS1 Compatible Barcode property, if you need generate GS1 barcodes.
Check the Apply Tilde (~) property,, if you want use the tilde character "~" to specify special characters in the input data.

~1: is used to represent the FNC1 code.
~2: is used to represent the Structured Append and must be followed by a 3-digit number between 1 and 255.
~3: is used only at the very beginning of the symbol for the reader programming purpose.
~5: is used only at the very beginning of the symbol, the header [)> + ASCII 30 + ASCII 05 + ASCII 29 will be transmitted by the barcode reader before the data in the message and the trailer ASCII 30 + ASCII 4 will be transmitted afterwards.
~6: is used only at the very beginning of the symbol, the header [)> + ASCII 30 + ASCII 06 + ASCII 29 will be transmitted by the barcode reader before the data in the message and the trailer ASCII 30 + ASCII 4 will be transmitted afterwards.
~7NNNNNN: is used to specify the Extended Channel and NNNNNN is a value between 000000 and 999999.
~dNNN: is used to represent the ASCII character with the value of NNN.

Barcode Size Settings.

Set property Unit of Measure (Unit of Measure) for properties Bar Width, Margins.
Valid values are Pixel, CM, Inch.
Set the Image Width and Image Height properties.
Both types are float.
Set the Bar width (X) (for bar cell width) property.
The type is float.
Set the Left Margin, Right Margin, Top Margin and Bottom Margin properties.
Types are all float.
If the Auto Resize property is chacked, the generated barcode image width and height will be the same as property "Image width", and "Image hight", and it will generate the maximum Bar Width and Bar Hight.
Set the DPI property (Value is expressed in DPI - Dots per inch).
Type is int.

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