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This library uses the zxing library, which provides a simple API to create QR codes.
== Creating QR Codes with Kotlin or Java
The entry point for this library is the QrCodeFactory
,
which will give you an instance of the QrCodeApi
to create a QR code as BufferedImage
.
This BufferedImage
can be configured by passing an instance of QrCodeConfig
and use for further image processing.
Examples for Java or Kotlin can be found in the https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo/blob/main/java-sample/src/main/java/io/github/simonscholz/Main.java[`java-sample] or https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo/blob/main/kotlin-sample/src/main/kotlin/io/github/simonscholz/Main.kt[
kotlin-sample`] module.
The qr-code-app project makes it even easier to create QR codes with this library.
image::./docs/qr-code-app-ui.png[]
Just run the qr-code-app
project and create your QR code with a nice UI.
Or download the appropriate distribution from the https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo/releases[releases section].
More details about the application can be found https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo#qr-code-app[here]
The app you can also generate the code for you, so you can just copy and paste it into your project.
== Quickstart
=== Gradle
Getting a released version:
Using the snapshot version:
repositories { mavenCentral() maven( url = "https://s01.oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/" ) }
=== Maven
== kotlin
import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeFactory.createQrCodeApi import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.DEFAULT_IMG_SIZE import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeConfig import java.awt.image.BufferedImage import java.io.File import javax.imageio.ImageIO
// extension function to write a BufferedImage to a file fun BufferedImage.toFile(file: File) { ImageIO.write(this, "png", file) }
For more advanced examples, please have a look at the https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo/blob/main/kotlin-sample/src/main/kotlin/io/github/simonscholz/Main.kt[`kotlin-sample` module].
== java
import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeApi; import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeConfig; import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeFactory; import javax.imageio.ImageIO; import java.io.File;
import static io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeConfigKt.DEFAULT_IMG_SIZE;
For more advanced examples, please have a look at the https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo/blob/main/java-sample/src/main/java/io/github/simonscholz/Main.java[`java-sample` module].
== SVG QR codes
This project has a new module called qr-code-svg
, which will be available beginning with version 0.4.0.
Under the hood https://xmlgraphics.apache.org/batik/[Apache Batik] is being used to create SVG files.
The API is pretty similar to what you already know from the regular examples.
The only difference is the QrSvgLogoConfig
class for configuring the logo,
because it adds the opportunity to make use of a SVG image as logo besides using an java.awt.Image
or base64 encoded image.
=== SVG code examples
==== Java
import io.github.simonscholz.svg.QrCodeSvgConfig; import io.github.simonscholz.svg.QrCodeSvgFactory;
import javax.xml.transform.TransformerException; import javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory; import javax.xml.transform.dom.DOMSource; import javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamResult; import java.io.File;
==== Kotlin
import io.github.simonscholz.svg.QrCodeSvgConfig import io.github.simonscholz.svg.QrCodeSvgFactory import org.w3c.dom.Document import java.io.File import javax.xml.transform.TransformerFactory import javax.xml.transform.dom.DOMSource import javax.xml.transform.stream.StreamResult
fun main() { val svgConfig = QrCodeSvgConfig.Builder("https://simonscholz.dev/").build() val qrCodeSvg = QrCodeSvgFactory.createQrCodeApi().createQrCodeSvg(svgConfig) qrCodeSvg.toFile(File("svg-qr-code.svg")) }
=== Generate SVG code
The really neat thing here again is that you can simply launch the qr-code-app application and generate respective Java or Kotlin code for SVG image creation.
=== Caveats with logos for the SVG QR code
As mentioned earlier for SVG images you can use a org.w3c.dom.Document
besides an java.awt.Image
or base64 encoded String
.
But all options come with downsides. When using a org.w3c.dom.Document
svg logo image the shape cannot be adjusted
and the logo SVG is pasted in the center as is.
Whereas the java.awt.Imageor base64 encoded
String` remain raster images, which won´t look good when scaling the SVG image,
which is one of the main benefits of using SVG images.
== Example QR codes
All the examples you can see here are implemented in the java-sample
and kotlin-sample
modules.
The qr-code-app
project makes it even easier to create QR codes with this library,
because it offers a UI to create QR codes and also offers a UI for the QR code design.
It can even generate the code for you, so you can just copy and paste it into your project.
=== Shapes
Using the defaults only:
image::./docs/qr-with-defaults.png[]
Adding a center logo:
image::./docs/qr-with-logo.png[]
Adding a border:
image::./docs/qr-with-logo-and-border.png[]
Adding radius to positional squares:
image::./docs/qr-with-logo-and-border-and-p-border-round.png[]
Having circles as positional "squares":
image::./docs/qr-with-logo-and-border-and-p-border-circle.png[]
=== Colors
Add some decent red color:
image::./docs/decent-red-color.png[]
Make it look like a Minecraft Creeper QR code:
image::./docs/minecraft-creeper-color.png[]
Make the QR code transparent and draw it onto a background image:
image::./docs/transparent-color.png[]
To see what's possible with colors, have a look at the rainbow example in the bad examples below.
=== Custom dot shapes
The library comes with some predefined dot shapes, but you can also create your own dot shapes.
Predefined dot shapes of the library:
QrCodeDotShape.SQUARE
QrCodeDotShape.ROUNDED_SQUARE
QrCodeDotShape.CIRCLE
QrCodeDotShape.HEXAGON
QrCodeDotShape.TRIANGLE
QrCodeDotShape.HEART
QrCodeDotShape.HOUSE
QrCodeDotShape.STAR
QrCodeDotShape.DIAMOND
QrCodeDotShape.CROSS
QrCodeDotShape.SMILEY
The app and samples show how to use these predefined dot shapes or create your own dot shapes.
image::./docs/dots/star.png[]
image::./docs/dots/heart.png[]
If you want to see more examples, just run the sample code or the app.
The following example shows how to use the predefined dot shapes:
import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeConfig import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeDotShape import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeFactory import java.awt.Color import java.awt.Graphics2D import java.io.File import java.nio.file.Files import java.nio.file.Paths import javax.imageio.ImageIO
fun main() { val path = Paths.get(System.getProperty("user.home"), "qr-code-samples") Files.createDirectories(path) val qrCodeDir = path.toAbsolutePath().toString() val qrCodeApi = QrCodeFactory.createQrCodeApi()
The following example shows how to create a custom dot shape:
import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeConfig import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeDotShape import io.github.simonscholz.qrcode.QrCodeFactory import java.awt.Color import java.awt.Graphics2D import java.io.File import java.nio.file.Files import java.nio.file.Paths import javax.imageio.ImageIO
fun main() { val path = Paths.get(System.getProperty("user.home"), "qr-code-samples") Files.createDirectories(path) val qrCodeDir = path.toAbsolutePath().toString() val qrCodeApi = QrCodeFactory.createQrCodeApi() QrCodeConfig.Builder("https://simonscholz.dev/") .qrCodeDotStyler(::drawSmiley) .qrCodeSize(800) .build() .run { qrCodeApi.createQrCodeImage(this) .toFile(File(qrCodeDir, "/qr-with-SMILEY-dots-kotlin.png")) }
private fun drawSmiley(x: Int, y: Int, dotSize: Int, graphics: Graphics2D) { drawDotImage(x, y, dotSize, graphics, "smiley_fill.png") }
Besides just drawing a logo with the Graphics2D
object, you can also draw whatever you want.
For more advanced examples and Java usage, please have a look at the kotlin-sample
or java-sample
modules.
=== Types
In order to create certain types of QR codes, you can may want to use the following utils.
Please see https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo/blob/main/kotlin-sample/src/main/kotlin/io/github/simonscholz/QrCodeTypesMain.kt[`kotlin-samplemodule] or https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo/blob/main/java-sample/src/main/java/io/github/simonscholz/QrCodeTypesMain.java[
java-sample` module] to use these types and run the samples.
==== Simple types
String url = SimpleTypes.url("https://simonscholz.dev/");
String geolocation = SimpleTypes.geolocation(53.59659752940634, 10.006589989354053);
String email = SimpleTypes.email("simon@example.com", "Hello World", "This is a test email");
String phoneNumber = SimpleTypes.phoneNumber("+49 176 12345678");
String sms = SimpleTypes.sms("+49 176 12345678", "Hello, this is a test SMS");
These String values can be used to create a QR code.
Simple url:
image::./docs/types/simple-url.png[]
Simple geolocation:
image::./docs/types/simple-geolocation.png[]
Simple email:
image::./docs/types/simple-email.png[]
Simple phoneNumber:
image::./docs/types/simple-phoneNumber.png[]
Simple sms:
==== More complex types
VEVENT type:
LocalDateTime startDateTime = LocalDateTime.now().plusWeeks(2);
VEvent vevent = new VEvent.Builder("QR Codes with Kotlin & Java")
.location("Java User Group Hamburg")
.startDate(startDateTime)
.endDate(startDateTime.plusHours(2))
.description("Let's create QR Codes with Kotlin & Java")
.build();
String vEventQrCodeText = vevent.toVEventQrCodeText();
The vEventQrCodeText
can then be used to create a QR code.
VCARD type:
VCard vCard = new VCard.Builder("Simon Scholz")
.email("simon@example.com")
.address("Main Street 1", "Hamburg", "22855")
.organization("Self Employed")
.phoneNumber("+49 176 12345678")
.website("https://simonscholz.dev/")
.build();
String vCardQrCodeText = vCard.toVCardQrCodeText();
The vCardQrCodeText
can then be used to create a QR code.
== Base64 encoded qr code image and logo
The logo image can be added as file or as Base64 encoded string.
The qr code image can also be returned as Base64 encoded string.
Also the the qr-code-app application, which can also deal with Base64 encoded strings for the logo and the qr code image.
== Logo scaling
Scaling down the logo image in advance will improve the image quality of the logo.
But compare yourself:
Logo with 500x500px (Qr Code size=300px):
image::./docs/qr-with-logo-unscaled.png[]
Logo with 60x60px (Qr Code size=300px):
image::./docs/qr-with-logo-scaled.png[]
NOTE: I chose 60x60px, because the default logo relative size is 0.2, which means 20% of the QR code size, which is 60x60px when having a 300x300px qr code (300*0.2=60).
The reason for this is the fact that the scaling capabilities of awt are not that good.
So you should either scale the logo manually or use the following beforehand:
== Bad examples
Not having enough contrast:
image::./docs/not-enough-contrast.png[]
The rainbow QR code to depict what's possible:
image::./docs/rainbow-color.png[]
These are bad examples, because the colors are not contrasting enough.
So please be cautious when changing the colors! Not having enough contrast may cause that qr code scanners are not capable to read the qr code! If you try to scan the bad exmaple qr codes from above, you will see that it's not working.
== Qr Code App
The qr-code-app
project is a simple Swing application, which uses this library to create QR codes.
=== Features
Feel free to ask for new features or create a pull request if you want to add more features.
=== Config of the UI
The latest config is stored in the operating systems app data directory (~/.config/qr-code-app or C:\AppData\qr-code-app) when closing the application. On startup of the application this config is loaded and used to create a QR code.
=== Sharing the config
The config can be shared with others by saving it via File > Export Config
or CTRL+E
shortcut to a file and sending it to others.
Others can then load the config via File > Import Config
or CTRL+I
shortcut.
The good thing is that also the logo image is stored in the config file, so you don't have to send the logo image separately.
This is archived by converting the logo image to a Base64 encoded string.
=== Running the app
Either start it from your IDE or use Gradle to run it:
=== Downloading the app (without Java)
The https://github.com/SimonScholz/qr-code-with-logo/releases[releases section] offers distributions for different operating systems,
which consists of a qr-code-app
and qr-code-app.bat
file in the /bin
folder, which can be executed directly.
(does not require Java to be installed on your system)
== Support for other image formats
You can make use of the following project to also create different image formats: https://github.com/haraldk/TwelveMonkeys This works because image io is highly extensible via SPI implementations.
Therefore you can also pass an imageFormatName
to the creation of a base64 image:
== Useful sources
== Acknowledgements
Thank you so much @lome for providing this awesome code at https://github.com/lome/niceqr, where I gained a lot of ideas and adopted some parts of the code.
== License
This library is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.
== Contributing
Thank you for considering contributing to this project! Whether it's reporting bugs, suggesting enhancements, or submitting code changes, your contributions are greatly appreciated.
To get started, please follow these guidelines:
. Fork the repository and clone it to your local machine.
. Create a new branch for your feature or bug fix.
. Run ./gradlew installKtlintGitPrePushHook
to ensure that ktlint does not have issues with your code.
. Make your changes and ensure they adhere to the project's coding standards and guidelines.
. Test your changes thoroughly.
. Commit your changes with clear and descriptive messages.
. Push your branch to your fork of the repository.
. Submit a pull request, clearly describing the changes you've made.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to open an issue or reach out to me.
Again, thank you for your contributions!