QR Code (Event)
For invitations and posters scanned with phones: ML Kit documents calendar events for QR codes.
Create QR Code (Event) ›Used by 700,000+ people
Free event QR code generator.
An event QR code holds one appointment as iCalendar text: title, venue, start, end and description. Enter the details, then print the code on your invitation.
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How to create an event QR code
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01
Enter the event in venue time
Type title, location, start and end as clock time at the venue. Without an end date, the event lasts zero minutes.
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02
Set 300 dpi and place at 100%
Under Settings, choose 300 dpi and a module width of 5 pixels (0.423 mm), then download PNG. Place it at 100% and keep 1.7 mm clear around it: the image has no margin.
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03
Save a printed proof to two calendars
Scan it with an iPhone and an Android phone, save the event and compare it with the invitation.
What an event QR code stores
An event QR code, or calendar QR code, stores one appointment as an iCalendar VEVENT block (RFC 5545). Reader apps that recognise it can offer to add the event to the phone calendar. If the event moves, the printed code keeps the old date.
On invitations, course confirmations and service letters
On a trade-fair invitation, the code holds a booth appointment or the time of a product talk, so visitors file it before they travel. A training confirmation carries course title, room and both times.
For service work, the code on an appointment letter holds the technician's next visit. Schedules that may still change are a poor fit: the code keeps one date, while a plain QR Code can link to a page you update.
No typing for the visitor, and 19 mm on paper
Title, venue and times arrive as separate fields. Apps built on Google's ML Kit receive them from QR Code events; ZXing's open-source Barcode Scanner app fills in a new-event screen.
The 116-character sample needs 37 × 37 modules: 15.66 mm at 0.423 mm per module, 19.05 mm with the 4-module quiet zone. That is 5 printer dots per module at 300 dpi; DENSO WAVE recommends at least 4.
A code per course date: formats and automation
Signed out, you download one event code at a time as PNG, GIF or JPG; SVG vector output comes with a plan. After a free sign-in, a data sheet with one VEVENT text per row downloads all codes as one ZIP file.
TBarCode Office binds a QR Code to an Excel column in a Word mail merge, up to 255 characters per field. Barcode Studio exports a CSV list in one run; TBarCode API returns each code over HTTP.
Event QR code at a glance
- Symbology
- QR Code (Model 2); Data Matrix ECC 200
- Payload
- One VEVENT block (RFC 5545 §3.6.1)
- Character set
- UTF-8
- Error correction
- Level L (QR Code)
- Size of the sample
- 37 × 37 modules (QR Code); 40 × 40 (Data Matrix)
- Quiet zone
- 4 modules (QR Code); 1 module (Data Matrix)
- Not supported
- All-day and recurring events, time zones, reminders
The VEVENT block, line by line
| Line | What it holds | RFC 5545 |
|---|---|---|
BEGIN:VEVENT | Start of the block | Required |
SUMMARY:Barcode Workshop | Title, one short line | Optional |
LOCATION:TEC-IT Steyr | Venue, such as a meeting room | Optional |
DTSTART:20261119T090000 | Start (inclusive) | Required without METHOD |
DTEND:20261119T120000 | End (exclusive), after the start | Optional |
END:VEVENT | End of the block | Required |
ZXing lists such a bare block for calendar events. An .ics file adds a VCALENDAR frame, and RFC 5545 requires UID and DTSTAMP in every event; the generator writes neither.
A DESCRIPTION line, if filled in, follows the title. Lines end with a line feed, not CRLF. Line breaks typed in the description become \n; commas and semicolons stay unescaped, though the RFC requires a backslash before them.
Clock time without a time zone
The generator writes floating time: in RFC 5545, the same clock time in every time zone. A fixed moment needs UTC (19980119T070000Z) or a TZID zone reference, which the generator does not write.
ZXing ties a floating time to the phone's zone at scanning. RFC 5545 warns that attendees in different zones may then join at different actual times, which matters for webinars.
The end must come after the start, which the generator does not check. All-day entries need a date without a time, which the generator does not write: enter opening hours.
When another code fits better
QR Code ›
Links to an event page that you can still change.
vCard QR code ›
Saves the organiser as a contact.
SMS QR code ›
Lets attendees confirm by text message.
Wi-Fi QR code ›
Brings attendees onto the venue network.
QR Code or Data Matrix for events
One form, two symbols.
Data Matrix (Event)
ECC 200 with a 1-module quiet zone: 17.78 mm for the sample at 0.423 mm per module (QR Code: 19.05 mm). For tested scanners and apps.
Create Data Matrix (Event) ›Frequently asked questions
Learn more about Event QR code.
Do event QR codes work on iPhone and Android?
Apple's and Google's camera apps scan QR Codes, but their guides do not cover calendar events. Apps built on Google's ML Kit get title, place and times as fields, and ZXing's Barcode Scanner offers Add to calendar. Test a printed proof on both.
Which time zone does a calendar QR code use?
None. The generator writes floating time: under RFC 5545, the same clock time in any time zone, read in the attendee's own zone. Enter the local time at the venue, and for an online event add the time zone to the description.
Can an event QR code include a reminder?
Not from this generator. RFC 5545 puts reminders into a VALARM component inside the event, and the generator writes none, so the code carries no alert time. Set the reminder in the calendar app after saving the event.
Can I create a recurring event?
No. RFC 5545 repeats events with an RRULE line, which the generator does not write; each code holds one date. For a course series, print one code per date, for example from a data sheet with one VEVENT text per row.
More resources
Guide
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