Calendar Event QR Code Generator
An event QR code carries the event itself: title, start and end time, place and a short description. Instead of copying details from a poster, guests scan and save the event to their calendar. There is no web page in between, so the code works offline and never goes stale on a server. It suits workshops, open days, webinars, parent evenings and weddings, where getting the date into someone's phone is the whole point. QRPebble checks that the end is after the start and escapes commas and semicolons so your text arrives intact.
Static code: the data is encoded directly, so it never expires and is not tracked. Need to change the link after printing or count scans? Create a free dynamic code.
How to make it
- Enter the Event title.
- Choose the Starts and Ends date and time; the end must be later than the start.
- Add a Location and Description if helpful; keep the description short.
- Download the code and test it on both an iPhone and an Android phone before printing.
What gets encoded
The code contains an iCalendar VEVENT block: BEGIN:VEVENT, SUMMARY, DTSTART, DTEND, optional LOCATION and DESCRIPTION, then END:VEVENT. Times are written as floating local time, e.g. 20261001T183000, with no time zone attached, so a phone shows the event at that clock time wherever it is. That is right for in-person events but not for online events with attendees across time zones. Support for adding VEVENT codes to a calendar varies between camera apps and scanner apps, so test on the phones your audience uses.
Where people use it
- Workshop and class posters
- Save-the-date cards
- School and community notice boards
- Trade-show booth signage for a scheduled demo
Tips before you print
- For a cross-time-zone webinar, link to a calendar invite page with a URL code instead, because this code uses floating time.
- Long descriptions make the code dense; put the agenda on a web page and keep one line here.
- Print the date and time as text next to the code for people whose scanner doesn't offer 'add to calendar'.
- If the date could still move, use a dynamic URL code pointing to an event page instead.
FAQ
Will this work on iPhone?
Many recent iPhones recognise calendar event codes, but behaviour depends on iOS version and the scanning app, so test on a real device.
Which time zone does the event use?
None. It's stored as floating local time, so the phone shows the clock time you entered wherever the viewer is.
Can I update the event after printing?
No. The details are fixed in the pattern. For events that may change, link a dynamic code to an event page.