VB.NET QR Code Generator generate, create 2D barcode QR Code images in Visual Basic .NET class. Download trial with tutorial for VB.NET barcode generate library SDK

VB.NET Barcode How-tos
PM > Install-Package OnBarcode.Barcode.Generator
VB.NET How to: Get Started
Data Encoding
Image & Color Setting
ASP.NET Framework
Windows Forms
2D Barcode in VB.NET
QR Code
Data Matrix
PDF417
1D Barcodes (23) in VB.NET
Code 39
Code 128
EAN-13
GS1-128
UPC-A

VB.NET QR Code Generator Library SDK

Integration & Developer Guide of QR Code Barcode Generation in VB.NET

Generate 2d barcode QR Code images in Visual Basic .NET with complete sample VB.NET source code

Generate, create QR Code and GS1 QR Code in Visual Basic .NET applications
Easy to install & integrate 2d barcode QR Code generation library SDK into VB.NET developments
Generate over 30 linear, 2d barcode images in VB.NET including VB.NET Data Matrix, VB.NET PDF417, VB.NET Code 39, VB.NET Code 128
Generate QR Code images in VB.NET class library
Create barcode QR Code in VB.NET ASP.NET web application, webform, webpage
Print QR Code barcode in VB.NET Windows Form project
Draw QR Code in SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) & Crystal Reports for .NET projects
Easy to encode QR Code images to jpeg, gif, png, tiff, bitmap files in VB.NET program

VB.NET QR Code Generator Introduction

QR Code, also known as Denso Barcode, QRCode, Quick Response Code, is a kind of 2D (two dimensional) barcode widely used today.

Using VB.NET QR Code Generator to create QR Code barcodes in VB.NET program is a simple and easy job. VB.NET QR Code Generator control is easy to install with a single .NET Barcode generation control. It is easy to generate QR Code barcodes in VB.NET class with detailed VB.NET QR Code settings document and complete demo for QR Code generation in VB.NET provided in this article.

QR Code Generators

OnBarcode provides several QR Code Generator components and software, including QR Code Generator, QR Code .NET, QR Code Java, QR Code C#, QR Code in BIRT reports, QR Code in RDLC reports, QR Code in Crystal reports, QR Code ASP.NET.

Quick to create, print QR Code in VB.NET class

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It is an easy job to generate and print a QR Code in Visual Basic class using OnBarcode .NET Barcode Generator library.

Create a QRCode vb object
In property Data, enter the QR Code encoding data text
Call method drawBarcode() to create and print the QR Code to a PNG image file

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "https://www.onbarcode.com"
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-demo.png")

QR Code Data Encoding in VB.NET

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QR Code encoding character sets

QR Code supports encoding the following character sets:

Numbers (digits 0-9)
ASCII characters. standard 128 ASCII chars and extended chars
Unicode text
Binary data
Kanji characters. Kanji characters in QR Code can be compacted into 13 bits.

QR Code Data Mode

To encode QR Code data efficiently, QR Code will choose one or more data modes to encode data text.

QRCodeDataMode.Auto : The data modes will be automatically selected by VB.NET barcode library
QRCodeDataMode.Numeric : For numbers (digits 0 - 9)
QRCodeDataMode.AlphaNumeric : alphanumeric data (digits 0 - 9; upper case letters A -Z; nine other characters: space, $ % * + - . / : )
QRCodeDataMode.Byte : byte data (default: ISO/IEC 8859-1; or other sets as otherwise defined)
QRCodeDataMode.Kanjis : Kanji characters. Kanji characters in QR Code can be compacted into 13 bits.

qrcode.DataMode = QRCodeDataMode.Auto

QR Code maximum data size

Maximum data characters per QR Code symbol with QR Code Version (40) and error correction mode (L)

numeric data: 7,089 characters
alphanumeric data: 4,296 characters
byte data: 2,953 characters
Kanji data: 1,817 characters

QR Code Error Correction Mode (ECL)

QR Code ISO standard defines four levels of Reed-Solomon error correction (referred to as L, M, Q and H in increasing order of capacity). With ECL applied, you can recover the QR Code data when partial data is damaged.

L: 7% (default)
M: 15%
Q: 25%
H: 30%

Using VB.NET Barcode Generator library, you can apply the QR Code error correction mode using property ECL.

qrcode.ECL = QRCodeECL.M

How to generate QR Code with complex text and data format in VB.NET?

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Here we will explain how to encode QR Code with the following text formats in vb.net

Full 128 ASCII characters (including printing and non-printing chars)
Unicode text
GS1 data message
Binary data

Encode QR Code with ASCII characters

Full ASCII table characters include 128 chars, 95 printable characters and 33 control characters (non-printing chars). You can enter the printable chars (such as digits, letters) in the Data property. For non-printing chars, you need convert each char to it's ASCII int value in 3 digits string.

Enable property ProcessTilde to true
In property Data, each non-printing char will be converted to it's ASCII int value in 3 digits with "~" char in the beginning

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "ABC~013abc"
qrcode.ProcessTilde = True
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-data-ascii.png")

Encode QR Code with Unicode text

Enable property EncodeUnicodeText to true. Now you can create QR Code with unicode text encoded.
In property Data, enter the Unicode text directly

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "你好 in Chinese"
qrcode.EncodeUnicodeText = True
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-data-unicode-text.png")

Create GS1 QR Code

Set property FNC1 to FNC1.FNC1_1ST_POS. The vb.net barcode library will automatically insert the FNC1 char in the first postion in QR Code encoding data, which represents the printed QR Code is GS1 compatible QR Code.
In property Data, enter the GS1 business data message. Each AI code will be surrounded by "()"

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "(17)050101(10)ABC123"
qrcode.FNC1 = FNC1.FNC1_1ST_POS
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-data-gs1.png")

Encode QR Code with binary data

Enable property ProcessTilde to true
In property Data, each byte data will be converted to it's int value in 3 digits with "~" char in the beginning
Set property DataMode to QRCodeDataMode.Byte. Now the QR Code supports binary data encoding in vb.net class.

Dim message = "你好-hello-in-Chinese"
Dim bytes = Encoding.UTF8.GetBytes(message)
Dim bytesInSb = New StringBuilder()
For Each b In bytes
   bytesInSb.Append("~" + b.ToString().PadLeft(3, "0"))
Next

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = bytesInSb.ToString()
qrcode.ProcessTilde = True
qrcode.DataMode = QRCodeDataMode.Byte
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-data-binary.png")

QR Code Dimension Size in VB.NET

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QR Code image width & height

Customize QR Code width and height size through BarcodeWidth. By default, the QR Code image width and height are the same.

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "https://www.onbarcode.com"
qrcode.BarcodeWidth = 250
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-size-width-demo.png")

If you want to customize the QR Code bar module width (X) value, you need disable AutoResize. It's default value is true.

Disable property AutoResize to false
Set the QR Code image width in property BarcodeWidth, image height in property BarcodeHeight
Customize the QR Code bar module size through property X

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "https://www.onbarcode.com"
qrcode.AutoResize = False
qrcode.BarcodeWidth = 250
qrcode.BarcodeHeight = 250
qrcode.X = 8
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-size-module-x-demo.png")

QR Code Versions

The vb.net QR Code generator library will automatically choose the right QR Code version, according to the encoding data, error correction level configuration. You can also manually decide the QR Code version through property Version

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "https://www.onbarcode.com"
qrcode.BarcodeWidth = 250
qrcode.Version = QRCodeVersion.V5
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-qrcode-version.png")

QR Code Quiet Zones

You can customize the rendered QR Code quiet zone (margins) value through the following properties.

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "https://www.onbarcode.com"
qrcode.BarcodeWidth = 250
qrcode.LeftMargin = 30
qrcode.RightMargin = 30
qrcode.TopMargin = 30
qrcode.BottomMargin = 30
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-quiet-zones.png")

QR Code Color & Image Settings in VB.NET

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VB.NET QR Code generator library supports bar and space module color customization and various raster and vector image format outputs. You can view the details here:
How to print barcode with colors, image option settings in VB.NET?

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "https://www.onbarcode.com"
qrcode.ForeColor = Color.Red
qrcode.BackColor = Color.White
qrcode.OutputFileFormat = FileFormat.PNG
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-color-image.png")

How to print QR Code with logo image using VB.NET?

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You can insert a logo image on the printed QR Code using VB.NET QR Code generator library.

Set the property Logo with the inserted logo image in Bitmap object
Customize the logo image displaying width and height through property LogoActualSize

Dim qrcode = New QRCode()
qrcode.Data = "https://www.facebook.com"
qrcode.Logo = New Bitmap("C://Input//facebook_logo.png")
qrcode.LogoActualSize = New SizeF(90, 90)
qrcode.drawBarcode("C://Output//vb-net-qr-code-how-to-logo.png")

Create QR-Code Barcodes in VB.NET

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Creating QR-Code barcode in VB.NET class example:

   Imports OnBarcode.Barcode


   Dim barcode As QRCode = New QRCode
   
   ' QRCode Barcode Basic Settings
   
   '   QRCode Valid data char set:
   '         numeric data (digits 0 - 9);  
   '         alphanumeric data (digits 0 - 9; upper case letters A -Z;
   '         nine other characters: space, $ % * + - . / : );
   '         byte data (default: ISO/IEC 8859-1);
   '         Kanji(characters)
   barcode.Data = "112233445566"
   
   barcode.DataMode = QRCodeDataMode.Auto
   barcode.Version = QRCodeVersion.V1
   barcode.ECL = QRCodeECL.L
   
   '  Set the ProcessTilde property to true, if you want use the tilde character "~" 
   '  to specify special characters in the input data. Default is false.
   '
   '  1) 1-byte character: ~0dd/~1dd/~2dd (character value from 000 ~ 255);
   '       ASCII character '~' is presented by ~126;Strings from "~256" to "~299" are unused
   '       modified to FS, GS, RS and US respectively.
   '  2) 2-byte character (Unicode): ~6ddddd (character value from 00000 ~ 65535)
   '         Strings from "~665536" to "~699999" are unused
   '  3) for GS1 AI Code: 
   '         ~ai2: AI with 2 digits
   '         ~ai3: AI with 3 digits
   '         ~ai4: AI with 4 digits
   '         ~ai5: AI with 5 digits
   '         ~ai6: AI with 6 digits
   '         ~ai7: AI with 7 digits
   '  4) ECI: ~7dddddd (valid value of dddddd from 000000 to 999999)
   '  5) SJIS: from ~9ddddd (Shift JIS 0x8140 ~ 0x9FFC and 0xE040 ~ 0xEBBF)
   barcode.ProcessTilde = True
   
   ' Barcode Size Related Settings
   barcode.UOM = UnitOfMeasure.PIXEL
   barcode.X = 3
   barcode.LeftMargin = 0
   barcode.RightMargin = 0
   barcode.TopMargin = 0
   barcode.BottomMargin = 0
   barcode.Resolution = 96
   barcode.Rotate = Rotate.Rotate0
   
   ' Image format setting
   barcode.ImageFormat = System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Gif()
   
   barcode.drawBarcode("c://qr-code.gif")

Common Asked Questions

What does QR stand for in code?

QR stands for "quick response", and QR Code is a 2-dimensional matrix barcode on steroids. The QR code stores data information both horizontally and vertically. OnBarcode VB.NET Barcode Generator library supports QR Code generation in Visual Basic .NET class library, console, WinForms, WPF windows applications.

What is the smallest size a QR Code can be printed?

If your QR Code will be scanned by QR Code scanner devices, the minimum size for a QR Code is 1 x 1 cm. However if the QR Code will be scanned by smartphones (iOS or Android), most the barcode scanner app requires that the minimum size for a QR Code is 2 x 2 cm.

Using VB.NET QR Code Generator library, you can create and customize the printed QR Code dimension size through methods QRCode.setBarcodeWidth() in Visual Basic .NET class.

How to create a QR Code for a picture?

To create a QR code from a photo or an image in VB.NET project

Convert the photo image raw data into byte array
Create a QR Code object
Set the QR Code data mode in method setDataMode() with QRCode.M_BYTE as parameter
Set setProcessTilde() with value true
Set QR Code encoding data through method setData()
Print and output QR Code to an image file

Does the color of a QR Code matter?

Choose whatever colors you want but always make sure the back and fore colors have strong contrast. We suggest at least 70% darker to ensure reliable scanning, and always scan and verify your QR code to make sure it works using the colors you've chosen.

In VB.NET class, you can create and initiate a QRCode object to generate QR Code barcode images, and customize the QR Code bar color through method setForeColor(), and the QR Code background color through method setBackColor(), in VB.NET class QRCode

How much data can be stored in a QR code?

A standard QR Code can store up to three kilobytes (KB) of data. A QR Code symbol with version 40-L can hold the following data information:

numeric data: 7,089 characters
alphanumeric data: 4,296 characters
byte data: 2,953 characters
Kanji data: 1,817 characters

In VB.NET class, you can create and initiate a QRCode object to generate QR Code barcode images, and set the encode the data through method setData().

What is the difference between a barcode and a QR Code?

Barcode is usually known as 1d or linear barcode symbology, which can store limited number of characters. QR Code or Quick Response code, is a type of two-dimensional code that can hold more than 4,200 alphanumeric characters.

Using OnBarcode VB.NET Barcode Generator library, you can create QR Code (standard, GS1, Micro, Macro versions) and other 20+ 2d, 1d barcodes such as Code 128, Data Matrix, EAN/UPC barcodes in Visual Basic .NET class library, console, WinForms, WPF windows applications.

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