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The DMC vCard & MeCARD QR Code Generator (i.e. Business Cards for Geeks)

The DMC vCard & MeCARD QR Code Generator (i.e. Business Cards for Geeks)
Tim Jager
Tim Jager
03/22/2011
9 Comments

We are all getting new business cards at DMC, so we thought it would be fun to put QR codes on them to make it easier for our smartphone enabled customers to scan our info and add us to their contact database.

Thanks to Google it's pretty easy to make your own QR codes using their QR chart API . The only issue is that you have to properly format the data before sending it to google, especially if you want to all of your contact info in the proper vCard or MeCARD format. A little javascript and some googling was all it took to create the tool below. You can use it to create your own QR code business card. Just fill out the info and click the generate buttons.

Item Value Example
Prefix Mr.
First name John
Middle name T.
Last name Smith
Name suffix PHD
Job Title Project Manager
Organization: DMC Inc.
Division / Department: Engineering
Building / Suite / Suite 101
Street: 1333 N. Kingsbury
City: Chicago
State / Region: IL
Zip Code: 60642
Country: USA
Phone work: 312-255-8757
Fax work: 312-255-8758
Phone mobile: 312-255-8757
Email info@dmcinfo.com
Website URL: dmcinfo.com

Clicking this will populate the box below with properly formatted vCard text from the input boxes above.

Clicking this will populate the box below with properly formatted MeCARD text from the input boxes above.

Click on the Generate vCard or MeCARD button above or just type whatever you like into the text area below. You don't have to create a vCard. The QR code will be generated for whatever text is typed into the box below. If you want to create a QR code for a website address (like: http://www.google.com ), just type it in below and click the Generate QR Code button. Feel free to experiment with different sizes and error correction levels.

Error Correction Level

Image Pixel Size (width x height)

Image Not Generated - Check your settings!

This uses google's QR chart API to generate the QR codes. The vCard generator is all done on the client side in your browser using javascript in case you were wondering if we were logging your information. We are definitley not. I'm not sure about google though. Since the QR codes are created using a google chart function, the data gets sent to google and returns as an image of a QR code. I suppose they are storing the data, but let's face it, they probably already have your info anyway.

If you want to test your newly created QR code, you can right click on the image that was generated above and copy the image url to the clipboard and then go this this page: http://zxing.org/w/decode.jspx and paste it into their online QR Code reader. It will show you the raw and parsed text ecoded in the QR code image.

Enjoy!

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Comments

Clive
# Clive
Fantastic QR Code generator. I've tried about 20 and yours is the most comprehensive, easy to use and consistent. Profuse thanks for your great service.

To paraphrase the 'Most interesting man in the world', "I don't often use a QR Code generator, but when I do, I make sure it's DMC".
Johannes
# Johannes
Thanks for this service! Maybe you can further minimize the generated MeCard by omitting the telephone number information completely if no such information is given. My MeCard now contains "TEL:;TEL:;" although I haven't entered any telephone information at all. Cheers!
Michael
# Michael
I was just wondering if the browser information I log
goes through a google online ecode image chart, and then
stored into their QR code reader.
Cliff Harris
# Cliff Harris
I have been researching the MeCard format and found the web site of the company that invented it, NTT (Sorta like the AT&T of Japan) DoCoMo:

http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/service/developer/make/content/barcode/function/application/addressbook/index.html

Apparently you can have multiple telephone numbers (or other fields, like email addresses), but there is no way to differentiate between them, like work, home, cell, etc.

The address field has 7 parameters, but I've never seen more than 6 in an "American" MeCard. They don't correspond well with our address format:

PO box -- this one is ignored in the US, but should be comma delimited
Room number -- in the US they use this for Suite, Apt., etc.
House number -- we use the "normal" street address: 123 S. Main St.
City
Prefecture -- we use State here
ZIP
Country
Cliff Harris
# Cliff Harris
Lisa -- MeCard leaves out several things: FAX, name prefix (Mr. Ms., etc.), middle name/initial, name suffix (MD, Jr., etc.). It will put Title, Company and Department in a NOTE at the end. I don't know if that's a limitation of the MeCard format or the form/script used by this page.

David -- The iPhone Contacts app only understands vCard format. Same with Address Book on the Mac (Apple changed the name because it wouldn't fit on the iPhone screen). I'm about 99.99% sure that I will add a MeCard to vCard translator to my app to get around that problem.

My app creates a customized vCard that it displays on your iPhone. You can change any field anytime you want. It's called "QR vCard", available now on the app store.
Luis Cuneo
# Luis Cuneo
Thanks for providing the mecard generator. I just created my card - I plan to use more often
David
# David
OK but when i scan the result with my iPhone, it only opens Safari and nothing happens !
I would like to save the datas in Adress Book.
It's possible ?
Lisa
# Lisa
Though I have a Fax# plugged in, it's not showing up when I scan the QR code (MeCard) ?
Hjemmeside design
# Hjemmeside design
Super service - thanks for putting it out for us to use :-)

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