How To Generate, Scan, And Read QR Codes In Bubble.io (Complete Guide)

29th of August, 2024

In this guide, you will learn everything you need to know about working with QR codes in Bubble.io. This comprehensive tutorial will cover how to generate a QR code, scan a QR code, and build features on top of that. As an example, you will create a ticketing platform that generates a QR code when someone purchases a ticket and includes a feature that allows the scanning of the QR code when the attendee arrives at the event.

1. Setting Up the Bubble Editor

Creating the Checklist

For this tutorial, a checklist of all the items needed for the build has been created. This helps in keeping track of progress throughout the process. The checklist is made using Notion, which allows the creation of actionable checklists. Each time an item is added to the app, it can be checked off to track the progress of the build. 

Use Case: Ticketing Website for Concerts

The specific use case in this tutorial is to create a ticketing website focused on concerts. The platform will allow someone to purchase a ticket to a concert, generating a unique QR barcode for their ticket. Additionally, a feature will be created to scan the QR code at the event to validate that the ticket is genuine.

2. Database Setup

Data Types and Fields

1. User Data Type: 

• Includes fields like the user’s name, profile photo, and a field to determine if they are an admin. This admin field is a yes/no type with a default value of no. This setup ensures that only admins can access the QR code scanning feature, which will be useful for security personnel at the event.

2. Concert Data Type: 

• Contains basic details such as the artist, ticket cost, date, featured image, and venue.

3. Ticket Data Type: 

• Stores details about the attendee (linked to the user data type), the concert (linked to the concert data type), and the QR image (set as an image type field). It also includes a field named ‘used’, which determines if the ticket has been used (a yes/no type with a default value of no).

Design Tab Overview

On the main page, a repeating group is used to display a list of concerts from the database. Each concert’s featured image, artist details, date, venue, and price are displayed within the group. A “Buy Ticket” button is also included, which, when clicked, creates a new ticket in the database and generates a QR code for that ticket.

3. Generating a QR Code

Installing the Barcode and QR Code Generator Plugin

To generate a QR code, you will first need to install a free plugin. Open the plugin library and search for the “Barcode and QR Code Generator” plugin. After installing it, you can find the plugin’s visual elements under your design tab.

Adding the QR Code Generator Element

1. Add the “Manual QR Code Generator” element to the repeating group in the design tab. This element is linked to a specific ticket and is used to generate a QR code when a ticket is purchased.
2. Adjust the background style of this element to a flat color (e.g., light red) to make it visible on the page. However, the element does not need to be visible to users, so it can be minimized to 1 pixel by 1 pixel in size.
3. The QR code generation is triggered when the “Buy Ticket” button is clicked. The workflow creates a new ticket in the database and generates a QR code, storing the unique ID of the ticket within the QR code.

Linking the QR Code to the Ticket

Once the QR code is generated, a separate workflow is triggered to save the QR code information to the ticket. This involves performing a database search for the ticket, updating its QR image field with the generated QR code’s image URL, and saving the QR code to the ticket page.

4. Displaying the QR Code on the Ticket Page

A dedicated ticket page is set up with mobile device dimensions. This page displays the ticket holder’s profile photo, name, concert artist, venue, date, and the QR code image. After purchasing a ticket, the user is redirected to this page, where they can view their ticket and QR code.

5. Scanning the QR Code

Installing the QR Code Scanner Plugin

To enable QR code scanning, install the “QR Code Scanner” plugin from the plugin library. This free plugin allows for the scanning of QR codes within the Bubble.io app.

Setting Up the Concert Dashboard

A dedicated page, named “Concert Dashboard,” is created for security personnel to scan tickets at the event. The page includes the QR code scanner element and a button that triggers the QR code scanner when clicked. This setup allows the scanning of QR codes and marking tickets as attended in the database.

6. Conclusion

By following this guide, you have learned how to generate, scan, and read QR codes within Bubble.io. The ticketing platform created in this tutorial can be used for various events, ensuring a secure and efficient check-in process with QR code validation.