QR Code Editor
The QR code editor lets you customise the visual style of your handyout's QR code — dot style, corner style, card roundness, variant, and call-to-action text — then download it as a PNG.
Customising and sharing your QR code
Complete guide to the QR code editor workspace: top bar, design panel (including the new logo picker), stage canvas, and share-and-export inspector. Covers all visual design controls, logo options with upload/drag-and-drop, auto-save, publish/unpublish, and all three download formats. The QR card is considered live (downloads unlocked) whenever the handyout is published or has unpublished editor changes.
QR code editor
Open the QR code editor from a presentation's detail page — use the Edit QR code option in the more menu, or navigate there directly after publishing. The editor opens in a full-screen workspace with four distinct areas.
Top bar
The top bar runs across the full width of the workspace and gives you navigation and publishing controls without leaving the editor.
- Title area — shows "QR code" followed by the presentation title. The title is a link that takes you back to the presentation detail page.
- Save state — a small text indicator to the left of the action buttons reflects the current auto-save state:
| Text shown | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (blank) | No unsaved changes |
| Saving… | A save is in progress |
| Saved | The latest change is confirmed on the server |
| Couldn't save changes | A save failed — try adjusting a setting to retry |
- Open editor — navigates to the handyout editor for this presentation.
- Publish split button — lets you publish or unpublish the handyout directly from the QR editor. You do not have to return to the presentation detail page to make the handyout live.
Publish requirement
All download options and the copy-link action are locked until the handyout is published. While locked, the QR card in the stage preview is blurred and a notice appears at the top of the canvas.
The QR editor treats a handyout as published — and unlocks all controls — in two situations: when the handyout is actively live, and when it is live but has unpublished changes saved in the handyout editor (meaning the audience still sees the published version while you work on edits). Only handyouts that have never been published, or that have expired, keep the controls locked.
Design panel
The Design panel sits on the left side of the workspace (or scrolls below the canvas on narrow screens). Every change you make here updates the stage preview in real time and saves automatically after a brief pause — you never need to click a save button.
Call to action
A text field sets the message printed below the QR code on the card (for example, "Scan to follow along"). Leave it blank to use the default phrase. A Show on card label and toggle switch immediately below the field control whether the text appears on the card at all.
Dot style
Displays a grid of visual tile buttons, each showing a live QR code preview rendered in that dot shape. Select the one that matches your visual style.
| Option | Appearance |
|---|---|
| Square | Classic square modules |
| Rounded | Square modules with rounded corners |
| Dots | Circular dots |
| Classy | Asymmetric angular style |
| Classy rounded | Classy style with softened corners |
| Extra rounded | Maximally rounded dots |
Corner style
A tab-strip selector for the three large corner-finder squares of the QR pattern.
| Option |
|---|
| Square |
| Rounded |
| Dot |
Logo
Three tile buttons let you choose what appears in the centre of the QR code.
| Option | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Handyout | The Handyout app logo (default) |
| Your logo | Your own uploaded image |
| None | No logo — the QR pattern only |
Uploading your logo
Select the Your logo tile when no logo has been uploaded yet to open the file picker. Alternatively, drag and drop an image file directly onto the Logo section — the area highlights when you drag over it.
Accepted formats: PNG, JPG, or WebP, up to 4 MB. Square images with a transparent background work best.
Once a logo is uploaded, two buttons appear below the tile group:
- Replace — opens the file picker again to swap the image.
- Remove — deletes the logo. The logo mode reverts to the default after removal.
If your logo fails to load after uploading, a red notice appears: "Your logo couldn't be loaded. Downloads are paused until it loads." In this state, PNG, SVG, and For-slides downloads are temporarily unavailable. Try replacing the logo to resolve it.
Logo error guidance
| Error message | Cause | Resolution |
|---|---|---|
| The logo is larger than 4 MB | File exceeds the size limit | Use a smaller file |
| Use a PNG, JPG or WebP file | Unsupported file format | Convert to one of the accepted formats |
| Failed to upload logo | Server-side error | Try again; check your connection |
| Your logo couldn't be loaded. Downloads are paused until it loads. | Uploaded logo URL is temporarily unreachable | Wait and reload, or replace the logo |
Card roundness
A four-option tab-strip controlling how curved the corners of the printed QR card are.
| Option |
|---|
| None |
| Small |
| Medium |
| Large |
Card style
A row of three visual tile buttons, each showing a small preview card rendered in that style at the current roundness setting.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Default | White card background, dark QR dots |
| Color | Filled card using a colour from your handyout palette — a colour swatch row appears below when this is selected |
| Transparent | No card background — the QR pattern only, suitable for placing directly on a coloured slide |
Card colour (Color style only)
When Color is the active card style, a row of six colour swatches appears:
- The first swatch (shown as a white circle on a dotted border) represents your handyout's primary colour.
- The remaining five swatches are the five chart colours from your handyout palette.
Selecting any swatch applies that colour as the card background. The QR dots automatically switch between black and white to maintain scannability against the chosen colour. A note below the swatches explains this behaviour: "Colors from your handyout palette. The dots switch between black and white to stay scannable."
Stage canvas
The centre of the workspace shows a 16:9 presentation-slide mockup — a stage background with your QR code card, presentation title, and your name overlaid in the upper area, exactly as the closing slide would look in the room.
- Audience toggle — a floating pill control at the bottom centre of the canvas shows or hides an illustrated audience silhouette below the stage. Toggle it to judge how the QR card reads from the back of the room.
- Locked state — when the handyout has never been published or has expired, the QR card in the preview is blurred and a small notice at the top of the canvas explains why.
Share and export inspector
The Share and export inspector panel occupies the right side of the workspace on large screens. Its header shows the panel title and a status badge:
| Badge | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Published | The handyout is live and the link is active |
| Not published | The handyout has not yet been published |
| Expired | The 30-day window has closed |
Link section
Shows the public URL for the handyout. When published, the URL is a clickable link that opens in a new tab. When not published or expired, it appears as plain text. A Copy link icon button copies the URL to your clipboard (disabled when not published).
Download section
Three download rows are available, each disabled when the handyout is not published:
| Format | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| PNG | Full QR code card image including the call-to-action text and any logo | Printing, inserting into a document or email |
| SVG | Vector QR code pattern only (no card frame), scales to any size | Large-format print, laser cutting, vinyl |
| For slides | Transparent-background PNG sized for direct insertion into a slide deck; includes logo if one is set | Dropping onto a PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides closing slide |
