QR Codes for Technical Communication

二维码用于技术通信

2021-03-31 21:25 clickhelp

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A QR code or a Quick Response code is a type of matrix barcode first designed in 1994 in Japan to track vehicles in the automotive industry during the manufacturing process, not as a helpful marketing tool we see today. A barcode is a machine-readable optical label with information about the item to which it is attached. It's basically a quick, scannable barcode-like image that takes you to a specific digital destination. Nowadays, most people have smartphones so that they can read the QR code. QR code scanner may be inbuilt into your camera. The way to find this out would be to scan a QR code using the camera on your smartphone. Couldn’t do it? No worries, download an app that lets you scan the QR code. There are free apps available for this purpose. Just type in the text ‘QR code scanner’ in your play store search bar and choose any of the free apps listed. QR Code Layout All QR codes have a square shape and include three square outlines in the bottom-left, top-left, and top-right corners. These parts of the QR code must always remain unedited. These are essentially position markers, and their job is to tell the scanner where the edges of the QR code are. There are different versions and sizes of QR codes. The best part is that you can create a QR code yourself. There are many websites available that let you generate a QR code for free. Creating QR codes is pretty straightforward if you only want to create a basic design, but if you're looking to create a fully customized QR code, things can often get complicated. It's usually a good idea to leave this to an experienced graphic designer with knowledge of QR codes if possible. What Does QR Code Hide? There is a wide range of data that can be stored in a QR code. Examples are: URL - when the QR code is scanned, the URL is clickable and opens directly in your browser. Add the code to make it easy for users to follow links without making them type, which can cause a mistake in the URL. Email - you can add a subject, sender, and message. It opens up as an email message ready to be sent. 3D graphics - some books contain QR codes with an app. After you download it, the 3D pictures appear and augment the page’s content; the app even allows you to listen to this book instead of reading it if you chose that option. Phone - your contact number can be stored. This will open up directly in your phone dialer after you have scanned the QR code. SMS - a recipient number and a standard message. A new SMS will be displayed with the same information ready to be sent. Ticket - QR scanners are designed to capture 2D images printed on paper or displayed on a screen. This makes it possible to use a QR code on your smartphone as a boarding pass at the airport or as a ticket for an event. Location - here, you are asked to store the latitude and longitude of a particular location. Once you generate a QR code by providing the latitude and longitude, the QR code will open up in Google Maps upon scanning. The location will open up on the map. Facebook - you need to add the link to your Facebook profile page. After scanning this QR code, it will open up your Facebook profile page directly in the browser. A QR code containing your profile page link could be shared for quick access. YouTube - you can add a link to any YouTube video, and upon scanning this QR code, it will open up directly in your YouTube app. Teaching materials - QR codes are a very innovative and fun way for students to learn many skills. Documentation - you can store text which can be helpful for quick access. QR codes can contain a link to online technical documentation from printed documentation or machine labels. Ultimately the objective of QR codes is to empower consumers to engage with the market. Those little mottled black and white graphics that let people link to different locations are great on printed materials. Add QR codes to marketing materials, business cards, device labels, packaging and instructions for medicine, the front/back cover of manuals, and any other place where you want to. The QR code is stored as an image so that you can reuse it all over the place. There are plenty of online QR code generators, just Google (or Bing) the phrase 'QR code generator', and you'll likely be confronted with millions of results. Simply pick your favorite. Advantages of Using QR Code A recent study showed that almost 86% of adults in America use social media platforms in their everyday lives. Visual QR codes have made communication a lot easier, and it is the fastest yet effective way of communicating. Major social media platforms like Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, etc., use built-in QR codes that let users add friends through scanning their unique QR codes. This factor has led to the massive adoption of QR Codes. Hence, from product packaging to the walls of buildings, you can find various types of QR Codes almost everywhere. QR codes help you: Create 21st Century Resumes. People can use QR to create resumes that link to other content, such as their professional website or portfolio. This can help them engage in technical writing, and their work will be innovative. Show Exemplars. You can create a QR for examples of quality work, whether it's PowerPoint or SlideShare for a presentation, or people speaking a foreign language. Save a few trees! Instead of making more printouts than everyone needs, give people a QR that takes them to the instructions, announcement, or book. QR codes have significant benefits over traditional UPCs (Universal Product Codes) commonly used in retail packaging. First, since QR codes are two-dimensional, they can contain significantly more data than a one-dimensional UPC. While a UPC may include up to 25 different characters, a 33x33 (version 4) QR code can contain 640 bits or 114 alphanumeric characters. A 177x177 (version 40) QR code can store up to 23,648 bits or 4,296 characters. Another advantage of QR codes is that they can be scanned from a screen. Standard UPC scanners use a laser to scan barcodes, which means they typically cannot scan a UPC from a screen (like a smartphone). QR Codes are a common sight now. Thanks to the increase in smartphone penetration and access to high-speed mobile internet increased. In addition to this, internet users have grown by 7.3% from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021. Here, 96.6 % of device ownership belongs to smartphone users. QR Code Principles There’s a magical world inside that little square. It can add value to your technical documentation. The trick is to use it right, and it will serve you well. So here are some helpful principles: Use QR codes only when they’re appropriate. Don’t provide users with the information they can get faster or more conveniently another way. QR codes can be magical, so let the phone user experience some magic. Give them the video, give them the sound, give them wonderful money-saving opportunities, but make sure it’s fast, functional, enjoyable, and only available through QR codes. In short, give them the best user experience possible. Track your scans. Use digital analytics to track how, when, where they’re scanned, and how well your own specific goals are realized. You’ll also gain information that helps you improve your use of the codes. Keep your URL short. The less information the QR code contains, the less dense it is and the more easily readable without error. Use a URL shortening service. Plus, the URL can point permanently to a location where you can—quickly, easily, and whenever you want—redirect the user to another location. Test your QR codes thoroughly, ensuring that they work with all popular barcode scanning applications on all popular mobile devices. Conclusion When it comes to using modern technology and utilities, the USA has always been on top. According to the justifications described above, QR codes are getting an enormous push by the retail industry, social media platforms, education, initiations, and brand awareness. It has been used in different countries such as South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Ghana, Brazil, Russia, and most QR codes were utilized to combat the spread of the COVID-19 by making contactless registration, payments, and tracking using QR codes. Moreover, this smart-tech tool has also been used to provide and deliver accurate information to the end-user. Good luck with your technical writing! ClickHelp Team Author, host and deliver documentation across platforms and devices
二维码或快速响应代码是一种矩阵式条形码,1994年在日本首次出现,用于在汽车工业中制造过程中跟踪车辆,而不是作为一种有用的营销工具像我们今天看到的那样。条形码是一种机器可读的光学标签,带有关于其所附物品的信息。它是一个快速可扫描的条形码一样的图像,通过扫描带你切换到特定的数字场景。 如今,大多数人都拥有智能手机,可以读取二维码。二维码扫描仪可能内置在您的相机中。找到这个答案的方法是用你智能手机上的摄像头扫描二维码。做不到?不用担心,下载一个可以扫描二维码的app。他们都是专门用于扫码的免费应用程序 只需在你的应用商店搜索栏中键入“二维码扫描器”,然后选择列出的任何免费应用程序即可。 二维码布局 所有的二维码都是正方形的,并且在左下角,左上角和右上角包括三个正方形轮廓。二维码的这些部分必须始终保持未编辑状态。这些本质上是定位标志,用于帮助扫描器确认二维码的位置。 二维码有不同的版本和大小。最棒的是你还可以自己创建一个二维码。有很多网站为你免费生成二维码。如果你只想创建一个基本的二维码,那么创建一个二维码就会非常简单,但是如果你想创建一个完全定制的QR码,那就会变得复杂一点。如果可以的话,还是把这部分留给一个懂二维码设计且经验丰富的平面设计师吧,这才是最佳做法。 二维码到底隐藏了什么? 一个二维码中可以存储的数据范围很广。例如: 统一资源定位器(网页地址)-当二维码被扫描时,网页地址是可点击的,并且直接在你的浏览器中打开。添加代码是为了方便用户,使他们在不需要键入链接的情况下就可以轻松地进入链接,但是却会导致网页地址产生错误。 电子邮件-您可以添加主题,发件人和邮件。扫描后打开时就是电子邮件消息。 3D图形--一些书籍包含带有应用程序的二维码。下载程序后,3D图片作为书籍内容的补充;如果你选择了这个选项,这个应用程序甚至可以直接听这本书,而不用读它。 电话-你的联系电话可以存储。在你扫描二维码后,他将直接打开你手机里的自动拨号程序。 短信-一个收件人号码和一个消息模板。发短信的时候将出现一条与之内容相同的新短信。 票据扫描仪设计用于捕获打印在纸上或显示在屏幕上的2D图像。这样你就可以用智能手机上的二维码登机或参加活动。 定位当前位置,您会收到存储特定位置的纬度和经度的请求。一旦你通过提供纬度和经度生成一个二维码,扫描此二维码后就会打开谷歌地图并显示当前位置。 Facebook--你需要将链接添加到你的Facebook个人资料页面。扫描这个二维码后,它会直接在浏览器中打开你的Facebook个人资料页面。一个包含你的个人资料页面链接的二维码就可以通过共享进行快速访问了。 YouTube-你可以添加一个链接到任何YouTube视频,只要扫描这个二维码,它就会直接在你的YouTube应用程序中打开该视频。 教材-二维码是一个让学生学习许多技能非常创新和有趣的方式, 文档-您可以存储文档,方便快速访问。二维码包含的链接可将打印文档甚至机器标签链接到线上文档。 最终,二维码的目标是让消费者融入市场。那些小小的黑白相间图形,让人们链接到不同的位置,这对印刷材料来说很棒。将二维码添加到营销材料,名片,设备标签,药品的包装和说明书,手册的封面/封底,以及任何其他你想要的地方。还可以将二维码作为图像储存,这样你就可以在所有地方重复使用它。 网上有很多二维码生成器,谷歌(或必应)上就有“二维码生成器”这个短语,你可能会搜到数百万个结果。只需选择你最喜欢的即可。 使用二维码的优点 最近的一项研究表明,美国近86%的成年人在日常生活中使用社交媒体平台。可视化二维码使人们之间的沟通变得容易得多,它成为了快速高效的沟通方式。 像Snapchat,Facebook,Twitter等主要社交媒体平台都使用内置二维码,用户可以通过互相扫描自己专属的二维码添加好友。这一因素使二维广泛使用。因此,从产品包装到建筑物的墙壁上,你几乎随处可见各种类型的二维码。二维码帮你: 创造21世纪的简历。人们可以使用二维码创建简历并链接到其他内容,比如他们的专业网站或投资组合。这可以帮助他们从事科技写作,他们的工作将是创新的。 展示范例。你可以为高质量的工作创建一个二维码,不管是PPT还是Slide Share,还是说外语的人都可以进行展示。 省下几棵树的资源!与其打印出很多人们不需要的额内容,不如给人们一个二维码,带他们去看说明书,公告或书。 相对于零售包装中常用的传统UPCs(通用产品码),二维码具有显著的好处。首先,由于QR码是二维的,它包含的数据明显比一维的UPC多。虽然UPC可以包括多达25个不同的字符,但33x33(版本4)二维码可以包含640位或114个字母数字字符。一个177x177(版本40)的二维码最多可存储23,648位或4,296个字符。 二维码的另一个优点是可以从屏幕上扫描。标准的UPC扫描仪使用激光扫描条形码,也就是说他们通常不能从屏幕(像智能手机)扫描UPC。 二维码现在已是司空见惯的景象。这得益于智能手机普及率的提高和高速移动互联网接入的增加。除此之外,从2020年1月到2021年1月,互联网用户增长了7.3%。其中96.6%的设备属于智能手机用户。 二维码原理 在那个小方块里有一个神奇的世界。它可以为您的技术文档增加价值。诀窍在于正确使用它,然后它就会很好地为你服务。所以这里有一些有用的原则: 请只在合适的时候使用二维码。不要以另外的方式向用户提供他们可以更快或更方便地获得的信息。二维码是很神奇的,所以让手机用户体验一下神奇吧。让他们使用视频,收听声音,给他们省钱的好机会,但要确保它是快速实用,且保证趣味性,并且只能通过二维码才能获得。总之,尽可能给他们最好的用户体验。 追踪你的扫描。使用数字分析来跟踪它们是何时何地以及如何被扫描的,以及你自己的特定目标实现的情况。您还将获得有助于改进代码使用的信息。 尽量保持网页地址简短。二维码包含的信息越少,密度就越小,越容易无误地阅读。使用网页地址缩短服务。另外,网页地址可以永久指向一个随时随地方便快捷访问的地址。 详细地测试你的二维码,确保它们与所有通行移动设备上所有流行的条形码扫描应用程序能同时工作。 结论 在现代技术和公用事业方面,美国一直处于领先地位。基于上述特点,二维码正受到零售行业,社交媒体平台,教育,倡导和品牌意识的巨大推动。它已经在不同的国家使用,如韩国,泰国,新加坡,加纳,巴西,俄罗斯,并且大多数二维码被用进行非接触式注册,支付和跟踪来对抗COVID-19的传播。此外,这一智能技术工具还被用来向最终用户提供和传递准确的信息。 祝你写作顺利! 单击帮助 作者,跨平台托管和交付文档

以上中文文本为机器翻译,存在不同程度偏差和错误,请理解并参考英文原文阅读。

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