One tool, because the job is the same
There are separate pages all over the internet for Word QR codes, Excel QR codes, video QR codes and audio QR codes. They are the same page with a different heading, because the operation is identical: a QR code cannot hold a file, so every one of them encodes a link.
The limit is hard. A QR code holds 2,331 bytes at the usual error correction level. A Word document is around 18 KB, eight times over. A three minute MP3 is about 1,400 times over. Nothing changes that, so we built one tool and put the differences where they actually are: what each file type does when a phone opens it, and which hosts hand out the wrong link.
What each type does on a phone
| File | What the scanner sees | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Word, .docx | Downloads, or opens in a viewer if one is installed | Many phones download rather than display. Export to PDF if it only needs reading. |
| Excel, .xlsx | Downloads in most cases | Wide sheets are unreadable on a phone. A published web view beats a file. |
| PowerPoint, .pptx | Downloads | PDF is the friendlier format for a phone. |
| Video, .mp4 | Plays in the browser player | Streams over their data. Size matters here, unlike the code. |
| Audio, .mp3 | Plays in the browser | Works well. A good fit for audio guides and labels. |
| Zip archive | Downloads | Awkward on iPhones. Avoid for anything public facing. |
The pattern is that Office files download rather than display, which on a phone is a worse experience than people expect. If the file is only meant to be read, converting it to a PDF before you link to it will do more for your scan than anything about the code. Our PDF generator covers that route.
The link traps, by host
- Dropbox. The share link ends in
?dl=0, which opens a Dropbox preview page with sign up prompts rather than the file. Changing it to?dl=1serves the file directly. The tick box above does that for you. - Google Drive. The share link opens the Drive viewer, and only works at all if sharing is set to Anyone with the link. Our Drive generator rewrites these properly.
- OneDrive and SharePoint. Links are long and often tied to your organisation. Test in a private window signed out, because these are the most likely to show a login wall to the public.
- WeTransfer and similar. These expire, usually within days. Never put one behind a printed code.
Video and audio deserve a different answer
Linking straight to an .mp4 works, but it makes the visitor download your video over their mobile data with no quality options and no pause that survives closing the tab.
For anything more than a few seconds, upload it to a video platform and link to that page instead. You get adaptive quality, a player people recognise, captions, and you stop paying for the bandwidth. The code is the same either way, so this costs nothing.
Audio is different. A short MP3 linked directly is genuinely fine, and it is a good fit for museum labels, plant markers, language tags on menus and anywhere a few seconds of speech beats a paragraph of text.
Common questions
Can I upload my file here?
No. We do not host files, because a printed code that depends on our servers is a code we could break, and a code that stops working is worse than no code.
Does a bigger file make a bigger QR code?
No. The code carries the address, so only the length of the link matters. A 2 GB video and a 5 KB spreadsheet give identical codes if their links are the same length.
Can I put a Word file inside the code itself?
No. The largest QR code that exists holds 2,953 bytes at the lowest error correction level. A small Word document is roughly eight times that, and it gets worse from there.
What if the file moves later?
The printed code breaks. Point it at a short address on a domain you own and redirect from there, so you can move the file whenever you like. Our guide to static and dynamic codes covers the alternatives.
How big should the printed code be?
It depends on the distance people will scan from, not on the file. Our sign maker sets the size for you, and the sign size guide gives the character budget for each size.
Related tools
Use the PDF generator for a PDF, the image generator for a picture, and the Drive generator for anything on Google Drive. For an ordinary web page, the URL generator is the simplest. Check any finished code with the stress test before printing.