How to make a QR code in Word

1. Generate the code

Make the code at UseQR and download it. Word (Microsoft 365 and 2019+) inserts SVG directly, which is the best choice because it prints sharp at any size; older versions take PNG — generate it at 300 DPI for the final printed size (a 3 cm code needs 354 px; 5 cm needs 591 px).

2. Insert and size it exactly

1. Insert → Pictures → This device, choose the file.
2. Right-click the image → Size and Position (the Layout dialog).
3. Untick nothing — the aspect lock should stay on — and type the width in centimetres: the physical size the 10:1 distance rule demands, and never under 2 cm for a handheld document.
4. On the Text Wrapping tab choose Square (or In Front of Text) so reflowing paragraphs cannot squash or displace the code, and drag it into position.

Dragging corner handles by eye is how codes end up 1.7 cm on a printed page; typing the number takes five seconds and removes the guess.

3. Keep white space around it

Leave a margin of clear page around the code — the quiet zone, at least 4 modules — free of borders, table rules and text. Placing the code inside a tight table cell with visible borders is the classic Word failure.

4. Many codes: mail merge with IncludePicture

For one code per record — event badges, certificates, letters, Avery label sheets — combine mail merge with the keyless API:

1. Set up the merge (Mailings → Start Mail Merge) with your data source; say it has a Code column.
2. Where the QR should appear, press Ctrl+F9 to insert field braces and build:

{ INCLUDEPICTURE "https://useqr.app/api/v1/qr?size=600&data={ MERGEFIELD Code }" \d }

3. Finish the merge to a new document, then select all (Ctrl+A) and press F9 to force every picture field to fetch its image — Word caches the first one otherwise, giving every record the same code.

This needs an internet connection at refresh time. For a fully offline batch, generate a ZIP of images from your spreadsheet with the bulk tool instead — see QR codes from a spreadsheet — and insert them per document, or let the bulk tool produce finished label PDFs directly.

5. Print a proof and scan it

Print one page at 100% (no "shrink to fit"), measure the code with a ruler, and scan it from arm's length. For extra certainty, run a photo of the print through the validator. Laser printers render 2 cm codes more crisply than inkjets on plain paper.

Gotchas

• "Compress pictures" (File → Options → Advanced, and the Picture Format ribbon) downsamples images to 220 PPI or less on save. Set default resolution to High fidelity for documents carrying codes, or use SVG which is immune.
• Copy-pasting the code from a browser instead of inserting the file often embeds a low-resolution bitmap. Insert the downloaded file.
• Word's image effects — shadows, reflections, artistic filters — belong nowhere near a QR code.
• Emailing the .docx? Recipients' versions may re-render it; export to PDF so the code ships exactly as laid out.

Generate the code to insert: make a QR code.

FAQ

How do I insert a QR code into Word?

Generate and download the code (SVG for modern Word, else a 300 DPI PNG), then Insert → Pictures, set the exact width in centimetres in the Layout dialog, and use square text wrapping.

Can Word generate QR codes by itself?

Not through the standard interface. Practical routes are inserting a generated image, or a mail-merge IncludePicture field that fetches each record's code from a QR API URL.

How do I mail merge QR codes in Word?

Use an IncludePicture field wrapping a MERGEFIELD inside the API URL, finish the merge, then select all and press F9 so every record fetches its own image rather than reusing the first.

What size should a QR code be in a Word document?

At least 2 cm wide for a handheld page, set by typing the width into the Layout dialog rather than dragging. Bigger if the printed page is read from further away.