Hi Reader,

Welcome to the Google Sheets Tips newsletter #391, your Monday morning espresso, in spreadsheet form!

(Sorry there was no newsletter last week. I was sick!)

This week we're looking at a cool use case for Google Sheets that most folks have no idea about. Creating QR codes!

With a few simple formulas you can create QR codes in your Sheets that you could use to track inventory, accept invitations, or even print out to use at an event.

First, a housekeeping announcement: after today, I'm taking a planned break from the newsletter for a few weeks, until early July.

I'm traveling, but I also want to create space to think about making some changes to this newsletter.

The original newsletter mission—to share actionable Google Sheet tips each week—has served us well for nearly 10 years and 391 issues, but the world has changed a lot since then.

I've been weaving in more Gemini content over the past couple of years, and that's where my focus is these days.

So I'll be using the break to think about how to update the newsletter. Don't worry though, Sheets will still be part of my thinking.

If you have thoughts or things you'd love to see covered, hit reply — I'd genuinely love to hear them.

➜ News

I.
​You've probably already seen them, but the Google Workspace icons recently had a refresh. The old ones were so similar that it was hard to distinguish them apart. The new ones solve that, even if they are rather whimsical. I actually quite like them.

​Read more here >>​

➜ Sheets Tip #391: Create QR codes in Google Sheets 𖣯

This is one of those hidden superpowers of Google Sheets. A genuinely useful feature that really doesn't belong in the spreadsheet world but does.

Best of all, it's really easy to do following the steps below.

In a nutshell, we send the information to a special website that returns it formatted as a QR link. We insert this into Google Sheets' IMAGE function to convert it into an actual QR image that looks like this:

Steps to create QR codes in Google Sheets

Follow these simple steps to create your own QR codes.

1) Starting with the information, for example a link, in cell B2, use this formula to encode the value:

2) Then create a formula that includes the QR code generator API like so:

Remember, this is a free public QR generator, so don't use it for sensitive information or private client information, etc. etc.

3) Next, wrap this with the IMAGE function to display the QR code:

In our Sheet, it looks like this:

You'll need to "Allow Access" with the IMAGE function the first time you set it up in a Sheet:

Note

If you plan to include a QR code in a document you're sharing, then you'd be advised to convert it to a static image rather than leaving it as a live formula.

Highlight the cell with the QR code, copy it, then go to a different cell and paste it as values.

To do this, use:

• Cmd + Shift + V (Mac) or Ctrl + Shift + V (PC)

OR

• Right click > Paste Special > Values only

Use Cases

Here are a few ideas for how you might use these QR codes:

• Display a QR code in your Sheet during a presentation, linked to presentation handout.
• Link a QR code to your Google Calendar Appointment Schedule page.
• Print out and cut out QR codes from your Sheet to place on physical stations at a conference or student fair.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please forward it to a friend who might enjoy it.

Have a great week!

Cheers,
Ben

P.S. Adopting AI speak in the real world...​