Delphi ActiveX Requires Chilkat v11.7.0+

QR Code with Non-English Text (UTF-8 and ECI)

See more QR Code Examples

Demonstrates text outside ASCII. QrCode always stores text as UTF-8 bytes, which is what phones expect. A QR code can also say so explicitly with an ECI header: setting encoding.eci to 26 declares the bytes to be UTF-8, for readers that would otherwise assume another character set. The header costs a little space, and a few older readers do not understand it, so it is off by default. Delphi ActiveX

var
success: Integer;
sbText: TChilkatStringBuilder;
json: TChilkatJsonObject;
fmt: TChilkatFormats;
jsonOut: TChilkatJsonObject;

begin
success := 0;

//  This example requires the Chilkat API to have been previously unlocked.
//  See Global Unlock Sample for sample code.

//  The text is "Gruesse aus Muenchen" written with u-umlaut and sharp s.  It is given here with
//  JSON escapes only so that this source is plain ASCII.  Decode turns the escapes into characters.
sbText := TChilkatStringBuilder.Create(Self);
sbText.Append('Gr\u00fc\u00dfe aus M\u00fcnchen');
sbText.Decode('json','utf-8');

json := TChilkatJsonObject.Create(Self);
json.UpdateSb('payload.text',sbText.ControlInterface);
json.UpdateString('output.path','qa_output/qr_utf8.png');
json.UpdateBool('output.overwrite',1);
json.UpdateString('output.return','none');

fmt := TChilkatFormats.Create(Self);
jsonOut := TChilkatJsonObject.Create(Self);
success := fmt.QrCode('generate',json.ControlInterface,jsonOut.ControlInterface);
if (success = 0) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(fmt.LastErrorText);
    Exit;
  end;

//  17 characters, three of which take two bytes in UTF-8.
Memo1.Lines.Add('characters: ' + IntToStr(sbText.Length));
Memo1.Lines.Add('bytes encoded: ' + IntToStr(jsonOut.IntOf('symbols[0].payloadBytes')));
Memo1.Lines.Add('ECI header: ' + IntToStr(Ord(jsonOut.HasMember('symbols[0].selectedEncoding.eci'))));

//  Without an ECI header (qa_output/qr_utf8.png):

//  

//  The same text with an ECI header declaring UTF-8.
json.UpdateInt('encoding.eci',26);
json.UpdateString('output.path','qa_output/qr_utf8_eci.png');
success := fmt.QrCode('generate',json.ControlInterface,jsonOut.ControlInterface);
if (success = 0) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(fmt.LastErrorText);
    Exit;
  end;
Memo1.Lines.Add('with encoding.eci = 26, ECI header: ' + IntToStr(Ord(jsonOut.HasMember('symbols[0].selectedEncoding.eci'))) + ', value ' + IntToStr(jsonOut.IntOf('symbols[0].selectedEncoding.eci')));

//  With the ECI header (qa_output/qr_utf8_eci.png).  Both scan as the same text:

//  

//  Sample output:

//  characters: 17
//  bytes encoded: 20
//  ECI header: False
//  with encoding.eci = 26, ECI header: True, value 26