Delphi DLL 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 DLL

var
success: Boolean;
sbText: HCkStringBuilder;
json: HCkJsonObject;
fmt: HCkFormats;
jsonOut: HCkJsonObject;

begin
success := False;

//  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 := CkStringBuilder_Create();
CkStringBuilder_Append(sbText,'Gr\u00fc\u00dfe aus M\u00fcnchen');
CkStringBuilder_Decode(sbText,'json','utf-8');

json := CkJsonObject_Create();
CkJsonObject_UpdateSb(json,'payload.text',sbText);
CkJsonObject_UpdateString(json,'output.path','qa_output/qr_utf8.png');
CkJsonObject_UpdateBool(json,'output.overwrite',True);
CkJsonObject_UpdateString(json,'output.return','none');

fmt := CkFormats_Create();
jsonOut := CkJsonObject_Create();
success := CkFormats_QrCode(fmt,'generate',json,jsonOut);
if (success = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkFormats__lastErrorText(fmt));
    Exit;
  end;

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

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

//  

//  The same text with an ECI header declaring UTF-8.
CkJsonObject_UpdateInt(json,'encoding.eci',26);
CkJsonObject_UpdateString(json,'output.path','qa_output/qr_utf8_eci.png');
success := CkFormats_QrCode(fmt,'generate',json,jsonOut);
if (success = False) then
  begin
    Memo1.Lines.Add(CkFormats__lastErrorText(fmt));
    Exit;
  end;
Memo1.Lines.Add('with encoding.eci = 26, ECI header: ' + IntToStr(Ord(CkJsonObject_HasMember(jsonOut,'symbols[0].selectedEncoding.eci'))) + ', value ' + IntToStr(CkJsonObject_IntOf(jsonOut,'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

CkStringBuilder_Dispose(sbText);
CkJsonObject_Dispose(json);
CkFormats_Dispose(fmt);
CkJsonObject_Dispose(jsonOut);