Using third party QR codes and platforms

SpotMe event attendees can each have access to a personal SpotMe user QR code that is generated in the workspace in Backstage, encoded with their corresponding SpotMe user information.

SpotMe user QR codes can be used by attendees across all the SpotMe functionalities that use QR code scanning at the event: event check-in, session attendance tracking, lead scanning and business card exchange. More detailed information on using SpotMe user QR codes.

There may be situations where, as an event organizer, you need to:

• Make SpotMe user QR codes readable by a third party system, for example an event check-in system. See How to use SpotMe user QR codes in a third party solution
  
  
• Make QR codes that are generated by a third party system readable by the SpotMe functionalities: event check-in, session check-in, lead scanning and business card exchange. See How to use third party attendee QR codes in the SpotMe solution

In this article we explain how you can achieve the above two use cases.

Important: For the best results, we recommend that you choose only one of the above approaches for your event, and that you do not mix the two approaches.

How to use SpotMe user QR codes in a third party solution

You can allow third party systems to read SpotMe QR codes. For example to make a third party event check-in system be able to read SpotMe attendee QR codes.

This is done by exporting the SpotMe user QR code information from the workspace in Backstage, and then importing this information to the third party tool.

First, you will need to download a report from the workspace in Backstage, containing the SpotMe user QR code information.

To do so, go to Content > Shortlinks > Exports, and download the report by clicking on Export user QR information.

This will download an Excel file that includes two columns: the fp_ext_id, and the SpotMe QR code information for each user, as well as any other selected user metadata (for example first name, last name, etc.):

Here, you can copy the exact value from the QR code info column, and add it to your third party platform to allow it to read the SpotMe user QR codes.

How to use third party attendee QR codes in the SpotMe solution

To allow the SpotMe platform to read third party user QR codes, you can take the user information from the third party platform QR codes, and add it to the SpotMe user profiles in the workspace in Backstage.

This is done using a user metadata (field) in SpotMe called External QR code value.
This metadata is present on any workspace that has the latest version of the QR scanner, Contacts, Attendance tracking or Leads module installed. The External QR code value is present in the user profile in Backstage and can be populated here:

User profile in Backstage:

User information in the user list export:

When you download the user list export from the workspace in Backstage, the external_qr_value fields are by default empty.

You can populate these fields with the information from your third party QR codes, save the report, and then re-upload the Excel file in order to add this information to your user profiles in the workspace Backstage. You can also populate these fields via API imports.

Once you have populated the External QR code fields in the user list, the third party QR codes that are encoded with the external QR code values will be readable by the SpotMe platform.

How to add a third party user QR code to a content page

After having followed the steps described in the above How to use a third party QR code in the SpotMe solution section, you can add a third party QR to a content page in the app in order to make it accessible to your attendees.

In Backstage, in your workspace main menu go to Content > Pages, and either select a page or create a new one where the QR code will be added.

Here we will create a new page:

And edit the display template by first adding a text box, and then adding a QR code component that we will drag and drop from the left:

You can open the QR code component’s details by clicking on it (1). In the panel to the right we will specify the size of the QR code (recommended value here is 300) and the QR data (2). In the WR data field we will add the following text: {{activatedPerson.external_qr_value}}:

Click on Save to confirm the changes. Now click on Preview in web app (3) to see how the page looks.
Select Content-page for the “Type” , and select the name of your content page in the drop down:

The content page preview is displayed, where you can see the attendee’s QR code:

If needed. You can also make the content page accessible to your attendees via the app menu, by adding a link to it there:

How to use third party user QR codes in SpotMe email communications

Once you have followed the steps described in the How to use a third party QR code in the SpotMe solution section, and have a content page that contains the user third party QR code, you can share a link to the QR code content page via an email sent from the workspace in Backstage.

Doing so will mean that your mobile app users will be able to receive the email in their inbox, tap the link, and access their third party QR code on their devices (by displaying the content page on the web app).

First, in the web app go to the preview of your content page that contains the third party QR code, as explained in the second part of Adding a third party QR code to a content page.

For this example, when accessing the content page in the web app you will see the URL:

Copy the second part of the URL. In the above example, this corresponds to everything that is present after the “https://eu-webapp.spotme.com/”. Save the second part of the URL somewhere safe, you’ll need it for the next steps.

Now, go to the Design > Emails section of the workspace main menu, and open or create an email that you will use to send the link to the third party QR code to your attendees. In the email template, select the text or button where you want to add the link, and click on the insert/edit link button in the toolbar:

In the URL field, start by adding: {{_webapp_link}}&redirect=/
Next, add the part of the content page URL that you copied earlier. For example:
{{_webapp_link}}&redirect=/9ffb74baa8694e99b9ed6a6bebe288a9/view/lpvar4zx-2xze2c57lqg0000000/e747765f-8114-4992-a086-c183bbd60065

Click on Save to finish adding the link.

Now, test the email by sending an email to yourself, and opening it on your email client on your phone. Below is how the above created content page looks (opened on the web app):