Sheet 09 · places & calls
A pin, a number, nothing in between.
Coordinates open the map app directly. A phone number dials on scan. Both are tiny payloads, which is exactly why they stay readable on a small sticker.
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Coordinates, not a map link
A location code carries latitude and longitude directly, so the scanner's map app opens at that point without a URL shortener or a map provider in between. That also means it keeps working if the map provider you would have linked to changes.
The label field is optional and worth using: without it the map app shows a bare pin, with it you get a name in the title bar.
Coordinates that stay exact
Four decimal places is about 11 metres. Six is about 11 centimetres. Copying a coordinate out of a map app usually gives enough digits, but rounding to two places moves the pin by more than a kilometre — a mistake that reads as "the code is broken".
The underrated one: tap to call
- On a service van: one scan rings the driver.
- On delivery packaging: reorder without typing a number.
- On a support card: skips the phone tree if it routes to a direct line.
- At a venue: a lost-property number nobody has to read aloud.
Both formats are tiny payloads, which means the pattern stays sparse and scans from far away. That is why they work well at sticker size, where a full link code would already be too dense.
Location and phone questions
Which map apps read a geo code?
The geo: scheme opens the default map app on Android. iOS handles it through the same camera handoff in most versions, falling back to Apple Maps.
Do I need an API key for map codes?
No. A geo code is just coordinates in text form, so there is no map service involved and nothing to meter.
Why is a phone number worth a whole code?
It is not, on its own. It is worth one as a tap-to-call sticker: a van, a delivery box, a support card. One scan dials.
Can I encode a full address instead of coordinates?
Use the label field, which keeps the coordinates exact and adds a human-readable name for the map app to show.
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