Overview
Every Location and Asset in Mobaro has a scanner code, printed as a QR code. Put the QR code on the ride, room or equipment, and Users can scan it in the Mobaro app to jump to that Location or Asset, filter their lists, or answer a Scanner Question in a Checklist.
This article covers printing and customizing scanner codes, adding a Scanner Question, and scanning in the app. To scan NFC tags instead of QR codes, see How to use NFC tags with scanner questions.
At a glance |
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Who can do this | Locations › Modify for Location codes, Assets › Administrate for Asset codes, Checklists › Modify for Scanner Questions. Super Users can do all. |
Where | Locations › Edit › Scanner Code; Locations › Assets; Checklists › Scanner Question |
Works on | Backend (web) to set up and print. Scanned in the Mobile app and RideOps. |
Availability | All organizations |
💡 Why this matters: A scan shows that someone was physically at the Location. Scanner codes turn a QR sticker into both a verification step on critical checks and a fast way for staff to pull up the right Location's work in the app.
How scanner codes work
A scanner code is the Location's or Asset's Custom Scanner Code or, if you leave that empty, its Mobaro ID (for example locations/123456-A). The QR code holds that value with the prefix mobaroapp://, so a phone's camera app can open it in Mobaro. Custom Scanner Codes follow these rules:
A code must be unique across all Locations and Assets in your organization. If it's taken, the editor shows Scanner code is already in use.
A Location's code can't start with locations or assets.
Changing the code changes the QR code. The Mobaro ID keeps working as a code alongside the custom code.
Location scanner codes
Print one Location's code. Go to Locations, select the Location and click Edit. In the Scanner Code section, click the QR code to open it in a new window for printing.
Customize the code. In the same section, type a value in Custom Scanner Code and click Save. A short, readable value such as RIDE-07 is easier to manage than the ID.
🛑 Critical: When you change a Location's Custom Scanner Code, labels printed with the old custom code stop working: Scanner Questions with Location validation fail and scans find no Location. Labels printed from the Location's ID keep working. Reprint and replace the labels before operators need them.
Print several at once. On the Locations page, turn on multi-select (Toggle Multiselect), select the Locations and click the QR-code button, Export Scanner Codes. You get a PDF with each QR code and its Location's name.
For every Location setting, see How to create Locations.
Asset scanner codes
Every saved Asset has a QR code, shown next to Custom Scanner Code in its editor. Click it to open it for printing. To print codes for several Assets, select them in Locations › Assets and click Export scanner codes. Scanning an Asset's QR code opens the Mobaro app on the Asset's Location, filtered to that Asset. See Understanding Asset fields and properties.
Add a Scanner Question
A Scanner Question asks the User to scan a code to answer it. To add one:
Go to Checklists, select the Checklist and click Edit.
On the page you want, click Add an element › Scanner Question, and enter the Title and Explanatory Text.
Under Question Configuration, choose the Validation and the Method of Scanning: QR/Barcode (the default) or NFC. Despite the option's name, the Mobaro app reads QR codes only, not barcodes, so print QR codes.
For Specific validation, enter the Scanner Code Value.
Click Accept Changes, then Save.
Validation | The scan must match | Use it for |
None | Any code | Confirming that something was scanned |
Location | The Location the Checklist is completed at: its Custom Scanner Code or ID | Proving the User was at the ride or area |
Asset | The Asset the Checklist is completed for: its Custom Scanner Code or ID | Checklists scheduled for Assets |
Specific | The question's Scanner Code Value | A checkpoint, such as the top of a lift hill |
With Specific validation and QR/Barcode, the editor shows the QR code next to the value; click it to print. To print all Specific codes in a Checklist, select the Checklist on the Checklists page and click Export Scanner Codes. The button appears when exactly one Checklist with a Specific Scanner Question is selected.
⚠️ Heads-up: Asset validation compares the scan with the Asset the Checklist is being completed for, such as from an Asset Schedule, not with a fixed Asset. On a Checklist completed only for a Location, a scan can't pass Asset validation. See Asset-driven Assignments and Schedules.
In the app, the User taps Scan and scans the code. A matching code shows Scanned successfully; a wrong one shows Validation Failed and the User must scan again. The check happens on the device, so it also works offline. Every visible question must be answered, so the Checklist can't be completed until the scan passes.
Other elements can use a Scanner Question in logic with Answered or Not answered. Scanner Questions don't support triggers. The Result report shows the scanned code as a QR code, and users with Results › Modify can correct it.
ℹ️ Note: In RideOps, Scanner Questions always scan with the tablet's camera, even when set to NFC. For Checklists completed in RideOps, use None or Specific validation, and test each Scanner Question on the RideOps device before you rely on it.
Scan codes in the Mobaro app
From the phone's camera. Scanning a Location's or Asset's QR code with the camera app opens Mobaro on that Location or Asset, if the User is signed in.
Location Overview. Tap the scanner button to jump to the Location or Asset. Users can also show this button on the home screen with the profile setting Location scanner in dashboard header.
Filters and pickers. The Location filters in Checklists, Assignments, Reports, Gallery and Operations, and the Location picker for a new Assignment, have a scanner button. Scanning a Location's code selects that Location; only Location codes work here. In the filters, a code that matches no Location shows No Location Found. When a Checklist can be started at several Locations or Assets, its picker also has a scanner button, and there an Asset's code selects the Asset.
Best practices
Set short, readable Custom Scanner Codes before you print, so labels rarely need replacing.
Place Location codes where the check is done, such as the ride's control panel, not at the entrance.
Use Specific codes for checkpoints inside a Location, and give each a clear Title so Users know where to find it.
Print on durable, weatherproof labels, and test each label with a phone after you put it up.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a QR code that opens a specific checklist?
No. Scanner codes identify Locations and Assets, not Checklists. Scanning a Location's code opens the app on that Location, where the User picks the Checklist. To prove the Checklist was done on site, add a Scanner Question.
How do I add a QR code to a checklist, and what are the options?
Add a Scanner Question and choose its Validation: None (any code), Location, Asset or Specific (a value you set). Then print the matching code. See Add a Scanner Question above.
Can I use the same specific QR codes on my opening and closing checklists?
Yes. Give the Scanner Questions in both Checklists Specific validation with the same Scanner Code Value, and print each code once. Or use Location validation, which accepts the Location's own code in any Checklist.
Can I see which QR code belongs to which location?
Yes, in two ways. Export Scanner Codes on the Locations page prints each QR code with its Location's name. To identify a single label, scan it with the scanner button in Location Overview; the app opens that Location.
Can I scan an asset's QR code?
Yes. It opens the app on the Asset's Location, filtered to that Asset, and answers Scanner Questions with Asset validation. It also selects the Asset in the picker when you start a Checklist. List filters and the Location picker for a new Assignment only recognise Location codes.
Why isn't my QR code opening the app?
The User must have the Mobaro app installed and be signed in, and codes aren't opened while a Checklist is in progress. Codes from a Checklist's Export Scanner Codes are for Scanner Questions only and don't open the app.