Skip to main content
This page is for procedure authors on the HoloLens. By the end of it, your procedure will be anchored to a fixed point in the real world, and you will know how to link individual steps to precise physical locations using anchor gems. Everything you place while authoring — models, gems, media panels — is stored relative to the QR code’s position. Operators later scan the same QR at the same spot, so your content appears exactly where you put it. For the underlying concept, see Anchoring and QR Codes.

​
Before You Start: Prepare the QR Code

Print the official Altoura Frontline QR code and fix it to a flat, non-reflective, stable surface at your work site. Third-party or self-generated QR codes might not work reliably.

Frontline QR Code (PDF)

Download the official Altoura Frontline QR code as a print-ready PDF.
Once a QR is used to anchor a procedure, it must remain in the exact same physical position for that procedure. Moving the QR later shifts the anchor and misaligns every model, gem, and instruction placed against it — for authors and operators alike.
For printing guidance (paper, contrast, mounting) and scanning tips, see QR for Author and Operator.

​
Scan the QR Code

Immediately after you select Author in the mode dialog, a Scan QR Code instruction panel appears, with a Cancel button at the bottom.
Scan QR Code instruction panel with 'Locate the QR code', 'Select Initiate Scan to anchor', and a Cancel button
1

Locate the physical QR code

Walk to the printed QR code at your anchor location. A scanning frame appears on screen with the label Scan the QR code.
Scanning frame labelled 'Scan the QR code' shown alongside the Scan QR Code instruction panel with the Cancel button
2

Align the QR inside the frame

Hold your head steady so the QR code sits inside the bracketed scanning frame, roughly 30–60 cm away, and keep still until the system detects it.
Active QR scanning view with a bracketed frame and 'Scan the QR code' label
3

Confirm the anchor

When the code is detected, an Anchor found panel appears with the instruction: select Confirm if the blue outline is aligned, select Rescan if not.
Anchor found confirmation panel next to the detected QR frame with Rescan and Confirm buttons
Verify the blue outline sits squarely on the printed QR, then select Confirm — either in the central Anchor found panel or using the button below the QR frame.
The system anchors to the QR code and opens the procedure in Author mode — you are taken straight into the procedure experience. If the outline is off: select Rescan (central panel or below the frame). The current detection is cleared, scanning restarts, and you can realign the QR within the frame. You can also rescan at any time later from the in-procedure side menu — see Preview and Publish. For the exhaustive walkthrough of every scan-flow state, see QR Scan Flow for Author Mode.

​
Place a Step Anchor Gem

Once inside the procedure, each step shows a diamond-shaped gem icon at the bottom of the main step panel. Placing the gem links that step to a specific physical location — a visible tethered line connects the step panel to the anchor, guiding operators to the exact point where the step applies.
Author Mode step panel with the diamond-shaped gem icon and a tethered line connecting to a placed anchor in the physical environment
1

Select the gem icon

Locate the gem icon at the bottom of the step panel and select it.
2

Point at the target location

Move your pointer to the desired location in the physical space — for example, the filter housing the step refers to.
3

Place the anchor

Select to place the gem. A tethered line now connects the step panel to the placed anchor, and the step is spatially linked to that location.
How gems behave:
  • Gem placement is per step — one step may have an anchor while the next does not. As you navigate between steps, the tether updates to that step’s configuration; if no anchor was placed, no tether appears.
  • The same tethered line is shown in Operator mode, so operators see exactly where each step applies.
Place a gem on every step that refers to a specific physical component. It is the fastest way to remove ambiguity for operators working in a cluttered environment.
For full detail, see the reference page Gem Placement in Author Mode.
Next: Build Tasks and Steps