Create, view or change user profiles
Your default NVivo profile is used to create your user profile in any project you work with. This topic explains how you can create, view and modify either your default NVivo profile or your user profile in projects.
What do you want to do?
- Set up my default NVivo user profile
- Change my default NVivo user profile
- Check the current user profile
- Change the initials associated with my project user profile
- Set or change the color associated with my project user profile
- Switch project user profiles in an open standalone project
- Turn on or off automatic prompt for user
- Identify all the users who have contributed to the project
- Remove (and merge) project user profiles
Set up my default NVivo user profile
When you first start NVivo, you are prompted to set up your default NVivo user profile—you must enter your initials, and you can optionally change your user name.
Your default NVivo user profile is used to create your project user profile in any project you work with.
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Start NVivo. If this is the first time you started NVivo, you will be prompted to enter and activate your license before you set up your default NVivo user profile.
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On the Welcome to NVivo dialog box:
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Enter the Name that you want to use in your user profile—by default, it is set to your Windows user account name.
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Enter your Initials—your initials will be used to identify any work that you do in a project.
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Click OK.
NOTE
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You can choose whether or not you want to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program. You can change this option via Application Options.
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When the 'prompt for user on launch' option is turned on, you are prompted to enter your user name and initials every time you start NVivo—refer to Turn on or off automatic prompt for user for more information.
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You can also set your User Interface Language.
Change my default NVivo user profile
Your default NVivo user profile is the user profile that you set up when you first launched NVivo. This user profile is used to create your project user profile in standalone projects.
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Click the File tab, and then click Options.
The Application Options dialog box opens.
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On the General tab, under User, enter the Name and Initials for your new user profile.
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Click OK.
NOTE
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If you only change your initials, the new initials will be used in any new standalone projects that you create or work in. Existing project user profiles are not updated. To update existing project user profiles, refer to Change the initials associated with my project user profile.
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If you change your name, and the new name does not exist in a standalone project, then a new project user profile is created when you work in the project. If the new name already exists in the project, your work will be associated with the existing project user profile.
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When you work with server projects, changing your default NVivo user profile does not change your profile in the project. Your server project user profile is based on your Windows user account—refer to Collaborate in a server project for more information.
Check the current user profile
The initials of the current user profile are displayed on the Status bar at the bottom of the NVivo window. When you hover over the initials, the full user name is displayed.
When you are working in a project, the Status bar displays the initials of your project user profile. When you do not have an open project, the Status bar displays the initials of your default NVivo user profile.
Change the initials associated with my project user profile
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Click the File tab and then click Project Properties.
The Project Properties dialog box opens.
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Click the Users tab and then select the user profile that you want to change.
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In the Initials column, enter the initials you want to use.
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Click OK.
NOTE In server projects, only Project Owners can change user initials—refer to Collaborate in a server project for more information.
Set or change the color associated with my project user profile
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Click the File tab and then click Project Properties.
The Project Properties dialog box opens.
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Click the Users tab.
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Select the user profile that you want to change.
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In the Color column, select the color you want to use.
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Click OK.
NOTE In server projects, only Project Owners can change user colors—refer to Collaborate in a server project for more information.
Switch project user profiles in an open standalone project
When you are working in a project, you can switch project user profiles by changing your default NVivo user profile (name and initials) to match the name and initials of a user profile that already exists in the project. This can be useful when team members share a computer, and want to switch users without exiting NVivo.
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Click the File tab, and then click Options.
The Application Options dialog box opens.
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On the General tab, under User, enter the Name and Initials of the user profile that you want to switch to.
The name you enter must match the name in the existing profile. You can view the list of existing project user profiles—refer to Identify all the users who have contributed to the project for more information.
If you enter a name which does match an existing profile, a new profile is created.
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Click OK.
NOTE If you accidentally create a new profile, when you intended to switch to an existing user, you can merge the two profiles together.
Turn on or off automatic prompt for user
When team members share a Windows user account and computer, you can turn on 'automatic prompt for user', so that team members are prompted to enter their user profile whenever they launch NVivo.
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Click the File tab, and then click Options.
The Application Options dialog box opens.
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On the General tab, select or clear the Prompt for user on launch check box.
Identify all the users who have contributed to the project
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Click the File tab and then click Project Properties.
The Project Properties dialog box opens.
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Click the Users tab.
The Users tab lists your project user profile, and the profiles of all other users who have modified the project.
NOTE The 'NVivo' user profile is automatically added to the list of users when auto coding has been performed in your project. This user profile can help you identify auto coded theme, sentiment or pattern-based coding references in your project. For more information, refer to Automatic coding using existing coding references.
Remove (and merge) project user profiles
When you remove a user profile, you must nominate a 'replacement user'—all project content associated with the user you are removing, will be associated with the replacement user.
When a single individual has created project content under two different user profiles, you can use the remove function to merge the two user profiles.
CAUTION It is a good idea to make a copy of your project before you merge two user profiles—refer to Save and Copy Projects for more information.
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Click the File tab and then click Project Properties.
The Project Properties dialog box opens.
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Click the Users tab.
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Select the user profile that you want remove, and click Remove. The Select User dialog box opens.
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Select a 'replacement' user. All project content associated with the user you are removing, is associated with the replacement user.
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Click OK, the Select User dialog box closes.
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Click OK.
NOTE In server projects, only Project Owners can remove user profiles—refer to Collaborate in a server project for more information.