Open (convert) a MAXQDA project

MAXQDA 2007, MAXQDA 10 and MAXQDA 11 projects (.mx3, .mx4, .mx5) can be opened (and converted) in NVivo.

What do you want to do?

Open (and convert) a MAXQDA project in NVivo
Understand how MAXQDA project elements are converted to NVivo project elements

Open (and convert) a MAXQDA project in NVivo

Click the File tab, and then click Open.

Keyboard shortcut To display the Open Project dialog box, press CTRL+O

The Open Project dialog box opens.

Select MAXQDA Projects (*.mx3, *.mx4, *.mx5) from the File or Project type list.
Locate and select the project you want to open.
Click Open. The Convert Project dialog box opens.

Click the Browse button, and then choose where you want to save the converted project.

Do one of the following:

To save as a standalone project, select NVivo Projects (*.nvp ) from the Save as type list, and then enter a name for the converted project in the File name box.
To save as a server project, select NVivo Server Projects from the Save as type list, then select the server from the Connection name box, and then enter a name for the converted project in the Project name box.

Click Save.

(Optional) Select the Code sources at nodes check box, to create a node for each document (text) that is converted to an NVivo source. Document attributes are converted to case classification attributes, and the attribute values are set on the case node. If you do not select this option, document attributes are converted to source classification attributes and the attribute values are set on the source.
Click the Convert button.

A new NVivo project is created. MAXQDA documents are converted to NVivo sources, codes are converted to nodes, and coding references are converted to node references— refer to Understand how MAXQDA project elements are converted to NVivo elements for more information.

NOTE

The Connection name box is empty if you have not set up any server connections—click the Add button to create a new server connection using the Connection Properties dialog box.
If you cannot select NVivo Projects (*.nvp), check your connections. You need a standalone connection to create a standalone project saved to your computer or a network drive.
If you receive a message indicating that you do not have permission to create a project on the server, verify with your server administrator that you are in a server user group that has permission to create new projects.

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Understand how MAXQDA project elements are converted to NVivo project elements

Texts, text groups, text sets, text memos and attributes

MAXQDA	NVivo	Notes
Text group	User folder within the Internals folder
Memo attached to text group	User folder description	The maximum length of the description is 512 characters. The memo will be truncated during conversion if it contains more than 512 characters. If the MAXQDA memo contains linked codes, a 'see also' link is created, linking the first word of each document (text) in the folder (text group) to the corresponding node. If the MAXQDA project has a memo attached to the root level 'Texts' group, this is converted to the NVivo project description, but any linked codes are not converted.
Text set	Set
Memo attached to text set	Set description	The maximum length of the description is 512 characters. The memo will be truncated during conversion if it contains more than 512 characters. If the MAXQDA memo contains linked codes, a 'see also' link is created, linking the first word of each document (text) in the set to the corresponding node.
Text	Document or PDF source	PDF texts are converted to PDF sources. All other texts are converted to document sources. If a text cannot be imported into NVivo for any reason, it is represented in NVivo by an external source. Color attributes are converted to source colors—the MAXQDA color is converted to the closest NVivo color (blue, green, purple, orange, red, pink, or yellow). Line numbering and paragraph numbering are not available in NVivo.
Memo attached to entire text	Memo	The memo is linked to the document source by a memo link. If the MAXQDA memo contains linked codes, a 'see also' link is created, linking the first word of the memo to the corresponding node.
Memo attached to a text segment	Annotation	The annotation is linked to the first word of the text segment in the document source. If the MAXQDA memo contains linked codes, a 'see also' link is created, linking the first word of the text segment to the corresponding node. Memos attached to text segments in PDF documents are not converted to annotations. An indication of the memo that was attached to the text segment is provided in a linked memo (the memo includes the approximate location of the text segment in the PDF).
Memo attached to an image	Annotation	When converted, the annotated area extends across a full horizontal section of the image.
Text link	'See also' link	Text links attached to text segments in PDF documents are not converted to 'see also' links. An indication of the text link is provided in a linked memo (the memo includes the approximate location of the text link in the PDF).
Attributes (user-defined)	Case classification attributes OR Source classification attributes	If you select 'Code sources at nodes' when you convert the project, then documents attributes are converted to case classification attributes—this is useful when document attributes hold information about people, places or other units of observation. If you do not select 'Code sources at nodes', attributes are converted to source classification attributes—this is useful when the attributes hold information about the document, such as the author and publication date.
Audio and video files	Audio or video sources	Only audio and video in supported formats are converted. Files in other formats will be represented by an external in the NVivo project—any transcript entries are stored in the external. Color attributes are converted to source colors—the MAXQDA color is converted to the closest NVivo color (blue, green, purple, orange, red, pink, or yellow).
Image files	Picture sources	Only image files in supported formats are converted. Files in other formats will be represented by an external in the NVivo project. Color attributes are converted to source colors—the MAXQDA color is converted to the closest NVivo color (blue, green, purple, orange, red, pink, or yellow).

Codes, code sets, code memos and coding

MAXQDA	NVivo	Notes
Code	Node	Code color attributes are converted to node colors—the MAXQDA color is converted to the closest NVivo color (blue, green, purple, orange, red, pink, or yellow). Emoticodes are converted to nodes.
Memo attached to a code	Memo	The memo is linked to the node by a memo link. If the MAXQDA memo contains linked codes, a 'see also' link is created, linking the first word of the memo to the corresponding node.
Code set	Set
Coding (code references)	Node references	Coding references created by color coding (red, green, blue, magenta) are converted to node references, but the coded text segments are not highlighted in color when viewed in NVivo. Color coding codes (red, green, blue, magenta) and code references are converted, but the coded text segments are not displayed in color in NVivo. Coding references are not converted if they were created by coding on the waveform (in audio and video files). Weight scores on coded segments are not converted. Coding in PDF texts is not converted. An indication of the coding that existed in the PDF is provided in a linked memo, which lists the node name, the approximate location of the coding in the PDF, and content coded.
Profile variables	Case classification attributes

Stop-list

MAXQDA	NVivo	Notes
Stop-list	Stop words	Words in the stop-list are added to the stop word list for each text content language in NVivo.

Project user management

MAXQDA

NVivo

Notes

Users

Users in the MAXQDA project are created as project users in the NVivo project.

Information about the user (group, name and comments) is not converted.

Items Not Converted

Maps created using MAXMaps are not converted. If you want to preserve the image of a map, you can export the map to a graphics file (.bmp or .jpeg) and then import it into your new NVivo project as a picture source. You cannot edit the picture source image in NVivo.

Go-lists created using MAXDictio are not converted.

The following MAXQDA 11 project elements are not converted:

Memos attached to the waveform in audio and video files
Reports created using Smart Publisher
User groups and hierarchical levels
Summary grids
Tables

NOTE When you convert a MAXQDA 11 project that contains bibliographical data, the RIS documents, RIS codes and the coding references are imported into the new NVivo project. If you prefer to have this information stored as attribute values using NVivo's source classification system, you could import the bibliographical data separately into NVivo from an EndNote XML or an RIS file—refer to Exchange data between NVivo and reference management tools for more information.

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