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Set application options

 

You can set your preferences—for example, display or file location preferences—using NVivo's application options.

Application option settings are 'user specific'—your options may differ from those set by another user on the same computer.

Some application options apply whenever you work in NVivo—for example, your preferred user interface language. Other options do not affect existing projects, and apply only when you create a new project—for example, your preferred custom transcript fields (columns).

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View or change application options

  1. Click the File tab, and then click Options.

The Application Options dialog box opens.

You can change the settings on any tab—refer to the topics below, for detailed information about the options on each tab.

  1. Click OK.

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Reset application options

You can change the application options back to the default settings for your user interface language—click Reset at the bottom of the dialog box.

The following are not changed when you reset your NVivo preferences:

  • Your user profile information

  • Your preference for user interface language and participation in the Customer Experience Improvement Program

  • Your server connections

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General tab options

The General tab allows you change your default NVivo user profile, and set a range of other options.

Edition

Edition  Switch between the different editions of NVivo—NVivo Starter, NVivo Pro and NVivo Plus.

User Profile

Name  Displays the user name associated with your default NVivo user profile. Your default NVivo user profile is used to create your project user profile in standalone projects. Refer to Create, view or change user profiles for more information.

Initials  Displays the initials associated with your default NVivo user profile. If you change the initials, it applies to any new projects you create. To change your initials in an existing project, refer to Create, view or change user profiles (Change the initials associated with my project user profile).

Prompt for user on launch  Select this option to prompt users to provide their user name and initials every time they launch NVivo. This is useful for standalone projects, when more than one person accesses NVivo using the same computer and Windows user account. Refer to Create, view or change user profiles (Turn on or off automatic prompt for user) for more information.

Performance

Display plain text for nodes with <0> or more sources  Select this option to display large nodes in plain text. By default, nodes are displayed in rich text format. If large nodes are taking a long time to open in Detail View, select this option and set the number of sources.

References displayed in node reference view  By default, all references are listed on the Reference tab in node Detail View and in the associated view of a framework matrix. To limit the number of references displayed per source, click Up to <> per source and then enter the number of references you want to show.

Update projects on network drives  If you are working with a project stored on a network drive, the project file on the network is updated either when you save or when you close the project. You can select:

  • On save  The network project is updated every time you save the project

  • On close (Default)  The network project is only updated when you close your project. To avoid loss of data, make sure that you close your project before you turn off your computer.

Language

User interface  The user interface language is the language used on the ribbon and dialogs within NVivo. NVivo 11 is available in English, Chinese (Simplified Chinese), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish. If you select a user interface language other than English, you should ensure that the language is installed on your computer—refer to Microsoft Windows online help for more information.

Coding

Code whole words  Select this option to code the whole word, when you select only part of a word. When this option is selected, if you accidentally select  'ick brown fox' instead of 'quick brown fox', the words 'quick brown fox' will be coded. By default, this option is selected.

Customer Experience Improvement Program

Participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program  By selecting this option, you can help to improve the features, quality, and performance of NVivo. Clear this check box, if you do not want to participate. For more information, refer to Participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program.

Welcome Screen

Show community feed Select this option to display the community tabs on the NVivo Welcome screen. These tabs (News, Tips and Videos) let you explore the latest Tweets and videos posted by QSR and the NVivo community.

Clear Recent Project List  Click this button to clear the Recent Projects list on the NVivo Welcome screen.

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Connections tab options

The Connections tab displays all the application connections that have been set up. The 'Standalone' connection (if present) is used to connect to standalone projects—you cannot remove this connection. All other connections in the list are server connections, which allow you to connect to server projects.

You can use the Add, Modify or Remove buttons to add, modify or remove server connections—refer to Set up server connections for more information.

Application Connections

Name  Displays your name for the connection. When creating a new connection, you can enter any name that is meaningful to you—for example staff projects server.

Host  Displays the name that identifies the NVivo Server on your network. When creating a new connection, you can enter:

  • A server name, for example “myserver'

  • A fully qualified domain name, for example 'myserver.abccompany.com'

  • An IP address

Connect As  Displays the authentication method used when you connect to the server. When creating a new connection, you can select:

  • Current Windows User  Use your current Windows user account to connect to the server.  

  • Specified Windows User  Use a specified user account to connect to the server (you must also enter the Account Name).

Account Name  When connecting as a Specified Windows User, this column displays the user account name that will be used to connect to the server. You will be prompted for your password when you connect to the server to access a project.

Default  Select this option, to make this connection the default. If you mostly work with server projects, you can set your server connection as the default connection, so that server projects are preselected when you open projects.

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Notifications tab options

The Notifications tab allows you to set your preferences for system messages and software updates.

Messages

Enable project save reminders every ( ) minutes  Select this option to get regular save reminders when you work in standalone projects. By default you are reminded to save your project every 15 minutes—you can increase or decrease the frequency of reminders by changing the value in the minutes box.

Enable deletion confirmation messages  Select this option, if you want to be prompted to confirm, when you delete a project item in NVivo. By default, this option is selected.

Updates

Check for software updates  NVivo can automatically check for software updates, which may include enhancements, or fixes for known issues. You can select:

  •  Every 7 days  (Default)

  • Never  Select this option if you do not want NVivo to automatically check for software updates. You can still manually check for software updates—refer to Software updates for more information.

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Display tab options

The Display tab allows you to set a range of display preferences, including your preferences for displaying coding stripes and viewing nodes.

Detail View Defaults

Window  This option controls whether Detail View windows are docked or undocked by default. You can select:

  • Docked (Default)  Detail View windows are docked to the workspace.

  • Floating  Detail View windows are free-floating.

Node display  This option controls which node tab is visible when you open a node in Detail View. You can select:

  • Reference View (Default)  This option displays the Reference View tab when you open a node, showing all the references coded at the node.

  • Summary View  This option displays the Summary View tab when you open a node, showing a list of all the sources coded at the node.

Highlight coding  This option controls whether or not coding is automatically highlighted when you open a source or node in Detail View. You can select:

  • None (Default)  Coding in sources and nodes is not automatically highlighted when you open the item.

  • All nodes  Coding in sources and nodes is automatically highlighted when you open the item.

Node user view  This option controls whether a filter (by user) is applied when you open a node. You can select:

  • All Users (Default)  Coding references created by all users are displayed when you open a node.

  • Current User  Only coding references created by the current user are displayed when you open a node.

Word Frequency query display  This option controls which tab is visible when you view the results of a Word Frequency Query. You can select:

  • Summary View (Default)  This option displays the Summary tab, listing the most frequently occurring words and a count of how often they occur.

  • Word Cloud View  This option displays the Word Cloud tab, showing, by default, 100 words in varying font sizes, where frequently occurring words are in larger fonts.

  • Tree Map View  This option displays the Tree Map tab, showing the results in a series of rectangles, where more frequently occurring words are in larger rectangles. (NVivo Pro and Plus only)

  • Cluster Analysis View  This option displays the Cluster Analysis tab, showing, by default, a horizontal dendrogram, where words that co-occur are clustered together. (NVivo Pro and Plus only)

Text Search query preview display  This option controls which tab is visible when you view the results of a Text Search Query. You can select:

  • Summary View (Default)  This option displays the Summary tab, listing the sources in which the word or phrase occurs.

  • Reference View  This option displays the Reference tab, showing the word or phrase in a narrow context.

  • Word Tree View  This option displays the Word Tree tab, showing the results as a tree with branches representing the various contexts in which the word or phrase occurs.

Annotations tab  Select this option to automatically display the Annotations tab, when you open a source or a node. By default, this option is not selected.

Automatic column sizing  Select this option to automatically adjust the width of columns in List View to fit the contents of the column.  By default, this option is selected. Do not select this option, if you prefer to manually set the width of columns in List View.

See also links tab  Select this option to automatically display the See Also Links tab, when you open a source or a node. By default, this option is not selected. (NVivo Pro and Plus only)

Relationships tab  Select this option to automatically display the Relationships tab, when you open a source or a node. By default, this option is not selected. (NVivo Pro and Plus only)

Media waveforms  Select this option to automatically display the media waveform behind the timeline, when you open an audio or video source. The waveform provides a visual display of the sound patterns in a media file containing imported media. By default, this option is selected. (NVivo Pro and Plus only)

Framework Matrix Associated View Defaults

This feature is available in NVivo Pro and NVivo Plus.

Content  This option controls the content that is displayed by default in the associated view of a framework matrix. You can select:

  • Row Coding (Default)  Show content coded at the row node—the rows in a framework matrix should be case nodes (for example, nodes that represent the people you interviewed). When you click in a row, the associated view shows everything that has been coded to a particular case.

  • Cell Coding  Show content coded at both the row (case) and column node—the columns in a framework matrix should be your theme nodes. When you click in a cell, the associated view shows everything coded to both the case and theme.

  • Summary Links  Show content coded at the row that is linked to text in the summary. When you click in a cell, only content linked to text in the current cell is displayed. This can be useful, when you are reviewing a framework matrix and want to see the supporting source content.

Highlight  This option controls the default highlighting of content in the associated view of a framework matrix. You can select:

  • None  No highlighting.

  • Column Coding  Highlight content that is coded at the column node—this option is useful when you are showing row coding in the associated view, and want to be able to identify any content that is also coded at the column node.

  • Summary Links  Highlight content that is linked to the current matrix cell.

  • Summary Links from Position (Default)  Highlight content that is linked to your current position (or selection) in a matrix cell.

Display  This option controls the position of  the associated view of a framework matrix. You can select:

  • Right (Default)  The associated view is shown to the right of the matrix.

  • Bottom  The associated view is shown below the matrix.

  • Hide  The associated view is not shown.

Coding Stripes

Coding stripes display  This option controls the way coding stripes are displayed when you open a source or node. You can select:

  • None (Default)  Coding stripes are not automatically displayed when you open a source or node.

  • All Nodes Coding Item Coding stripes for all nodes that code the item. You can display the stripes for up to 200 nodes—if more than 200 nodes code the item, then nodes that 'least' code the item are excluded.

  • Nodes Most Coding Item  Coding stripes for nodes that most frequently code the item (of all the nodes coding the item) are automatically displayed when you open a source or node.

  • Nodes Least Coding Item  Coding stripes for the nodes that least frequently code the item (of all the nodes coding the item) are automatically displayed when you open a source or node.

  • Nodes Recently Coding Item  Coding stripes for the nodes that most recently code the item (of all the nodes coding the item) are automatically displayed when you open a source or node.

  • Items Last Selected  Coding stripes for the nodes that were last selected for viewing are automatically displayed when you open a source or node. This option can be useful when you want to check coding at the same nodes across multiple sources.

  • Coding Density Only  The coding density bar is automatically displayed when you open a source or node.

Maximum number of stripes  This option controls the number of coding stripes that are displayed when you choose Nodes Most Coding Item, Nodes Least Coding Item, Nodes Recently Coding Item or Items Last Selected. The default setting for this option is 7—you can select any value between 7 and 200.

Format

Text date format  This option displays the date/time format which is used when you insert the current date and time into a source. You can select:

  • Local Format (Default)  Select this option to use universal time (UTC) converted to your local time zone.

  • Universal Format  Select this option to use UTC (coordinated universal time). UTC is the reference time zone from which all other time zones around the world are calculated—it is the successor of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Color Scheme

Default color scheme This option controls which colors used by default when you view coding stripes or create charts. You can select:

  • Automatic (Default)  Select this option to use random system generated colors

  • Item colors  Select this option to apply the colors that you have assigned to your sources, nodes, relationships, attribute values, or users. Items with no color are displayed in white.

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Labels tab options

The Labels tab allows you to view or change labels used within NVivo.

Defaults for new projects

These options apply only when you create new projects. If you want to change these options in an existing project, refer to Set project properties.

"Unassigned" attribute value label  This option displays the label that will be used for the system-created 'Unassigned' attribute value in any new projects that you create. If you prefer to use another term (for example, 'Blank'), you can change the label—you must choose a term that is unique among attribute values.

"Not Applicable" attribute value label  This option displays the label that will be used for the system-created 'Not Applicable' attribute value in any projects that you create. If you prefer to use another term (for example, 'Irrelevant'), you can change the label—you must choose a term that is unique among attribute values.

"Associated" relationship type label  This option displays the label that will be used for the system-created 'Associated' relationship type in any new projects that you create. If you prefer to use another label (for example, 'Related'), you can change the label. (NVivo Pro and Plus only)

Other options on this tab

Boolean value labels  This option controls the way that all Boolean values in classification attributes and datasets are displayed. This setting applies to any project you open. You can select:

  • Yes/No (Default)

  • True/False

  • On/Off

  • 0/1

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Paragraph Styles tab options

The Paragraph Styles tab allows you to set the paragraph styles for any new project that you create. If you want to change the paragraph styles in existing projects, refer to Set project properties.

Available paragraph styles are listed on the left. The properties of a selected style are listed on the right (Name, Font, Size, Color, Bold, Italic, and Underline), and the preview area shows what the paragraph style will look like.

NVivo provides system-defined styles—Heading 1 to Heading 9, Normal, Title and Plain Text. You cannot remove these styles but you can modify their properties—for example, change the font size or color.

You can also create your own custom styles.

  • Click New Style to add a new custom style.

  • Click Remove to remove the selected paragraph style. You cannot remove system-defined paragraph style.

Reset Style  Click this button to reset the selected paragraph style to its default setting. You cannot reset custom paragraph styles.

Reset System Styles  Click this button to reset all system-defined paragraph styles to default settings for font, size, color, bold, italic and underline.

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Audio/Video tab options

The Audio/Video tab allows you to set options that apply to audio and video sources. .

Settings

This feature is available in NVivo Pro and NVivo Plus.

These settings apply to any project you open.

Player skip interval () seconds  This option displays the number of seconds the media player skips when you skip backwards or forwards while playing the media file. This option applies to any project you open. The default skip interval is 5 seconds. You can select any value between 1 and 99.

Skip back on play in transcribe mode  Select this option if you want the media player to skip back when you play after pausing when you are in transcribe mode—the player skips back by the Player skip interval. This option applies to any project you open. By default, this option is not selected.

Defaults for new projects

These options apply only when you create new projects. If you want to change these options in an existing project, refer to Set project properties.

Embed media in project if file size less than () MB for standalone/server projects  This option displays your media storage preferences for new standalone and server projects. Select this option if you want to automatically embed media files in your projects. By default, media files less than 20MB are embedded. The maximum sizes for embedded media files are:

  • 40MB - standalone projects

  • 100MB - server projects.

Refer to Store audio and video files for more information.

Custom Transcript Fields

This feature is available in NVivo Pro and NVivo Plus.

Use this area of the dialog box to specify your custom transcript field (column) preferences for any new projects you create. By default, new projects contain only the Timespan and Content fields.

Click the Audio or Video tab, and then set your preferences for custom transcript fields in audio or video sources in new projects:

  • Click the New button, to add a custom transcript field.

  • Click the Remove button, to remove a selected custom transcript field.

  • Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to reorder the custom transcript fields—the order from top to bottom represents the order the fields are displayed from left to right.

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Datasets tab options

This feature is available in NVivo Pro and NVivo Plus.

The Datasets tab allows you to change the appearance of text in dataset. These settings apply to datasets in any project you open.

Cell Text

You can change the settings for Font, Size, Color, Bold, Italic, and Underline. The Preview area shows what the cell text will look like.

Reset Style  Click this button to reset the dataset cell text style to its default settings.

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Text tab options

The Text tab allows you to set the text content language for new projects and set your spell check preferences.

Text content language for new projects  This option allows you to set the text content language for any new projects you create. If you want to change this setting in an existing project, refer to Set project properties. The text content language is used when you run Text Search or Word Frequency queries. It is also used for spell checking and pattern-based auto coding. Select the text content language that matches the language of your source materials. If the language used in your sources is not available as a text content language, then you should select Other. Refer to Set the text content language and stop words for more information.

Spell Checking

Use this area of the dialog box to set your preferences for spell check:

  • Ignore words that contain numbers Select this option if you want spell check to ignore words that contain numeric characters (for example, A3).  By default, this option is selected.

  • Ignore words in UPPERCASE Select this option if you want spell check to ignore words that are in uppercase letters (for example, USA).  By default, this option is selected.

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Project Recovery tab options

The Project Recovery tab allows you to set options for project recovery files. When you save your project, NVivo creates a 'project recovery file' to protect against loss of data. This is useful in situations where your project is compromised and you cannot open it—you will have the option to restore it from a project recovery file.

Refer to Recover projects for more information.

You can set the following:

  • Create a project recovery file on save You can set how frequently you want project recovery files to be created (or choose Never to turn them off completely). When you save your work, NVivo checks to see when the last project recovery file was created and (based on this setting) creates a new one.

  • Number of project recovery files to keep for each project You can store up to three recovery files for each project. As newer recovery files are created, older versions are deleted.

  • Project Recovery file locations You can choose where you want to store the recovery files for your NVivo projects. Click the Browse button and choose a location.

NOTE

  • Project recovery files do not replace manual backups—to store accessible versions of your project (for safekeeping or as a snapshot in time) you should continue to create backups manually by copying your project.

  • The creation of project recovery files can impact the performance of your project (depending on the size of your project and your computer's specifications). If you are experiencing slower performance, you can decrease the frequency at which project recovery files are created or turn them off all together.

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