Compatibility with other Lumivero software

NVivo 15 Windows

NVivo provides backward compatibility enabling users to open and work with projects from previous versions.

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Compatibility with previous versions of NVivo

NVivo 15 Windows is backwards compatible, meaning that you can open projects created in earlier major versions in later major versions. When opening a project in a later major version, users are prompted to convert the project to the newer version's format. The original project file is copied and the copied file converted, leaving the original intact.

The current version of NVivo Windows (NVivo 15) allows users to open projects from: NVivo 14, NVivo releases 1.0 to 1.7, NVivo 12, NVivo 11, and NVivo 10 (NVivo releases 1.0 to 1.5 effectively constitute a 'major version'—projects created in them can only be opened in NVivo release 1.6 or later if they are converted).

NVivo is not forward compatible—you cannot open a project created in a later version in an earlier version. For example, projects created in NVivo release 1.6 can only be opened in release 1.6 or later.

You can install and run multiple versions of NVivo on the same computer at the same time.

If your project data consists of only Plain text (txt), Microsoft Word 97 - 2003 Document (doc), and Microsoft Word Document (docx) files (no PDFs, datasets, audio, or video) and you need to work on a project with different versions of NVivo, you can use the REFI-QDA (.qdpx) file format to exchange data. For information on using REFI-QDA format and its limitations for non-text data, see REFI-QDA Standard.

If the project contains data other than those listed above, all members of the project team need to be on the same version of the software.

NOTE: If you need to continue using the older software for other projects, more than one version can be installed on the same computer.

Compatibility with NVivo for Mac

NVivo Mac projects have a different file format from those created in NVivo Windows:

  • NVivo Windows (.nvp)

  • NVivo Mac (.nvpx)

All conversion between formats must be done using NVivo Windows.

Project conversion can take a long time depending on the number of documents and PDFs and the amount of coding. We are working on compatible project file formats in the future that will not require conversion.

Users cannot open an NVivo Windows project (.nvp) in NVivo Mac software—they need to convert it to the NVivo Mac format first. They can do this using the 'copy project' feature in NVivo Windows. They can also export selected items to a new NVivo Mac project.

Users can open an NVivo Mac project (.nvpx) in NVivo Windows and it will be converted into the NVivo Windows format. Alternatively, they can also import the content from an NVivo for Mac project into an NVivo Windows project.

The Windows-Mac Project Converter is downloaded and installed automatically the first time the user does a project conversion to or from NVivo for Mac format. The download is approximately 200 MB and may take a few minutes depending on the speed of the internet connection. Alternatively, you can download and install the project converter through an unattended command line installation.

NVivo for Mac has a different set of features than NVivo Windows. If users convert their NVivo Windows project and access it on the Mac, they may not be able to work with all their project items.

While it is possible to work with a project on both Windows and Mac (cross-platform), we recommend that users work with their projects on a single platform. We recommend that users working in teams use the same version of the software (and do not work cross-platform).

Compatibility for NVivo 15 with Collaboration Cloud

With NVivo 15 Collaboration cloud, the project owners can upload an NVivo project to the collaboration cloud which can be downloaded by authorized team members to work on their local drive. All the team members' local changes are constantly synched to the cloud project. Team members whether they are on Mac or Windows can work simultaneously on both projects, eliminating the need for project conversion or merging.

This feature allows project owners to upload projects and manage access permissions from the NVivo client. Users can see other team members' project updates concurrently as they are synced automatically. For more information, see Collaboration Cloud launched with NVivo 14.

Compatibility with NCapture

NCapture is a free web browser extension that enables users to gather material from the web. Users can collect web pages as well as content from social media sites—for example, Facebook and Twitter.

Each time a user captures a web page with NCapture, a new NCapture file (.nvcx) is created with content and metadata from the web page. Users can import NCapture files into theirprojects.

NCapture is included as part of the installation for NVivo Windows. You can also download and install NCapture separately.

NCapture is updated regularly to keep pace with changes to web browsers an social media sites. NCapture may also be updated when a new version of  NVivo Windows is released. If you upgrade with a service pack of NVivo Windows, you should also update NCapture at the same time.

You do not need to have NVivo installed on the computer in order to use NCapture—for example, a user (who does not have NVivo) can use NCapture go gather web content and send the NCapture files (.nvcx) to another user who has.