Mass deployment

NVivo 11 Mac

This topic includes information about installation and activation of NVivo Mac across a network.

In this topic

Installing NVivo Mac across a network

You can install NVivo Mac across a network using the software distribution methods that are available for your site. For example, we are aware that some site administrators have used the following:

  • Casper Suite

  • Apple Remote Desktop

  • Munki

  • FileWave

NOTE  

  • QSR International has not verified the above deployment methods and we do not provide technical support for them.

  • Each installation of NVivo for Mac requires a license key and also needs to be activated.

  • You can also perform an unattended activation.

  • You can download the latest version of NVivo Mac from https://

Unattended activation

You can activate the license via the Internet using a shell script and an activation file. A valid license key is required for this process. You must have administrator privileges.

The following commands need to be run on each computer you intend to activate:

  1. Navigate to the location of the NVivo executable file—for example:

cd /Applications/NVivo.app/Contents/MacOs

  1. Initialize and activate the license key using the following command:

sudo ./NVivo -initialize license key -activate activation filename

This command performs a silent product initialization using the specified license key and the activation details in the specified activation file. Refer to Activation file format for details on the content and format of the activation file.

NOTE  

  • Enter the license key in the following format: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx

  • If you want to use NVivo as a free trial, you can use the  '-initialize' parameter without a license key.

  • Angle brackets <  > indicate that the enclosed element is mandatory. You need to replace the text within the angle brackets with relevant information. Do not type the angle brackets themselves in the command line.

Activation file format

You need to provide a valid activation file when performing an unattended activation.

IMPORTANT  Make sure the document format is plain text before pasting the sample content into the editor.

To create an activation file:

  1. Open TextEdit.

  2. Select Format > Make Plain Text.

  3. Copy and paste the text below into the editor.

  4. Set the values within the tags.

  5. Save as a plain text file with UTF-8 encoding.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes"?>

<Activation>

  <Request>

    <FirstName>John</FirstName>

    <LastName>Sysadmin</LastName>

    <Email>[email protected]</Email>

    <Phone>+1-555-555-5555</Phone>

    <Fax>+1-555-555-5555</Fax>

    <JobTitle>Your Job Title</JobTitle>

    <Sector>Your Sector</Sector>

    <Industry>Your Industry</Industry>

    <Role>Your Role</Role>

    <Department>Your Department</Department>

    <Organization>Your Organization</Organization>

    <City>Boston</City>

    <Country>USA</Country>

    <State>Massachusetts</State>

  </Request>

</Activation>

You can also download a zip file containing the sample activation file. Extract the file and then open it in your text editor.

NOTE  You must observe the following rules, or the activation will fail:

  • Fields in bold are mandatory.

  • State is a mandatory field if you set the country field to USA, Canada or Australia.

  • You must use a valid email address.

  • You must use abbreviations for the following countries:

  • For United States of America, use USA

  • For United Kingdom, use UK

  • For all other countries, capitalize the first letter of each word—for example, 'Mexico' or 'New Zealand'. Refer to the list of accepted country names for the specific format and spelling for your country name.

Unattended license extension

Enterprise licenses (formerly known as site licenses) enable multiple users in your organization to work with NVivo for a period of time. When an enterprise license is renewed, your organization will receive a new license key that you use to extend the existing license.

You can extend an activated license. Once you extend a license with a new key, you also need to activate the new key.

To perform unattended license extension:

  1. Navigate to the location of the NVivo executable file—for example:

cd /Applications/NVivo.app/Contents/MacOs

  1. Extend the license key using the following command:

sudo ./NVivo -extend license key

  1. Activate the license key using the following command:

sudo ./NVivo -activate activation filename

NOTE  

  • For information on the content and format of the activation file, refer to Activation file format.

  • Only activated license keys can be extended. For computers where an enterprise license was never activated, you need to replace the license key.

  • Angle brackets <  > indicate that the enclosed element is mandatory. You need to replace the text within the angle brackets with relevant information. Do not type the angle brackets themselves in the command line.

Unattended license replacement

If your site has been issued multiple NVivo license keys and you encounter problems activating a particular license key—for example, if a license key has expired or has been activated too many times—then, you can use a different license key instead. You can replace an unactivated license.

To perform an unactivated license replacement:

  1. Navigate to the location of the NVivo executable file—for example:

cd /Applications/NVivo.app/Contents/MacOs

  1. Replace and activate the license key using the following command:

sudo ./NVivo -initialize license key -activate activation filename

NOTE  

  • For information on the content and format of the activation file, refer to Activation file format.

  • Only unactivated license keys can be replaced. If you have already activated a license key, you need toextend the license key.

  • Angle brackets <  > indicate that the enclosed element is mandatory. You need to replace the text within the angle brackets with relevant information. Do not type the angle brackets themselves in the command line.

Unattended license deactivation

You can deactivate NVivo via the Internet using a shell script. The following script needs to be run on each computer you want to deactivate:

To perform unattended deactivation:

  1. Navigate to the location of the NVivo executable file—for example:

cd /Applications/NVivo.app/Contents/MacOs

  1. Deactivate the license key using the following command:

sudo ./NVivo -deactivate

This command performs a ‘silent’ deactivation of the NVivo license.