Before you install

NVivo 10 Windows

In this topic

Installing 32-bit and 64-bit versions of NVivo 10 Windows

Two versions of NVivo 10 Windows are available:

  • 32-bit NVivo 10

  • 64-bit NVivo 10 for the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 or Windows 8

If you are running a 64-bit version of Windows 7 or Windows 8, you will have the option of installing a 32-bit or 64-bit version of NVivo 10. If you want to work with .mov and .

The software DVD for NVivo 10 (and later) includes both versions of NVivo. Both versions are also available to download from https://

NOTE  If users work with audio and video files, you may need to install additional codecs—for more information, refer to the.

What software is installed?

NVivo needs the following prerequisite software:

  • Windows Installer 4.5

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 Express Edition

  • QuickTime Player 7 (for the 32-bit version of NVivo 10 for Windows and the 64-bit version of NVivo 10 for Windows Service Pack 5 or later)

  • Windows Media Player 11

  • Adobe Flash Player 11 (NVivo 10 Windows Service Pack 2 or later)

In a standard installation (using the wizard), the prerequisite software is installed automatically. If you are using another deployment method, you may need to install them if they are not already installed.

You can also choose to install the following supplementary add-ons:

  • NCapture is a browser extension that allows users to gather material from the web.

  • The NVivo Add-In for OneNote allows users to bring their OneNote (2007 or 2010) content into NVivo.

Additional software plug-ins are used for particular purposes in NVivo:

  • SurveyMonkey plug-in enables users to import survey data directly from SurveyMonkey (installed with NVivo 10 Windows Service Pack 3 or later)

  • TranscribeMe plug-in enables users to purchase a transcript from TranscribeMe (installed with NVivo 10 Windows Service Pack 5 or later)

  • Evernote plug-in enables users to import notes directly from Evernote (installed with NVivo 10 Windows Service Pack 5 or later)

  • Windows-Mac Project Converter plug-in enables users to convert projects between NVivo 10 Windows and NVivo 10 for Mac format. This plug-in (for NVivo 10 for Windows Service Pack 5 or later) is downloaded and installed automatically the first time a user converts a project. The plug-in (approximately 185 MB) may take some time to download, during which the user will not be able to use NVivo. You can optionally install this plug-in for your users when you install the software.

These plug-ins are updated automatically, when necessary. The update process requires an Internet connection but does not require administrator privileges.

Installing software to convert projects to and from NVivo 10 for Mac format

NVivo 10 Windows Service Pack 5 introduced a project converter to enable users to convert projects between NVivo 10 Windows format (.nvp) and NVivo 10 for Mac format (.nvpx).

The Windows-Mac Project Converter is provided as a software plug-in for NVivo 10 for Windows. All project conversion between NVivo 10 for Windows and NVivo 10 for Mac formats needs to be done within NVivo 10 for Windows—that is, it cannot be done from NVivo 10 for Mac.

The converter is downloaded and installed on-demand the first time the user is connected to the Internet and does one of the following in NVivo 10 for Windows:

  • Opens, imports or copies an NVivo 10 for Mac project

  • Copies or exports an NVivo 10 Windows project to NVivo 10 for Mac format

Users need to be connected to the internet in order to download and install the project converter. Users do not need administrator permission in order to install the project converter.  

The process of downloading and installing the project converter can take a few minutes depending on the speed of the internet connection.

If you want to save download time for the users at your site, you can download the files needed to perform a command line installation (or install these files from your NVivo 10 USB flash drive). For more information, refer to Unattended command line installation (Installing the Windows-Mac Project Converter).

Installing NVivo 10 Windows without a local database component

The standard installation of NVivo includes a local database component. If your organization has NVivo Server and your NVivo users intend to work exclusively with NVivo Server projects, you may install NVivo 10 without a local database component (SQL Server 2008 R2 Express Edition) by using a different deployment method—for exampleUnattended command line installation.

Installing NVivo 10 without a local database component can simplify the deployment of NVivo 10 application virtualization environments such as

Using NVivo on a Mac

There are two options for using NVivo on a Mac computer:

  • Use NVivo 10 for Mac.  A beta version of NVivo 10 for Mac has been released and is designed to operate natively on a Mac computer. The early releases of NVivo 10 for Mac will offer a subset of the features available in NVivo 10 for Windows.

If your users want to work with their projects on a Mac, it is worth considering whether the current release of NVivo 10 for Mac has the features they need. For a detailed comparison of the features currently available on both platforms, refer to the QSR website.

  • Use NVivo 10 Windows on a virtual platform.  If your users need features that are not currently available in NVivo 10 for Mac, you could consider installing the Windows version of NVivo on a Mac using one of the following software products.

  • Apple Boot Camp (Boot Camp is included in the Mac OS X version 10.6, Snow Leopard and later versions)

  • Parallels Desktop for Mac

  • VirtualBox

  • VMware Fusion

NOTE  If you are running the software on a virtual platform on a Mac, the virtual machine needs to meet NVivo's system requirements. When using Parallels Desktop for Mac or similar products that emulate the operating system, you may require higher system specifications. This is because these emulation programs require resources for the Mac operating system plus additionally assigned resources for Windows.

Automatic services

The SQL Server (QSRNVIVO10) service is configured to start automatically on workstation startup, operating under the Local System account—unless you have chosen to install NVivo without a local database component

This service provides NVivo 10 with database access to standalone NVivo project files (.nvp files).

Any security software that checks for automatic services should be set to allow this service to start.

Registry keys

NVivo requires all users to have full read/write access to the appropriate areas of the registry in order to operate. These are:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/QSR; and

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Environment

NVivo sets these permissions during the installation process and no action is required by the Network Administrator. However, if the registry permissions installed by NVivo 10 are modified after installation, NVivo 10 may fail to launch.

Sample project

NVivo installs a sample project to assist new users to learn the software.

The sample project is installed in the following location:

  • For Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8  C:\Users\Public\Documents\NVivo 10 Samples

  • For Windows XP  C:\Documents and Settings\All

On installation, file system permissions for the sample project are set so that all users have full read/write access.

For sites with NVivo Server, a read-only version of the sample project is installed on the server. Users can open the server sample project and explore its contents but they cannot make changes to it. If they want to experiment with the sample project, they should create their own copy of the sample project.

Working with data in a language other than English

Users can import and work with data in virtually any language in NVivo. If they intend to work with data in a language other than English, you must ensure that the appropriate language pack has been installed on their computer. Refer to the Microsoft Windows online help for more information.

In addition, NVivo 10 for Windows Service Pack 2 (or later) provides a choice of seven interface languages—English, Chinese (Simplified Chinese), French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

NOTE  In service packs prior to NVivo 10 for Windows Service Pack 3, the Japanese interface language is only available for some license keys.

Pre-installation checklist

We recommend that you check the following items before attempting to install NVivo:

  • You must have full Administrator privileges for the computer on which you are installing NVivo. After installation, NVivo can be run by a ‘least privileged’ user.

  • You should disable antivirus, antispam and

  • NVivo’s Microsoft SQL Server Express database component cannot be installed on a machine that is running another edition of

  • If there is an existing installation of Microsoft SQL Server Native Client on your machine then this may need to be

  • NVivo’s Microsoft SQL Server Express database component cannot be installed on compressed or virtual drives, so if you have set up your computer in this way to conserve disk space, you will need to install NVivo on a drive that is not compressed.

  • If the C:\Program Files\Microsoft (or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server) directory or any of its subdirectories have the 'Compress' or 'Encrypt' options enabled, SQL Server may not install or run correctly. You can check this by using the following steps:

  1. Open Windows Explorer.

  2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft (or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server).

  3. Right click on this folder and select Properties from the context menu.

  4. In the General tab, click on the Advanced button and ensure both the 'Compress...' and 'Encrypt...' checkboxes are unchecked.

  5. Reinstall NVivo (you may need to uninstall first if you had previously attempted to install).

  • Ensure that your machine name is not identical to your username.