In NVivo 14, the maximum file size of Windows projects is 10 GB whereas Mac projects can be up to 512 GB. However, Mac projects over 10 GB may not properly convert to Windows.
The main difference, however, is that some features of NVivo for Windows are not available in NVivo for Mac. This means if a Windows project is converted to the Mac file format but contains features unavailable in NVivo for Mac, those features are hidden from view, but become visible if the Mac project is converted back to Windows.
Features available in NVivo 14 for Windows that are not available in NVivo for Mac include:
- compound and group queries
- see-also links
- annotations for non-textual files
- dynamic sets
- framework matrices
- sentiment coding
- relationship coding
- project maps
- reports
For more information, see the software developer's page on Windows & Mac.
Faculty, staff, post-docs, RAs, and graduate students holding paid U Lethbridge positions:
- Contact ITS to request NVivo
- ITS will determine your access mode (MyNVivolicense or via a serial number)
Graduate students who are not U Lethbridge employees:
- If you are a U Lethbridge graduate student and do not hold a paid U Lethbridge position, you can
- download the Non-Employee Access Rights form
- complete the form and ask your supervisor to sign it
- email the completed form to human.resources@uleth.ca
- after 2 to 3 business days, contact ITS to request access to NVivo
Undergraduate students:
- Access NVivo in mostof the U of L computer labs OR
- Use Azure Virtual Desktop (see the AVD site)
The best place to store your project and your NVivo recovery files is on the hard drive of the computer that runs your NVivo application. This is because in any other location (e.g., cloud server, network server, external drive) you run the risk of system commands from those external file storage environments interfering with NVivo's own file saving processes, which may corrupt your NVivo project file. Consult these pages to learn more about saving and backing up your Windows or Mac NVivo project files.
Audio-visual file types that may be imported into NVivo include the following:
Keep in mind that you may have to install suitable decoding software in order to import some audio or video files. For more information, see the page on working with audio and video files for Windows or Mac.
You can import survey data in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Windows users have additional file format options that include delimited text files. Note that imported datasets may not be edited in NVivo.
For information on how to prepare data files for import and how to import the files, see the developer's page on Surveys and datasets for Windows or Datasets for Mac.
You can use NCapture, a free Chrome browser extension for Windows or Mac, to collect social media content and then import it into NVivo. For more information, see the page on importing social media for Windows or Mac.
There are three options for NVivo data analysis in a team environment, two of which involve additional software that must be purchased. The third option is to manually coordinate a team-based project by having one member of the research team take on the role of managing the project master file. Find out more about NVivo teamwork for Windows or Mac.
You may also find it useful to consider some tips on strategies for teamwork for Windows or Mac. Due to differences in the extent to which Windows and MAc project files are interchangeable, in a manually coordinated research team it is advisable to have all team members using a common operating system. For further comparison of NVivo for Windows & Mac, see the page for Windows or Mac.