Import items from another NVivo project

You can import content or structure from another NVivo project into your open project. This topic explains options for importing.

What do you want to do?

Understand which projects I can import
Import an entire project into my open project
Import selected content into my open project
Import selected structure into my open project

Understand which projects I can import

You can import content from projects created in:

NVivo 10 for Windows
NVivo 10 for Mac
Earlier versions of NVivo (NVivo 9, NVivo 8, NVivo 7)

Importing a project created in NVivo for Mac or created in an earlier version of NVivo takes longer because the project is converted as part of the import process.

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Import an entire project into my open project

CAUTION If you are working in a standalone project (saved to your computer or a network drive), it is a good idea to make a backup copy of the project before importing. Refer to Save and copy projects for more information. If you are working in a server project, you must open the project exclusively before you import—this ensures that you can 'undo' the import if you are not satisfied with the results.

To import an entire project:

Open the project that you want to import into. Server projects must be opened exclusively.

On the External Data tab, in the Import group, click Project.

The Import Project dialog box opens.

Click the Browse button next to the Project to import box to locate and select the project you want to import, and then click Open.

HINT For a server project, select NVivo Server Projects from the list, select the server from the Connection name box, select the project in the Project files.

Under Select the project items to import, select All (including content).
Under For duplicate items, choose whether you want to merge the duplicates or create new project items. Refer to How duplicate project items are handled during import for more information.
Click Import.

The import may take a few minutes. If you are importing another format—for example NVivo for Mac—it may take longer because the project is also converted as part of the import process. You can monitor the progress of your import in the Status bar at the bottom of the NVivo window.

When the import has finished, the Import Project Report is displayed.

(Optional) Print the report for your records—you cannot access this report once it is closed.

NOTE

To import an NVivo 10 for Mac project, you need a project converter. If the project converter is not already installed, it will be downloaded and installed automatically. The download may take more than a few minutes, depending on the speed of your internet connection.
The Connection name box is empty if you have not set up any server connections—click the Add button to create a new server connection using the Connection Properties dialog box.
Where a project item is not a duplicate, but has the same name and location, the item is imported and renamed with an appended number—for example, Environment Report would be imported as Environment Report (2).
If the imported project contains folders that do not exist in your project, the folders and any hierarchical folder structures will be created.
For information about how project properties (for example, user profiles, paragraph styles and custom transcript fields) are handled during import refer to How project properties are handled during import.

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Import selected content into my open project

When you import selected content, you can specify the project elements that you want to import—for example, you could choose to import only sources, nodes, or coding.

If you are collaborating in a standalone project, you can import selected content to merge work done by another user in a copy of your project.

CAUTION: If you are working in a standalone project (saved to your computer or a network drive), it is a good idea to make a backup copy of the project before importing. Refer to Save and copy projects for more information. If you are working in a server project, you must open the project exclusively before you import—this ensures that you can 'undo' the import if you are not satisfied with the results.

To import project content:

Open the project that you want to import into. Server projects must be opened exclusively.

On the External Data tab, in the Import group, click Project.

The Import Project dialog box opens.

Click the Browse button next to the Project to import box to locate and select the project you want to import, and then click Open.

HINT For a server project, click Browse, select NVivo Server Projects from the list, select the server from the Connection name box, select the project in the Project files box.

Under Select the project items to import, select Selected (including content) and click the Options button to make your selection—refer to Import options (including content) for more information.
Under For duplicate items, choose whether you want to merge the duplicates or create new project items. Refer to How duplicate project items are handled during import for more information.

Click Import.

When the import has finished, the Import Project Report is displayed.

(Optional) Print the report for your records—you cannot access this report once it is closed.

NOTE

To import an NVivo 10 for Mac project, you need a project converter. If the project converter is not already installed, it will be downloaded and installed automatically. The download may take more than a few minutes, depending on the speed of your internet connection.
The Connection name box is empty if you have not set up any server connections—click the Add button to create a new server connection using the Connection Properties dialog box.
Where a project item is not a duplicate, but has the same name and location, the item is imported and renamed with an appended number—for example, Environment Report would be imported as Environment Report (2).
If you select items which are located in a folder that does not exist in your project, then the folder (and any necessary hierarchical structure) is also imported.
Only items you select are imported. For example, if you select only sources, only sources are imported—any associated coding, see also links, and annotations are not imported.
For information about how project properties (for example, user profiles, paragraph styles and custom transcript fields) are handled during import refer to How project properties are handled during import.

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Import selected structure into my open project

When you import selected structure, you can specify the structural elements that you want to import—for example, you could choose to import only the node structures or only node classifications, attributes and attribute values.

To import project structure:

Open the project that you want to import into. Server projects must be opened exclusively.

On the External Data tab, in the Import group, click Project.

The Import Project dialog box opens.

Click the Browse button next to the Project to import box to locate and select the project you want to import, and then click Open.

HINT For a server project, select NVivo Server Projects from the list, select the server from the Connection name box, select the project in the Project files.

Under Select the project items to import, select Selected (excluding content) and click the Options button to make your selection—refer to Import options (excluding content) for more information.
Click Import.

When the import has finished, the Import Project Report is displayed.

(Optional) Print the report for your records—you cannot access this report once it is closed.

NOTE

To import an NVivo 10 for Mac project, you need a project converter. If the project converter is not already installed, it will be downloaded and installed automatically. The download may take more than a few minutes, depending on the speed of your internet connection.
The Connection name box is empty if you have not set up any server connections—click the Add button to create a new server connection using the Connection Properties dialog box.

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