NVivo Server - Accessing and Using Projects

NVivo Server allows for collaboration on a single project file as well as improved project file storage.

NVivo projects that are stored on a regular file share, like our U and X drives, are susceptible to file corruption. Additionally, projects can only be edited by one person at a time.  NVivo Server alleviates these problems by storing your project in a central database, which allows for simultaneous project editing by you and your team. To use NVivo Server, you will first need to add it to your NVivo installation. Each collaborating user will need to do this once per machine they use Nvivo on.  

Accessing NVivo Server

Users can access the SSCC instance of NVivo Server from NVivo on Winstat or from a locally installed copy of NVivo R1/2020 while connected to the SSCC VPN.  NVivo R1/2020 can be downloaded for personal Windows machines from the Campus Software Library (CSL). QSR states here that you should not try to connect to NVivo Server from the NVivo for Mac, as it is not compatible.

Another very important note: regardless of what available versions of Nvivo you see in the CSL, you must select the Windows version referred to as "2020" or "R1". Newer versions of Nvivo do not support key functionalities of Nvivo Server, and we do not recommend using them. The best option to use Nvivo is simply to use Winstat.

Add the NVivo Server to your NVivo installation

  1. Launch NVivo
  2. Click the File tab, and then Options.
  3. Click the Connections tab.
  4. Click the Add button. 
  5. In the Connection Properties dialogue box, enter NVIVO.SSC.WISC.EDU into the Host field. You can put whatever you'd like into the Name field, like "SSCC NVivo Server" but this is for your reference only and will not affect your connection.
  6. If you are connecting from Winstat or any SSCC-managed computer you sign into with your SSCC account, select Connect As to Current Windows User. If you are connecting from a personal machine that is not on the SSCC domain, you will need to specify Connect As with the Specified User option of ads.ssc.wisc.edu\Username (do not use PRIMO\Username) in order to authenticate.
  7. (Optional) Select the Default check box, to make this your default connection.

At this point you might choose to either start a New Blank Project on the server, or import an existing project from elsewhere onto the server.

Creating a new Blank Project on the NVivo Server

  1. From the File tab, click Blank Project
  2. Click Browse, and in the the Save As type box, change the type to NVivo Server Projects.
    Changing Save as type to NVivo Server Projects
  3. In the New Project dialogue that opens, you'll see NVivo Servers you've added, and after you select the server, the right column will show any projects you have permissions to interact with.
  4. Type in a new Project Name in the format of PRIMARY OWNER USER NAME - Project Name, like "Heise - Test Project". If the project will have multiple Owners, pick one to be the primary. Important: do not put any special characters (commas, apostrophes, etc) into this field!
  5. Click OK, and you will be taken back to where you can put any Title and Description you want for the project, without system restrictions on special characters.

Importing an existing project into NVivo Server

dialogue box for importing standalone nvp file into server

  1. Open your standalone project file in NVivo.  
  2. Go to File -> Copy Project and browse to the location where your project is saved.  
  3. Select "Nvivo Collaboration Server project" as Copy To, and click Browse
  4. In the Copy to Project File box, select the SSCC NVivo Server you added previously, then type in a new Project Name in the format of PRIMARY OWNER USER NAME - Project Name. If the project will have multiple Owners, pick one to be the primary. Important: do not put any special characters (commas, apostrophes, etc) into this field!
  5. Press Save, and then OK. Depending on the size of the .nvp file you are importing into the server, this may take several minutes.

Export an NVivo Server project to Standalone

If you need to move your project from NVivo Server to a standalone project, do the following:  
dialogue box for exporting nvivo server project into standalone

  1. When you are in your Server project, click File and select Copy Project.
  2. The server project you have open will be preselected in the Project field. Select "NVivo (Windows) R1 project" (NVivo Mac is not currently supported) as Copy To, and click Browse.
  3. Select where you would like to save your project and a filename.
  4. Press Save, and then OK.

Deleting or Renaming an Nvivo Server Project

Shows where in File menu the Manage -> Delete project is

Project Owners are able to delete and rename their NVivo Server Files.  Please delete the projects you no longer need from the server in order to free up space for other users to store projects. If a non-Project Owner attempts to follow these steps, they will get the error "You do not have permission to delete the server project"

  1. With NVivo open, make sure all Projects are closed: click File, then Close.
  2. Click File, then Manage and select either Rename Server Project or Delete Server Project - if all Projects are not closed, the word Manage will be grayed out in the File menu.
  3. Select the the SSCC server under Connection Name.
  4. Under Project files you will see all projects you own or have access to. Select the projects you own and want to alter, and press OK.
Allows you to select which project on the server to delete

Keywords:
nvivo, server, collaboration, teams, sharing, project creating managing 
Doc ID:
102142
Owned by:
Zach H. in Social Science Computing Cooperative
Created:
2020-05-18
Updated:
2024-09-16
Sites:
Social Science Computing Cooperative
Clean URL:
https://kb.wisc.edu/nvivo-server-creating-and-managing-projects