Save and copy projects

By default, NVivo project files are saved in the current Mac user's Documents folder on the computer's Mac drive, but you can save them anywhere on your computer. It is not possible to save projects on network drives.

To help ensure against data loss we recommend that you save work regularly (File > Save or keyboard shortcut ⌘+S) and make backup copies of your projects Back up projects.

It's a good idea to compact projects regularly Compact projects. If a project won't open or performs poorly, try creating a new, clean project and importing the problem project into it Merge projects or import items from another project.

IMPORTANT  To help avoid project file corruption always make sure projects are completely closed before shutting down NVivo, and do not work with projects from USB drives—copy the projects to your computer and work on these Avoid project file corruption.

Autosave temporary file

NVivo automatically saves your work to a temporary project file at regular intervals. This provides security against unexpected closure of the program.

IMPORTANT  Automatic saving to the temporary file DOES NOT replace the need to save projects manually—regular saving (File > Save or keyboard shortcut ⌘+S) is the surest way to preserve your work.

If NVivo shuts down unexpectedly, the temporary project file is not deleted and the next time you launch NVivo you are asked whether you want to keep changes that were not explicitly saved—you can choose to keep the changes or revert to the last time you explicitly saved the project.

Back up projects

To back up a project, ensure that it is not currently open then locate the .nvpx project file using Mac Finder and copy to a safe location. (If you have just closed the project, wait until it is fully closed before copying the file, to ensure all changes have been saved.)

Avoid project file corruption

To help avoid corrupting project files follow the tips below:

  • Save regularly while working to avoid file corruption in case the computer shuts down abruptly.
  • Always save projects before leaving the computer for any period of time—files can be corrupted when computers go to into power saving mode.
  • Always make sure projects are completely closed before shutting down NVivo.
  • If a project is saved in a folder that is synched to a cloud storage provider like Dropbox or Google Drive, turn off file synchronization while you are working on the project (or copy the project to a non-synched local folder to work on and copy back when finished).
  • Do not work on project files saved on USB sticks or external USB drives—instead, copy the projects to a local drive and work with them there. Copy back to the external drive when finished.
  • Check regularly for malware on the computer or drive where the project file is stored.
  • Ensure project files are not saved in Windows folders.