Merge projects or import items from another project

To merge projects, import content or structure from one NVivo project into another, 'master' project.

You can import content from projects created in:

  • NVivo 12 for Windows
  • NVivo 12 for Mac
  • Earlier versions of NVivo created on the Windows platform (NVivo 11, NVivo 10, NVivo 9, NVivo 8, NVivo 7)

NOTE  You can't import project from later versions into earlier versions. For example, you can't import an NVivo 12 project into an NVivo 11 project.

CAUTION  It is a good idea to make a backup copy of the project before importing. Save and copy projects

Import a project

  1. Open the project that you want to import into. NVivo for Teams projects must be opened exclusively.
  2. On the Import tab, in the Project group, click Project.
  3. Locate and select the project you want to import.

    TIP  For an NVivo for Teams project, select NVivo Server Projects from the list, select the server from the Connection name box then select the project in the Project files box.

  4. Choose which project items you want to import.
  5. Choose how you want to handle duplicate project items.
  6. Click Import.

    The import may take a few minutes. When the import has finished, the Import Project Report is displayed.

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

NOTE  Only items you select are imported. For example, if you select only files, only files are imported—any associated coding, see also links, and annotations are not imported.

Handling duplicates

Project property changes

When you import items from another NVivo project, some project properties may change.

Project Property Comment
Project user profiles

Duplicate project user profiles are not imported:

  • Standalone project user profiles are duplicates when they have the same user name.
  • NVivo for Teams project user profiles are duplicates when they have the same Windows user account.

If you import content created or modified by a user who does not exist in your project, then the project user profile is also imported.

Stop word lists

The stop word lists in your project are retained.

Paragraph styles

Default paragraph styles in your project are not updated when you import content from another project.

Custom paragraph styles may be updated when you import an entire project. If the imported project has unique custom paragraph styles, the unique custom styles are added to your project. If a custom style with the same name exists in both projects, the custom style definition in your project is not updated.

Imported documents retain their original paragraph styling.

Custom audio/video transcript fields Custom transcript fields (columns) that are unique to the imported project are added to your project, until you reach the limit of 10 custom transcript fields.