User profiles

All work in NVivo is identified as having been done by the person logged into NVivo at the time, using their NVivo user profile. This consists of a name and initials. All coding is tagged with the user who did it (important for coding comparison Coding comparison query), but so too are newly created, and modified, codes, cases, memos, queries and visualizations.

IMPORTANT  NVivo user profiles are not myLumivero profiles. NVivo user profiles are created within NVivo and apply to NVivo only—not cloud modules. If you work on NVivo on more than one computer, you must create a user profile in NVivo on each computer. You can create the same profile by using identical name and initials—these will be recognized as the same if you transfer work between computers.

You are prompted to set up a user profile the first time you run NVivo. Any other users who run NVivo on the same computer should also create user profiles.

  1. Start NVivo. If this is the first time you started NVivo, you will be prompted to enter and activate your license before you set up your default NVivo user profile.
  2. On the Welcome to NVivo dialog box:
    • Enter the user profile name that you will use—by default, it is set to your Windows user account name.
    • Enter your Initials—your initials will be used to identify any work that you do in a project.
  3. Click OK.

Check the current user profile

The initials of the current user profile are displayed on the Status bar at the bottom of the NVivo window. When you hover over the initials, the full user name is displayed.

The status bar with the user initials circled

  • Choose File > Project Properties, and then click Users.

The current user profile is highlighted in the list.

Create or change your NVivo user profile

  1. Click the File tab, and then click Options.
  2. On the General tab, under User Profile, enter the Name and Initials for your new user profile.
  3. Click OK.

NOTE

  • If you only change your initials, the new initials will be used in any new projects that you create or work in. Existing project user profiles are not updated. .
  • If you change your name to a name that already exists, your work will be associated with the existing user profile.
  • When you work with NVivo Collaboration Server projects, changing your default NVivo user profile does not change your profile in the project. Your NVivo Collaboration Server project user profile is based on your Windows user account.
  • In NVivo Collaboration Server projects, only Project Owners can change user initials. Collaborate in a Collaboration Server project

Switch project user profiles in an open project

When you are working in a project, you can switch project user profiles by changing your default NVivo user profile (name and initials) to match the name and initials of a user profile that already exists in the project. This can be useful when team members share a computer, and want to switch users without exiting NVivo.

  1. Click the File tab, and then click Options.
  2. Choose NVivo > Preferences.
  3. On the General tab, under User, enter the Name and Initials of the user profile that you want to switch to.

    The name you enter must match the name in the existing profile. If you enter a name which does match an existing profile, a new profile is created.

  4. Click OK.

NOTE   If you accidentally create a new profile, when you intended to switch to an existing user, you can merge the two profiles together.

Turn on or off automatic prompt for user

When team members share a Windows user account and computer, you can turn on 'automatic prompt for user', so that team members are prompted to enter their user profile whenever they launch NVivo.

  1. Click the File tab, and then click Options.
  2. On the General tab, select or clear the Prompt for user on launch check box.

Identify all the users who have contributed to the project

Choose File > Project Properties, and then click Users.

The Users screen lists your project user profile, and the profiles of all other users who have modified the project.

NOTE   The 'NVivo' user profile is automatically added to the list of users when autocoding has been performed in your project. This user profile can help you identify autocoded theme, sentiment or pattern-based coding references in your project. Automatic coding using existing coding patterns

Remove (and merge) project user profiles

When you remove a user profile, you must nominate a 'replacement user'—all project content associated with the user you are removing, will be associated with the replacement user.

When a single individual has created project content under two different user profiles, you can use the remove function to merge the two user profiles.

CAUTION   It is a good idea to make a copy of your project before you merge two user profiles. Project save and backup

  1. Choose File > Project Properties.
  2. Click the Users tab.
  3. Select the user profile that you want remove, and click Remove.
  4. Select a 'replacement' user. All project content associated with the user you are removing, is associated with the replacement user.
  5. Click OK.
  6. Click OK.

NOTE   In NVivo Collaboration Server projects, only Project Owners can remove user profiles. Collaborate in a Collaboration Server project