Project Organization and Data Security

Transcription

1 Project Organization and Data Security

2 Contents PROJECT ORGANIZATION AND DATA SECURITY... 1 RENAMING, DELETING, AND DUPLICATING PROJECTS... 1 MANUAL AND AUTOMATIC BACKUPS FOR PROJECTS... 2

3 Project Organization and Data Security Renaming, Deleting, and Duplicating Projects Creating a New Project MAXQDA allows you to work with as many different projects as you want. If you want to work separately with a secondary data set, you just need to create a new project for it. This is how it s done: Click on the Project drop-down menu. Select New project. Navigate to the folder where you would like to save this new project Give the project a name and click Save. Every project in MAXQDA is given the ending MX12. In order to secure your work, it is recommended that you back up this file regularly on an external backup device, such as a USB stick, external hard drive, or cloud location. Qualitative data analysis is a lot of work, but it only takes a minute to back it up and avoid risking a loss of your work if something happens to your computer. Deleting a Project If you want to delete a project, you can do so in the same way you would delete any other file in Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. MAXQDA 12 projects always have the file ending MX12, (or the file type MAXQDA 12 Project) and the projects from previous MAXQDA versions have the endings MX11, MX5, MX4, MX3, MX2, or M2K. It is not possible to delete a project directly from the MAXQDA interface. Whether or not it is possible to undelete a project depends on your Windows or Mac Recycle Bin settings, but MAXQDA does not have any control of these operations on the operating system level. Renaming a Project Renaming a project can also only be done from Windows Explorer or Mac Finder, not within MAXQDA. Right-click on the project file and select Rename from the context 1

4 menu that appears. Duplicating a Project A copy of your project, for example for backup purposes, can be generated easily in Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. Alternatively, you can duplicate the project directly in MAXQDA: 1. From the main menu, select Project > Duplicate project. 2. Choose the folder that you would like to save the file in. 3. Assign a name to the file. To work with the copy of the project, you will need to open it; unlike the Save as function in programs like Word, the newly-created file isn t opened automatically. However, MAXQDA will ask if you would like to work with the duplicate project. Manual and Automatic Backups for Projects Manual Backup It is strongly recommended to make regular backup copies of your project and save them on an external device in case of computer damage or failure. Backup copies should be saved in a different location than your computer in case of theft, water damage, etc. You can transfer your MAXQDA data onto an external device with the help of Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. Alternatively, you can open the project in MAXQDA and select Project > Duplicate project. Then select the destination location and file name and click OK. Automatic Backup MAXQDA allows you to save projects automatically. Open a project that has a set time limit (default 14 days) and is not automatically saved by MAXQDA. A message will appear asking if you would like to save the project now. When you accept, MAXQDA will save a copy in a selected directory. MAXQDA automatically provides the backup file with a date and time stamp. Both the time interval, meaning how often the project will be saved, and the directory 2

5 for the backup files, can be set in Project > Preferences (Windows) or MAXQDA 12 > Preferences (Mac). There, you can also disable the function entirely. Note: Automatic backup is an extra security measure, but by no means replaces the regular backup your project files to external media, such as a portable hard drive! 3