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If a user is having trouble opening a server project, check that:
The user account exists on the server machine or domain.
An NVivo Server license has been activated in NVivo Server Manager.
The user has been added to either the Users or Project Creators server user group in NVivo Server Manager.
Sufficient Client Access Licenses (CALs) have been made in available in NVivo Server Manager to support named or concurrent user access.
The user has a valid server connection—this is defined in the Application Options dialog in their NVivo client application.
The user is logging on using the correct user account.
A Project Owner has added the user to a project user group (Project Owners, Contributors or Readers), or Guest access to the project is enabled. Ask the Project Owner to confirm this. If existing Project Owners are unavailable, you may need to add a Project Owner to the project, so that the user can be granted access.
The project format is compatible with the NVivo client software installed on the user's computer—for example, if the user wants to open an NVivo 9.1 project, they must have NVivo 9.1 (or later) installed.
When more than one user is working on a project, NVivo Server automatically saves updates and manages any potential conflicts between the users. Users may ask the following:
| User Question | Explanation |
|
Why can't I save the project? |
When users update a project, the changes are saved immediately to the server and are visible to other users. Users do not have to manually save their project. |
|
Why can't I edit this project item? |
If a user wants to edit the content of a source or model, they must switch to edit mode. If another user tries to edit the item at the same time, they will see a message indicating that the item is not available for edit. NVivo will prompt with another message when the item becomes available. Certain types of sources (dataset and PDF sources) cannot be edited in NVivo and users cannot switch to edit mode in these sources. |
|
How can I see everyone's updates? |
NVivo refreshes the workspace whenever a user performs common actions such as navigating to a different folder or opening an item. To manually refresh the NVivo workspace—users can click Refresh, in the Workspace group, on the Home tab. |
|
Conflict with another user, what now? |
NVivo informs users if they try to make a change that conflicts with another colleague's work. For example, if a user attempts to change an item that is out of date (due to another user's changes). NVivo will display a message and retrieve the latest data so that they can try again. |
|
Can I have my own application settings? |
Each user can have their own application preferences—for example, they can hide the audio waveform or use a large font in datasets. |
|
Why am I being prompted to convert a project when I try to open it? |
NVivo Server (SP1 or later) can host projects in all NVivo 9 formats. If a later version of the NVivo client attempts to open a project in an earlier format, the user is prompted to convert the project to the later format. The original project is not changed, instead a converted copy of the project is created on the server. Everyone working in a shared project should be using the same version of the NVivo client software. |
|
Why do I get a message indicating that the project cannot be opened because it was created in a later version of NVivo? |
Later format projects cannot be opened by earlier versions of the NVivo 9 client. All users who are working together in a shared project should be using the same version of the NVivo client. |
To create a project on NVivo Server a user must:
Be a member of the Project Creator server group—you add users to groups using NVivo Server Manager.
Have a valid server connection—this is defined in the Application Options dialog in their NVivo desktop application.
NVivo users can choose to embed media files in a project or store them outside the project on their computer or on a network location. They may also choose to do both—storing small media files in the project, and storing large media files outside the project. Any files that exceed 100 MB must be stored outside the project.
If media files are stored on a user’s local machine then other users cannot access them. You should encourage users to store these files in a location accessible to all users—for example, on a shared network drive. Users can change the location of ‘external’ media files in the project—refer to the NVivo client Help for more information.
You should ensure that NVivo server projects are backed-up regularly.
If a Project Owner inadvertently deletes a project, you can restore it from back-up using SQL Server Management Studio. Refer to MSDN article How to: Restore a Database Backup (SQL Server Management Studio) for more information.
If users are experiencing poor performance:
You can use the Repair function in the NVivo Server Manager.
Project owners can use the Compact and Repair function in the NVivo client—refer to the NVivo client Help for more information.
You should always make a backup copy of the project before repairing it.
When you repair a server project, other users are disconnected from the project.
Users (who have Project Creator permissions on the server) can copy an existing standalone project to the server using the copy function in the NVivo client. Refer to the NVivo client Help for more information.
Both standalone and server projects may contain links to audio and video files which are not embedded in the project. If you copy or move a project containing audio and video sources, you may also need to copy or move the media files. In the NVivo desktop application, you can display a list of all the files that are not embedded in the project—refer to the NVivo client Help for more information.
NVivo Server does not allow users to work disconnected and then 'sync' projects later on.
If necessary, users can copy a server project to their computer using the Copy function in the NVivo desktop application (as long as the project is less than 4GB). Refer to the NVivo client Help for more information about copying server projects.
Unless you allocate Client Access Licenses (CALs) to specific users, access to server projects is on a first-come, first-served basis.
If specific users need guaranteed access to a project (Project Owners for example), then you can allocate them a 'named' user license. Refer to Configure permissions and allocate licenses (Allocate Client Access Licenses) for more information.