Exporting and (re)importing variables in MAXQDA
This guide demonstrates how variables can be exported and imported as Excel spreadsheets (*.xls-files) in MAXQDA 10 (make sure you are using a recently updated version:Â “?”-menu -> “search for updates”).
Exporting variables
Let’s start off with exporting our variables from MAXQDA. Open up the the variables window first.
Note that MAXQDA will only export the variables you chose to be displayed (you can change this in the list of variables; to get there, click on the icon on the far right from the export button or push ctrl-o). Upon export, MAXQDA will create a new spreadsheet and Excel will open. Your variables will look like this in Excel:
The document name row and the document group row (marked with red arrows) contain crucial information for MAXQDA when we import variables later: Your spreadsheet file has to contain these two variable rows – and the document names and document group names/affiliations have to exactly correspond to the information in MAXQDA – otherwise the program will not know where to assign the values.
Why edit variables in Excel?
Creating and editing your variables in Excel can save you a lot of time: if you have many documents written by the same author, you can use the fill handle tool in Excel to fill the colums, instead of assigning every entry manually in MAXQDA. Also, it is easy to find and replace values in Excel -Â you can’t do that in MAXQDA. If you do not want to re-assign every value ‘manually’, you can export the variable matrix, rename the variables in Excel, and re-import the matrix – this can save you a lot of hassle.
Adding variables in Excel
To add a new variable, add a new row in Excel – in the screen shot I’ve added “Authors/Interviewers” as an example.
…and back to MAXQDA: importing variables from a spreadsheet
In order to import the variables, you will need to save your table as an *.xls file. Close the file before you go back to MAXQDA – if the Excel sheet is still used by another program, you won’t be able to import it. Now open your MAXQDA project. Here, you choose the “Variables” menu on top and select “Import”
Now the window below will show up. Here, you can choose which of the variables found in the document you want to import. In our example I have unchecked “Publication Date” because this variable is already in my variable matrix in MAXQDA. In the “Target” row the program indicates a) which variable type is created if the variable is new or b) which variable will be updated. For example, if I had changed some publication dates in Excel and chosen to import the variable “Publication Date”, the program would overwrite the values in this category. The “target” row indicates, in this case, that the values for the variable “Publication Date” will be replaced upon import.
With a double click on the variable type (in our example <String> for the Authors/Interviewers variable) you can also change the variable type (string, integer, floating point, date&time, or boolean)
Click on “Import”, and your variables will be imported.
Is this post helpful? Leave a comment!
February 13, 2011
· 
Christian Schmieder · 
2 Comments
Tags: MAXQDA, QDA software · Posted in: QDA software
2 Responses
Hello,
I’m just wondering if I can import an excel spreadsheet directly onto MaxQDA, using the “document” bar. I have the two additional columns necessary but MaxQDA still won’t let me import. If you could get back to me, that would be great.
Hi Nikki,
yes, you should be able to import the file via the”document” menu (-> “import documents from spreadsheet”). If it doesn’t work, make sure that the required columns are exactly as required in MAXQDA, and maybe delete any text formatting from these head cells. Also, you should try saving the table as a .txt (*.txt – tab delimited) if it keeps not working – maybe this will help.
Also, did you add code names (eg. question 1, code A… etc.) to all columns (in the first row)? Please feel free to send me an email if the problem still persists.
Best,
Christian
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