Projects from the latest version of NVivo cannot be opened in previous versions of NVivo such as NVivo 12 or NVivo 11. That means if you have created a project in a newer version of NVivo, or have converted your NVivo project file by opening in in the latest version, you will not be able to open it in an older version of NVivo.
You are using NVivo R1/2020 of NVivo and receive this error?
The below information applies to users of NVivo R1/2020 (Which NVivo version do I have?). In January 2022 an update to NVivo 1.6 was released, which updated the database version installed with NVivo. This means that projects created in release 1.6 (and following) cannot be opened in any earlier version. So please check for updates (NVivo start screen - File – Product info – check for updates) and make sure that everyone in the team has the latest update installed. This should solve the issue.
Limited workaround to open a project file in an earlier version of NVivo
However, if you have opened your project in a later version of NVivo, there is a limited workaround that allows you to re-open your project again on a previous version. You may be able to export your project data (with some limitations) to REFI-QDA open exchange format. You can then import this data into an earlier version of NVivo.
Note: NVivo Support team is unable to convert a project so it can be opened in older versions of NVivo.