My NVivo Windows project is running slow or Nodes/Codes are slow to open, what should I do?
Answer
The latest version of NVivo was released in March 2020, it supersedes NVivo 12. The below information applies to new NVivo, NVivo 12 and NVivo 11 Windows.
1) System requirements
Please ensure your system supports NVivo Windows. To check minimum system requirements, see What are the minimum and recommended system requirements to run NVivo Windows
2) Default printer
Make sure you have defined a default printer (either physical or print to pdf). Windows relies on the printer settings to display the source file contents in Detail View.
If a printer is defined, make sure it is accessible from your current location.
Make sure you have defined a default printer (either physical or print to pdf). Windows relies on the printer settings to display the source file contents in Detail View.
If a printer is defined, make sure it is accessible from your current location.
3) Compact and Repair
It is recommended to perform a ‘Compact and Repair’ regularly to ensure optimal project performance. Please make a copy of your project before performing a ‘Compact and Repair’
4) Nodes/Codes are slow to open
If nodes are taking quite some time to open, please change the below setting to display the coded content using plain text instead of rich text. Note, this is just a display setting and doesn’t affect or change what has been coded to Nodes/Codes.
If Nodes/Codes are still taking a while to open, please change your default printer.
5) Store large Media files outside the project
If you are importing with large audio/video files, you may wish to store them outside of the project to reduce project size
It is recommended to perform a ‘Compact and Repair’ regularly to ensure optimal project performance. Please make a copy of your project before performing a ‘Compact and Repair’
4) Nodes/Codes are slow to open
If nodes are taking quite some time to open, please change the below setting to display the coded content using plain text instead of rich text. Note, this is just a display setting and doesn’t affect or change what has been coded to Nodes/Codes.
- Launch NVivo
- Go to the File menu -> Options
- Tick the option ‘Display plain text for nodes with' (under ‘Performance’, in the General Tab)
- Click Apply and OK
- Close and reopen NVivo
If Nodes/Codes are still taking a while to open, please change your default printer.
- If NVivo is open, save your project and close NVivo application
- Click the Start button or press the Windows key
- Type “Control Panel” into the search box in the Start menu, and press Enter
- Windows will search for and open the Control Panel application.
- Under Hardware and Sound, click View devices and printers.
- Note: This step assumes that the Control Panel is set up to view by Category. If it is set up to view by Icons, just click Devices and Printers. A green check mark shows which printer is set as Default.
- Right-click on another printer such as ‘Microsoft XPS Document Writer’ to set it Default.
- Reopen NVivo to see if the issue persists.
5) Store large Media files outside the project
If you are importing with large audio/video files, you may wish to store them outside of the project to reduce project size
6) Turn OFF and clear project event log (if turned ON)
Changes to your project are recorded in the project event log. Having the project event log turned ON can cause project slowness. You can view the event log to monitor who has made changes, when the changes were made and what project item was changed.
- Open your project in NVivo.
- Click the File tab and then click Project Properties.
- The Project Properties dialog box opens.
- On the General tab, clear the Write user actions to project event log check box.
- Click OK.
- To also clear the existing project event log, go to File > Info > Clear Project Event Log
If you have tried all the above steps and the project is still quite slow, please provide us below information and send us a support ticket specifying which of the above tipps you have tried so far. Please provide the following details in the ticket:
- Is the slowness present in all projects or a specific project only?
- Is the slowness present in the NVivo sample project?
- Are there specific actions in the project that are slow such as coding, opening a node etc?
- What is the size of your project file? Navigate to your project file (nvp file),Right-click on project file (nvp file) and select ‘Properties’
- Where is the project file stored? Network drive, local disk or external USB disk etc.