Create a New Project in Nvivo

Follow the steps below to create a new project in NVivo:

Click "New Project"
Choose a fitting name for the project
Check to see that the project file location is a local location on your computer. Click "Browse" to change the file location if needed. (See paragraph below for more information about local file locations)
Click Continue
Select a local file location for "Recovery file location" by clicking "Browse". (See paragraph below for more information about local file locations)
Click "Create Project"

Click here for video - Create a New Project in NVivo

Saving the NVivo project file locally

We highly recommend that you save your NVivo project file locally on an encrypted, password-protected hard drive. If your project does not contain any sensitive data you can save your project file locally on your computer. NVivo project files unfortunately do not work well when saved in cloud-based synchronization folders (e.g. Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, Jottacloud etc.) or server-based folders (e.g. your "Home"-folder on your work computer). If errors happen when using NVivo, this is usually due to the NVivo project file not being saved locally on the computer.

Saving NVivo project files to an encrypted hard drive (for projects containing sensitive data): Create a folder on your hard drive and save your NVivo project file here. Make sure that your hard drive is encrypted with password protection.

Saving NVivo project files to local computer - Windows (for projects containing no sensitive data): Open the File Explorer (Hotkey: Windows-E) and find the C: drive (alternatively you can type C: in the address bar). Create a new folder on the C: drive. Save your NVivo project files here.

Saving NVivo project files to local computer - Mac (for projects containing no sensitive data): Open a new Finder Window and navigate to your Applications folder. Create a sub-folder in your Applications folder - save your NVivo project files here. Files and folders located withing the Applications folder will never sync with iCloud, so this is a quick and easy way to make sure that your NVivo project is saved locally on your computer if you don't want to edit your iCloud settings.
(If you want to manually turn off iCloud-synchronization for Desktop / Document folders, see this guide.)

Don't forget backups! We recommend that you create regular backups of your NVivo project files. This is easy to do - simply click "Share - Copy Project". Save the backup file at a different location than your original file for maximum safety.