Exporting the ATLAS.ti analysis project: A procedure for backing up and transferring projects

A Procedure for Backing Up and Transferring Projects

Have you ever come across any of the following situations?

• You have worked so hard on your ATLAS.ti project on your office’s desktop computer, then you need to continue working on the same project at home – on your home computer.
• You have your ATLAS.ti project on your Macbook, then you wish to showcase your analysis at a conference – on a Windows laptop.
• You want to create a backup of your project, as a precaution in case something happens to the original analysis project.
• You simply want to create a progressive copy of your analysis project at a particular time interval, though you would still continue working on the same project afterwards.

In this short best practices article, I would like to share with you an important strategy in ATLAS.ti which would enable you to export or transfer the projects from one machine to another – it is called ‘bundling’.

What is ‘bundling’?

Project bundling is a feature in ATLAS.ti which allows the users to group together (a.k.a. ‘bundle’ or ‘zip’ together) the analysis project file and the source data files. By using this feature, the user would be able to properly export or transfer their analysis project from one machine to another, or simply to create a complete ‘copy’ of their analysis projects. This complete ‘copy’ of the analysis project is called ‘project bundles’ and known by the extension “.atlproj”.

Why proper bundling is recommended?

It is highly recommended for users to properly create bundles, should they wish to do any of the following:

• To open the analysis project on a second machine (Windows and/or Mac).
• To create a complete ‘copy’ of the analysis project (for backup).
• To save a progressive ‘copy’ of the analysis project.

How frequent should bundles be created?

It is always a good idea to create bundles as frequently as possible. After all, computers can fail and by having the project saved as a bundle, you will be protected against computer malfunction. It will not take you more than a few seconds to do it. So, it certainly is worth the effort.

How to create bundles in ATLAS.ti?

To create bundles in ATLAS.ti is super easy, and takes minimal effort!

In ATLAS.ti Windows

Once created, the exported bundle would be in the extension ‘.atlproj.’ The user can then save this bundle in an external drive, or on the cloud, or any other locations convenient to the user.

In ATLAS.ti Windows

In ATLAS.ti Mac