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Work with attribute values

 

If you want to record information about the sources and nodes in your project, you can do this by assigning the source or node to a classification and then setting the attribute value for each attribute.

This topic explains how you can work with attribute values—for example, how you can add or import attribute values and reorder the values of an attribute.

What do you want to do?

 

Understand attribute values

When you create a new attribute, it has two system defined attribute values:

  • 'Unassigned'—used to indicate that the value of this attribute has not been assigned yet. This is the default value for the attribute, unless you select another value for the default.

  • 'Not Applicable'—used to indicate that the value is not applicable for the source or node that you are classifying.

You can change the labels used for 'Unassigned' and 'Not Applicable' attribute values in your project, if these labels do not suit your project.

When an attribute has a finite list of possible values, you can define the values when you create the attribute. For example, the attribute sector may have industry, agriculture and retail as the possible attribute values. You can add the attribute values manually or import them from a text file.

Attribute values can also be added, as needed, when you assign sources or nodes to a classification and set their attribute values. For example, you could open the properties for the node Mary and create attribute values (age=22 and occupation=teacher).

Any attribute values you add must be compatible with the attribute's data type. For example, if the data type is 'text' then you can enter alphanumeric characters.

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Add attribute values

  1. In List View, select the attribute—to see the attributes for a classification, click the disclosure triangle.

  2. On the Home tab, in the Item group, click Get Info.

  1. Existing attribute values are listed in the dialog. If you cannot see the attribute values, click the disclosure triangle to show them.

  1. To add another value, click the Add button .

The value you enter must be compatible with the attribute's data type. For example, if the data type is 'text' then you can enter alphanumeric characters.

  1. (Optional) Enter a description of the value.

  2. Click Done.

NOTE

  • You can set this as the default attribute value for any item assigned to the classification, select the Default button.

  • There are other ways to add attribute values—for example, you can import attribute values, or create them as needed, when you classify nodes or classify sources.

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Import attribute values

You can import a list of attribute values from a text (.txt) file. For example, if your classification includes the attribute Country of Origin, you can save time by importing a list of countries. The text file must contain a single column of attribute values.

To import the values for a selected attribute:

  1. In List View, select the attribute—to see the attributes for a classification, click the disclosure triangle.

  2. On the Data tab, in the Import group, click Attribute Values.

  1. Select the text file that contains the data you want to import, and then click the Import button.

You can view the values you imported on the Attribute Properties dialog—which you can open by clicking Get Info, in the Item group on the Home tab.

NOTE  NVivo tries to detect the file encoding used in the file. If the data does not import correctly, try using a different file encoding.

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Reorder attribute values

The order of 'text' values is significant if you want to find or query items where a specific attribute is greater or less than a selected value.

To change the order of attribute values:

  1. In List View, select the attribute—to see the attributes for a classification, click the disclosure triangle.

  2. On the Home tab, in the Item group, click Get Info.

  1. Existing attribute values are listed in the dialog. If you cannot see the attribute values, click the disclosure triangle to show them.

  2. Select an attribute value and change the order using the Move Up and Move Down buttons

  3. Click Done.

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Set the default value for an attribute

If you assign a node or source to a classification, attributes are initially set to their default values. The default value for an attribute is the 'Unassigned' value, unless you select another value for the default.

To set the default attribute value:

  1. In List View, select the attribute—to see the attributes for a classification, click the disclosure triangle.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Item group, click Get Info.

  1. Existing attribute values are listed in the dialog. If you cannot see the attribute values, click the disclosure triangle to show them.

  2. Select the check box for the attribute value that you want to use as the default.

  3. Click Done.

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Set the color for an attribute value

You can set the color for an attribute value. This a useful way to distinguish the value in coding stripes and visualizations. For example, you could display urban locations in red and rural locations in green.

This feature is not currently available in NVivo for Mac—for an overview of the features in this release, refer to What's in NVivo 10 for Mac.

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Rename an attribute value

  1. In List View, select the attribute—to see the attributes for a classification, click the disclosure triangle.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Item group, click Get Info.

  1. Existing attribute values are listed in the dialog. If you cannot see the attribute values, click the disclosure triangle to show them.

  1. Select the value you want to rename, and then type the new name.

  2. Click Done.

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Rename the 'Unassigned' or 'Not Applicable' values

'Unassigned' and 'Not applicable' are system defined values that are automatically created for all attributes. You can change these labels to suit your project or language requirements.

IMPORTANT  If you change these labels, your changes will apply to all attributes in the project.

To change the attribute value labels:

  1. On the File menu, click Project Properties, and then select Labels from the list in the sidebar.

  2. Enter labels you would prefer to display for the attribute values 'Unassigned' and 'Not Applicable'.

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Delete attribute values

  1. In List View, select the attribute—to see the attributes for a classification, click the disclosure triangle.

  1. On the Home tab, in the Item group, click Get Info.

  1. Existing attribute values are listed in the dialog. If you cannot see the attribute values, click on the disclosure triangle to show them.

  2. Select the attribute value you want to delete, and then click Delete

  3. Click Done.

NOTE  

  • If the attribute value you are deleting is currently in use, you will be prompted to select a replacement attribute value. Any nodes or sources that were assigned the deleted attribute value will now be assigned the replacement value.

  • You cannot delete the 'Unassigned' and 'Not Applicable' attribute values.

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