MAXQDA Reader vs. Full MAXQDA: What You Can and Can’t Do

How to Use MAXQDA Reader — Tips for Students & Researchers

MAXQDA Reader is a free companion program for viewing and navigating MAXQDA projects without needing the full MAXQDA license. It’s useful for students, supervisors, collaborators, or anyone who only needs to read, search, and review project contents.

Key features

• View coded segments, memos, variables, and document content.
• Search within documents and across the project.
• Navigate code system and code occurrences.
• Read and export document and segment-level memos.
• Print or export documents and visualizations (export options are more limited than full MAXQDA).

How to get and open a project

1. Obtain the .mx20/.mx18/.mx21 (project) file from the project owner.
2. Install MAXQDA Reader (free download from MAXQDA’s website).
3. Open the project file via File > Open Project. The Reader will load project contents in read-only mode.

Basic navigation

• Documents window: browse source documents (texts, PDFs, images, audio/video).
• Retrieved Segments: shows text and media segments linked to selected codes.
• Code System: expand to see codes and subcodes; select a code to see where it appears.
• Variables / Document Variables: view case metadata and variables used in analyses.

Reading and searching

• Use the global search to find keywords across all documents.
• In-document search finds matches and highlights coded segments.
• Click a retrieved segment to jump to its location in the source document.

Working with codes and memos

• View coding stripes alongside texts to see which codes apply where.
• Open memos attached to documents, codes, or segments; export memo contents if needed.
• You cannot add or modify codes in Reader — it’s read-only.

Exporting, printing, and sharing

• Export retrieved segments, document texts, and memos as RTF, TXT, or Excel (depending on version).
• Print documents or selected segments via File > Print.
• If you need full editing, request the project owner export coded segments or provide access to full MAXQDA.

Tips for students & researchers

• Ask project owners for a short guide or map of the code system to speed review.
• Use document variables to sort and filter documents (e.g., by participant group or date).
• Export retrieved segments with document variables to create a spreadsheet for qualitative write-ups.
• For multimedia, use timestamps in memos to reference relevant audio/video clips.
• If you need to test coding ideas, export excerpts and annotate in a separate document rather than trying to edit in Reader.

Limitations to expect

• No ability to recode, create new memos, or alter project structure.
• Some visual tools and advanced exports may be disabled.
• Compatibility: very old/new project versions may require conversion by the project owner.

Quick checklist before reviewing a project

• Get the correct project file version.
• Request codebook or code map from the owner.
• Ask which exports (if any) you may need (retrieved segments, memos, variables).
• Confirm citation or attribution norms for using project content.

If you want, I can:

• Draft a short codebook template students can send to their supervisors, or
• Create step-by-step export instructions for retrieved segments into Excel.