Preview of ATLAS.ti 7

ATLAS.ti v.7 Preview

 

ATLAS.ti 7 is only a few months away, its release scheduled for early March 2012. Time to take a more in-depth look at what is coming in this major new release. There are many reasons to look forward to this next milestone in professional qualitative data analysis.

 A detailed preview of select new features can be found here:

http://downloads.atlasti.com/v7preview/v7preview_201111.pdf

The guiding princples of the innovations in ATLAS.ti 7 can be described as centered around increased usability, streamlined productivity, and revolutionary new functionality:

 

Powerful Video and Audio Analysis

ATLAS.ti 7 features state-of-the-art analysis of multimedia files.

This makes ATLAS.ti the premier tool choice for anybody working closely with video and audio material, such as media researchers, educators, video analysts, musicologists, and scholars in a host of areas where media analysis is required.

 

Waveform cues and frame previews overcome the navigational „blindness“ of the old approach and give you highly precise navigation. Videos can be viewed embedded, stand-alone, and full-screen.

 

Multi-dimensional analysis: Create image PDs from displayed frame for in-depth scene coding.

 

Virtual Reality: Margin Metaphor Throughout

Most intutive user interface:

Software users--not only ATLAS.ti--still prefer to simulate the non-digital world even in this digital age: Smartphones offer virtual bookshelves from where to pick your eBooks. Pages of eReaders can be turned over as if they were real pages. Music apps let you input rhythm patterns via drum pads and melodies via virtual keyboards or virtual. In nearly every field there exists a time-honored and well-proven standard way of interaction with your material.

The most natural environment for the qualitative researcher is the margin area. Audio and video now share ATLAS.ti‘s basic metaphor for presenting and working with documents: the margin area. Text, PDF, images, audio, video – all utilize this powerful workspace.

Printing your source materials with all its margin information (not possible in any other QDA product) is, naturally, standard procedure for ATLAS.ti. In ATLAS.ti 7, this will also be available for PDF and image files.

 

Multi-Document View

In ATLAS.ti 7, you can work on multiple documents at the same time and side-by-side. Imagine the possibilities: Compare different versions of the same document, directly draw connections between different segments, or synchronize multimedia and text documents with one another.

Document regions can be freely arranged via drag & drop. The operation is smoothly animated.

 

Up to four documents of any type can be displayed and worked with side by side, including their margin areas.

This enforces an in-depth understanding of the data. It also makes transcribing media and analyzing associated documents child's play. A transcript can be activated from its associated media file clicking the "red dot." Cross-document drag & drop of brackets lets you create hyperlinks and navigate them without losing context.

 

Fast, Flexible and Secure Document Management: Managed Documents

ATLAS.ti 7's powerful new managed documents concept ensures referential and content integrity to make users' life easier! You now have a choice if you want to keep your project files stored in their original location (as before) or if you want ATLAS.ti to handle all document management tasks for you, safely and securely. The managed document concept also includes a "public library" that contains shared material for collaborative work.

You can retain the project document structure you're used to, or convert your existing HUs to managed docs. This sophisticated document management also gives you increased performance (through one-time doc-to-rtf conversion), revision management, optional metadata import (e.g., comments, tags) and the added security of full optional project encryption.

 

Networks Reloaded and Virtual Links

The visual aspect of working with network views, one of ATLAS.ti's particular strengths from the start, has been significantly improved further. A new node display with realistic drop shadows and full node dragging, individually resizable nodes and node hiding make visual-based working more powerful. Add to that a new animated layout, flicker-free resizing, real zoom for greater freedom, as well as the use of virtual links (e.g., PD-code links) and view persistence on node and network level for a great new work experience and added flexibility.

 

Virtual Links, e.g. display of codes connected to their primary documents, is now possible without a need to populate the workspace with the quotations they are actually linked to.

Finally, excellent full printing capability and high-resolution image export of network views give you countless additional options for reporting and added usefulness all around.

 

.rtf with Tables

ATLAS.ti 7 imports .doc, .docx and .rtf documents fully formatted--including tables. Whatever your source material looks like, ATLAS.ti can handle it. We have now decided to move to a new .rtf model but do so without jeopardizing older project data. That means you can enjoy the full width of formatting options, including tables, for all .rtf documents that are added to your projects in v.7.

 

 

 

Word Clouds (Wordcruncher)

A staple of many Web 2.0 applications and already available as an output format via the XML stylesheets since v. 5, ATLAS.ti 7 now integrates Clouds even more seamlessly into the program core. Clouds for primary documents and codes are now part of the Wordcruncher interface and make many analytical steps more intutive.

 

GUI Changes

The ATLAS.ti user interface has undergone numerous subtle but extremely usability-enhancing changes. They will increase your productivity without interrupting your workflow. For example:

Flexible side panels unify central functions and give speedy access to frequently used functions and tools.

Open coding dialog auto-completion makes coding even faster and easier. And last but not least, subtle animations make use of many common tools more pleasant and aesthetic.

 

Teamwork-Enabled, Out of the Box!

ATLAS.ti gives you the freedom to work alone or in a team – without the need for special licenses, add-on modules, or servers. Collaborative work is possible with any installation and license type. The new Managed Document feature supports central storage for team projects and helps you keep your project data organized in a central "public library" – locally or remotely.

Also, each data source is now identifiable via a unique ID. This means the position of the data source in the list of documents is no longer an issue when merging multiple projects. Each team member can now freely adjust the sequence of documents to fit individual analysis needs and preferences.

Administrators will enjoy new support for silent/unattended installations.  

 

New Analysis Options

A number of new analysis options are still in the pipeline. A description will be available in the next edition of INSIDE ATLAS.ti.

 

 

How to Upgrade to v.7:

To obtain an upgrade for your existing license, simply go to http://www.atlasti.com/order.html , select “Upgrade” and enter your license key when asked. Alternatively, simply contact our support center via http://support.atlasti.com and send your license key.

Upgrades are available for all older versions. Upgrade prices are generally approx. 50% of the price of a new license. Upgrades can only be obtained for the same type of license. Student licenses cannot be upgraded, but if you still have full-time student status, you can simply apply for a new student license for v.7.