Transana Basic can be purchased for USD $170 per copy. Bulk discounts are available if you purchase at least 5 copies of Transana Basic in a single transaction.

Transana Multiuser can be purchased for USD $895 for a team of researchers collaborating on one project.

A non-upgradable version of Transana Basic can be purchased by students (with their own funds) for their personal use with a current student ID for USD $85. Please go to the bottom of the ‘Transana Basic’ page for more information.

We offer a full-credit upgrade for one year following your purchase. That means that you can upgrade to the newest version for free during the first year after you purchase Transana Basic, Transana Professional, or Transana Multiuser (unless there is a cost increase, and then you’ll only be asked to pay the difference in price).

If you upgrade more than one year after your initial purchase but less than three years, you will be able to upgrade at some level of discount.

If you purchase the discounted Student Version of Transana Basic, you will not be eligible for free or discounted upgrades.

If you purchase Transana Basic and decide within a year that you need the full features of Transana Professional, you can upgrade to the newest version of Transana Professional by paying the difference in price between the two.

To see if you are eligible for an upgrade, enter your e-mail address on the Downloads and Upgrades page.

We reserve the right to change our upgrade policy without notice.

Software resellers are welcome to purchase Transana in exactly the same way everyone else does, purchasing the program through this web site.

Please enter your own name and e-mail address as the “Purchasing Agent” during the purchase process so that you receive the transaction receipt. (In this scenario, your customer does not receive a copy of the receipt as part of the purchase process.)

Please enter your customer’s name and e-mail address as the “Registered Owner” during the purchase process. That way, they will immediately receive the program download instructions and authorization codes, they will receive future notifications of upgrades and training opportunities, and they can access technical support for their purchase on the Transana web site.

We work hard to keep the cost of Transana as low as possible, so we do not offer any reseller discount for individual copy sales. Bulk purchase discounts are available for the purchase of 5 or more copies of Transana Basic or Professional when made as part of the same transaction.

Operating System

Windows:  Transana runs on Windows 10 and Windows 11. (It might work on older versions of Windows, but I only test Windows 10 and newer at this time.)  Pretty much any computer that can run Windows can run Transana.

macOS:  Transana 5.1 and higher require macOS 13.x (Ventura) and higher.  Transana 4.00 to 5.05 run on macOS 10.5 (Leopard) and higher. Transana 3.32 and earlier run on macOS 10.5 (Leopard) to 10.14 (Mojave), but not 10.15 (Catalina) and higher.  Transana may not work with macOS 10.12 (Sierra) but the macOS 10.12.1 (still Sierra) upgrade resolved the underlying problem.  At this point, I am only able to test new releases on the latest version or two of macOS unless a specific issue is reported.

Processor and Memory

macOS:  Transana 5.1 and higher require a Mac with an Apple processor, and will not run on Macs with Intel processors.

Transana’s requirements for processor and memory specifications depend on the type of data you are analyzing, quality of any video data you are using, and the complexity of your analysis.

Different media formats, different media resolutions, and different media data rates make a huge difference in Transana’s performance and on the amount of processor power required to run Transana. Length of media recording does not make a difference, nor does media file size in and of itself. It’s all about resolution and video bitrate.

If your computer is having trouble showing video data smoothly in Transana, this problem can almost always be solved by re-encoding the video files using a lower bitrate and perhaps a smaller image size using Transana’s Media Conversion Tool.

To use Transana’s multiple simultaneous media files features, your video needs to be properly encoded. See the Manual page on “Working with Multiple Media Files”. Transana should be able to display multiple simultaneous media files on almost any computer produced since 2010.

Screen Resolution

Transana requires a minimum screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. 1280 x 1024 or better is strongly recommended.

Dual monitors provide a great advantage in working with Transana, particularly if you have high-resolution video and need to see the details.

Hard Drive Space

The Transana program requires between 60 and 300 MB of disk space, depending on platform and version. The critical issue for Hard Drive space, however, is video.  Video files are relatively huge compared to program files and other kinds of data. How much hard drive space you will need will be driven primarily by the format, quantity and quality of any video you may want to analyze.

Transana will not work with media files stored in the Cloud or on CDs or DVDs, as access times are too slow. Adequate local, external, and local network hard drive space to hold your media files is required for analysis of media files.

We use a very secure, industry-standard credit card processor called Stripe, which is completely PCI compliant. We do not have access to your credit card information at all. 

The process is fairly easy, but does involve a number of steps.

1. Prepare the old computer.
   • Set your Video Root directory. On Windows, go to Options > Program Settings, and on macOS, go to Transana > Preferences. On the Directories tab, press the Browse button next to the Media Library Directory setting and point to the directory that holds all of your media files or that holds the directories that hold your media files. (This will make it easier for Transana to find your media files on the new computer, especially if you are changing operating systems.)
   • Go to Tools > Export Database. Press the Browse button and make sure you are pointed to your Media Library directory. Then enter the name you want to call the file for this database.
   • If you have multiple databases, repeat the these steps for each database.
2. Copy all of your media files and the exported database files you created above from the old computer to the new computer. (If your media files are on an external hard drive or a network drive, you can skip this step.) Make a note of where you copy these files, as that will be your new Media Library Directory.
3. If you are using Transana 4.0 or later on the old computer, select Tools > Deauthorize Transana. This will allow you to reuse your Authorization code when you install your copy of Transana on the new computer.
4. Install Transana on the new computer, if you have not already done so. If you need to get a new copy of the Transana installer, see the “Downloads and Upgrades” page under User Support on the web site.
5. Start Transana. The configuration information that records your database names does not get transferred, so you will need to type in your database name and create a new database when prompted for a database name.
6. Set up the new computer.
   • Set your Media Library Directory. On Windows, go to Options > Program Settings, and on OS X, go to Transana > Preferences. On the Directories tab, press the Browse button next to the Media Library Directory setting and point to the directory where you copied your media files.
   • Go to Tools > Import Database. Press the Browse button and select the database you exported from the old computer and copied to the new computer.
   • If you have multiple databases, create a new database (File > Change Databases) and repeat the these steps for each database. Remember, each database import file must be imported to a new, empty database.
   • If your database import fails when you import it into a new, empty database, you may need to upgrade from version 2.42 to version 2.50 due to a problem with the database import routine in Transana 2.42 that produces a “KeyError” error message. If that’s not the case, please contact us for assistance.
7. If some of your media files were not in your video root (or in directories off of your video root), Transana will probably not be able to load these files until you update the media file location in the database. To do this, go to Tools > Find Missing Files.  Note that a file has not been “found” until it has been removed from the Missing Files list.
8. Finally, if you didn’t purchase a new copy of Transana for the new computer, delete Transana from the old computer. It’s okay to MOVE Transana from one computer to another, but if you’re going to be using Transana on both computers, you should buy another copy.

Your data will not be damaged by the upgrade process. Data migration in Transana is usually automatic from older to newer versions of the software, with the two exceptions noted below. Data migration from newer to older versions of Transana is not possible.

It is ALWAYS a good idea to back up your data before upgrading any program. Transana is no different in this respect.

If you are migrating from Transana 2.61 or earlier to Transana 3.00 or higher, (excluding the Multiuser version), you should manually export your data prior to upgrading Transana.

If you are migrating from Transana 2.42 single-user or earlier to Transana 2.50 or higher on Windows, you should manually export your data prior to upgrading Transana.  If your data does not transfer smoothly, please reach out using the Contact form and we will assist you.

To export your data, load your database in Transana. Go to Tools > Export Database. Browse to a location you’ll be able to find later, and enter a file name for your database export. If you have multiple databases, repeat this operation for each database. If your database export fails, please contact us before proceeding.

Next, remove the old version of Transana. To remove Transana:

On Windows, there is an “Uninstall Transana” option under Start > Settings > Apps.

On OS X, drag the Transana_2 folder from the Applications directory (NOT FROM YOUR HOME DIRECTORY) to the Trash. This will not affect your Transana data.

Then install the new version of Transana.

Finally, if you needed to export your data above, you can create a new database in the new Transana, then import one of your data export files by going to Tools > Import Database and browsing to the database export file you created above. You will need to create a new database and import it for each of the databases you exported. If your database import fails, please contact us for assistance.

Transana 3.00 and later supports MPEG-1, MPEG-2, most AVI video, QuickTime MOV, MP4, and M4V formats, as well as MP3, WAV, and AAC audio on both Windows and OS X. Windows Media Video, WMV, and Windows Media Audio, WMA, formats are supported on Windows only. Older versions of Transana may or may not not support all of those formats.

Starting with Transana 2.50, Transana includes a Media Conversion tool. If your video doesn’t work with Transana, try converting it, as described in the Media Conversion ScreenCast. This often solves the problem.

Transana might also work with additional formats. There are two issues.

First, does the media file play in the media player Transana will use? On OS X, Transana will use the QuickTime player for all formats. On Windows, Transana will use the QuickTime player for *.mov, *.mp4, and *.m4v video files and will use Windows Media Player for other media formats. If the media file will not play in the media player, it won’t work in Transana without conversion or the installation of the appropriate video and codecs.

(NOTE: Apple recently announced that it is ending support for QuickTime for Windows, but Transana’s ability to support *.mov and *.m4v files depends on the QuickTime player being available. *.mp4 files can be played through Windows Media Player.

Second, Transana needs to be able to extract the audio from your media file so that it can create the waveform file displayed in the Visualization Window. It can do this with many audio encodings. One option here is to re-encode your media files in a more Transana-friendly format. (See theMedia Conversion ScreenCast as a place to start.) Alternatively, you can work with Transana without a waveform diagram, and it may be possible for you to do manual audio extraction.

Please note that MP3 audio format is not recommended for cross-platform environments. The same spot in the same MP3 file is assigned different time code values on Windows and OS X. Thus, time codes and clips created on one platform will not represent the correct media file location on the other platform. If the time codes were produce on Windows, Mac users can convert the MP3 file to WAV format and the time codes will line up correctly. (This suggests that the QuickTime player on OS X is not processing time locations correctly for MP3 files.)

Very high resolution video requires a lot of processing, most of which is unnecessary because the video displayed within Transana is much smaller than HD resolution allows. Your computer processor puts so much attention into rendering the high-quality video that it can’t display it smoothly, and not enough processing power is left for Transana’s needs.

Typically, an image width of 800 pixels or smaller is desirable (unless you need to look at subtleties such as facial expression and posture), and a video bitrate of 2,500 for single media files and less for multiple simultaneous video files works best.

Transana includes a Media Conversion tool to help re-encode video files into a format that works well in Transana. See the Media Conversion ScreenCast. Users with versions of Transana earlier than 2.50 can accomplish the same thing with video editing or conversion software.

Most users choose to use the Transana Media Conversion tool to make a lower resolution copy of their video for analysis, while keeping the HD version for other uses.

Apple’s *.mov format has been around for many years. However, Apple has made significant changes to the format over the years. Here are some of the high points.

• Originally (or at least years ago), *.mov videos were encoded with a codec called Sorensen Vector Quantizer 3, or SVQ3 for short.
• At some point, Apple changed the internal video encoding of *.mov files from SVQ3 to H.264 encoding, the encoding behind the MP4 format. If you loaded an old-format *.mov file into the QuickTime player, the file would be converted as you watched a progress bar dance across the screen. If you saved a file, as you were encouraged to do, “(Converted)” was suggested as an addition to the file name and the H.264 encoded video was saved within the *.mov wrapper. I’m not exactly sure when they started doing this, as I never loaded *.mov files directly into the QuickTime Player, but I’ve seen this as far back as macOS 10.10, Yosemite.
• When macOS 10.15, Catalina came out, you could no longer play old-style SVQ3 *.mov files. The automatic format conversion functionality of the previous few macOS versions was gone, and Apple no longer, as far as I am aware, offers any options for converting those files.

Supporting Apple’s *.mov format within Transana was something of a challenge on Windows as well.

• For a long time, users could install Apple’s QuickTime for Windows player and Transana could use that to display *.mov videos.
• At some point, security issues were raised about QuickTime for Windows. Apple decided to stop supporting the product.
• At some later point, my programming tools dropped support for the QuickTime for Windows player as well, so that was no longer an option. Transana 4.00 explicitly excluded *.mov videos on both Windows and macOS.

Well, it turns out I was being overly cautious in Transana 4.00. While it is not possible to display old-style SVQ3-encoded *.mov files on either operating system, it turns out that you can display converted H264-encoded *.mov files on both macOS and Windows!

Transana 4.03 includes code that detects the internal video encoding used in *.mov files and enables researchers to use H.264-encoded files in their analyses on both operating systems. If you still have old SVQ3-encoded files, Transana’s Media Conversion tool can still convert them for you as well.  See the Screencast called “Media Conversion“.

But to use MP4 files in Transana 3.3x and older on Windows, you may also need to change one of the configuration settings. Go to Options > Program Settings, then to the Transcriber Settings tab. Change the “MP4 Media Player Selection” to “Windows Media Player back end”. This instructs Transana to use Windows Media Player rather than the QuickTime Player, which you likely do not have installed on your computer.

There are two kinds of data to consider when thinking about these questions.

First, there are your raw data files, the image and media files you are analyzing. Transana doesn’t store these files in the database; it just remembers where the the files are stored on your computer system. You will find those files in the location where you saved them.

Second, there is all your analytic data, including your documents, transcripts, keywords, quote and clip records, etc. Transana stores all of this analytic data in a database. Documents are imported into the database because editing these documents has major implications for Quotes so Transana cannot allow the data to be edited outside of Transana. Transcripts are also stored in the database and are not automatically saved as separate files.

Where that database is located by default depends on which version of Transana you use and what operating system you use. Of course, you have the option of moving the data location if you choose.

Transana Multiuser

With Transana Multiuser, your database is stored on the server you connect to. You don’t have a local copy of the database files.

Single-user Transana, both Basic / Standard and Professional versions
This gets a little complicated. Sorry about that.

• Version 3.00 and later:
• Windows: Documents\Transana 2\databases
• MacOS: HOME\Transana 2\databases
• Version 2.40 – 2.61:
• Windows: Documents\Transana 2\databases
• MacOS: HOME\Transana 2\databases
• Version 2.20 – 2.30
• Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Application Data\Transana 2\databases
• MacOS: HOME\Transana 2\databases
• Version 2.00 – 2.12
• Windows: C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Application Data\Transana 2\databases
• MacOS: N / A
• Version 1.0 – 1.24
• Windows: C:\Program Files\Transana\database
• MacOS: N / A

For Transana 2.00 to 2.61, the actual location of the files depends on the FIRST Transana version you used, not the last. As a result, the easiest way to find your data is to look at Transana’s Database Directory setting. On Windows, select the “Options” menu, then choose “Program Settings.” On the Mac, go to the Transana menu and choose “Preferences.” Look at the setting for the database directory to see where your current database files are located.

Database File Structure:

For Transana 3.00 and later, each database is stored in a separate file named after the database with a “*.db” file extension.

For Transana 2.00 to 2.61, most of your data is stored in a file called “ibdata1” and a couple of other related files. The structure for each database is stored in a series of “*.frm” files stored in subdirectories named after your individual databases. All files must be in place or the data may not be accessible. You can’t just copy some of the files; copying the database is an all-or-nothing proposition.

To back up your Transana data, you should always close Transana first. Then you need to do two things. You need to back up your Transana database, and you need to back up your video and still image files.

To back up your Transana database:
First determine where the database is stored.

For Transana 3.00 and later, you can back up individual *.db files.

For Transana 2.00 – 2.61, back up the entire database folder, including all subfolders. (Transana 2 stores most of your data in a file called “ibdata1” regardless of what database it’s actually part of, so you can’t just back up one database out of many by backing up only some of the files.)

(If you are using Transana 2.30 or earlier on Windows 2000 or Windows XP, be sure that your backup software is set to back up hidden folders, as the “Applications Data” folder on those versions of Windows is hidden by the operating system.)

An alternate method of backing up your database would be to do a Database Export, then store the resulting Transana XML file elsewhere, or make it part of your backup.

As for backing up your video, that can be an issue because of the size of the files. There are many options, but that’s really beyond the scope of this web site. (Consider using an external hard drive as a way to back up your videos.) It is important to recognize that copies of your video files are not stored in the Transana database.

One final note. Always keep a copy of your backups off-site, in another location. A disaster, such as fire or flood, can happen to anyone.