Import a Text File
Import a Text File
This ScreeenCast demonstrates how to import a text file (*.docx, *.rtf, *.txt, or Transana’s XML format) into Transana.
(Be sure to read the section on Analytic Memos below after you watch the video.)
Import a Text File
Once you’ve created a Library, you can add your first Document. A Document contains the text from a single text file.
Add a Document
To add a Document, right-click the Library you created previously under the Libraries node in the database tree, then choose Add Text or PDF Document from the menu. The ‘Add Document’ window will appear.
Notice that the Library ID is already filled in, and that your Default Keyword Group and Keywords are shown.
Click the Browse button to find a text document you want to add to your library in Transana. For our example, we’re adding ‘Influential bank expects more financial turmoil.docx‘
Notice that if you leave the Document ID blank, Transana will automatically name your Document after the file you select for import. (You are free to change this name if you wish.)
If there are codes you want to apply by default to all Quotes made from this document, you can add those codes here.
Click OK. Transana adds the Document to the database tree and automatically displays it in the Document window.
Analytic Memos
It’s now a good idea to create more analytic memos. No action in Transana should be considered finished until you have written about it in an analytic memo.
Right-click (Ctrl-click on macOS) the document you just created and choose Add Document Note from the popup menu. Name the new Note for your document and enter your initials as NoteTaker. Press OK.
Press Ctrl-T on Windows or Cmd-T on macOS to insert a date-time stamp in the note. It’s usually a good idea to record information about when and where your text data file was created or collected, and how it fits into the larger study. Also include any other information about the Document that might be relevant to the analytic process, such as initial analytic thoughts and impressions you want to remember later. When you are done, close the Document Note.
Advanced Topic:
If you have a large number of text files to import into a single Library, you can use Batch Document Creation. See the Batch Document Creation Tutorial page for more information.