There are various ways to modify coded segments:

1. By assigning a new code.
2. By assigning another code in the place of an existing code.
3. By modifying the segment boundaries, meaning enlarging or reducing the coded segment while the code remains in place.

All three of these modifications can be easily carried out in MAXQDA.

Coding a Segment With More Than One Code

After having coded a segment, the segment remains selected (with the exception of highlight-coded segments). It is possible to attach more codes to the same segment, for example using drag & drop.

If you want to assign one or more codes later, the segment must be selected again. This is easiest if you click on the coding stripe of this segment with the left mouse button. The segment will be highlighted again as in the original text, and you can assign a code in the usual way, either with Drag & Drop, by right-clicking on the desired new code in the "Code System" and selecting Code highlighted segment, with the Code quick button, as well as other MAXQDA coding options.

Another option is to highlight the document segment, activate the codes you want to code it with, and then right-clicking on one of the codes and choosing Code with selection. The segment will then be coded with all activated codes at once.

Replacing a Coded Segment

When reviewing your text analysis, you may decide that the wrong code was assigned to a text segment. Or you may decide that the “Code System” is not precise enough, so it is necessary to expand the “Code System” and distinguish between different codes. In both cases, you will need to replace one code assigned to a text with another.

This can be easily accomplished, as long as the coded segment is displayed in the “Retrieved segments” window:

1. Click on the source data next to the segment
2. Drag the segment to the desired code.
3. The new code will automatically be assigned to the coded segment. If the other code is not activated, it may be that the coded segment was removed from the “Retrieved segments” window.
4. A coded segment can be moved from the table view or the “Overview of coded segments” in the same manner.

Editing the Size of a Coded Segment

Sometimes a segment may be coded outside of its logical boundaries, meaning it is too short or too long. The coded segment will therefore be difficult to understand because it is out of context. Segment boundaries can be adjusted in the following way:

1. Select the segment by clicking on the corresponding coding stripe or code name in the “Document Browser”. The segment is now highlighted in the original text.
2. The segment boundaries can now be redefined as usual using the mouse. Alternatively, you can right-click the coding stripe and select Recode with highlighted segment.

MAXQDA automatically adjusts to the newly defined segment boundaries.

While the function “Recode” moves the segment borders of a coded passage to the highlighted segmemt you can also extend the borders of an existing coded segment:

1. Highlight a passage that overlaps with the beginning or the end of an existing segment.
2. Right click on the coding stripe and choose the entry Extend with highlighted segment.