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Open Coding Mode

Particularly in research projects that are applying a grounded theory approach, many so-called "open codes" are created: in a first step, a text is reviewed line by line, and identified aspects are recorded in numerous new codes. For this case of application the mode "Open Coding" is particularly suitable. It allows to immediately create a new code for a marked segment, to assign it and if necessary to write a code memo as well as a comment for the created coded segment.

Activating the Open Coding Mode

Click the Open Coding Mode icon in the coding toolbar of the “Document Browser”.

Activating the open coding mode
Please note: The mode automatically turns off when opening a new document. The mode is not available for table documents.

Using the Open Coding mode

Using the Open Coding Mode is easy: as soon as the mouse key is released after selecting a text segment, the following dialog window appears:

Example for using the open coding mode

The dialog is, in principle, very similar to the dialog for creating new codes:

  • You can type the name of the new code in the upper dialog field (max. 63 characters) and select a color attribute for it below.
  • The text written in the dialog field "Code memo" is used as a memo for the newly created code (which can be assessed by clicking on the memo icon in the "Code System").
  • The "Comment on the coded segment" can contain up to 255 characters (about 2-3 sentences) and is directly assigned to the coded segment.
Tip: You can fold in and out the areas for the code memo and the comment on the coded segment by clicking on the arrows. You can enlarge the input fields by clicking on one of the corners of the window and dragging the entire dialog larger while holding the mouse button.

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