Managing Dictionaries

Getting started with dictionaries

With MAXDictio, you can create and manage dictionaries to support your text analysis. Each dictionary contains one or more categories where you define your search terms.

The Dictionary window

To open the Dictionary window, go to MAXDictio > Dictionary.

You'll see a mostly empty window that looks like this:

The window consists of three panes, described in detail below:

The "Dictionaries" pane

The "Dictionaries" pane on the left shows all available dictionaries. These are grouped into two categories:

• "Current project" – Dictionaries stored in the project file. These stay with the project if you open it on another device or share it with someone else.
• "In all projects" – Global dictionaries saved locally in your MAXQDA installation. You can access these files in any project on the same device, but they won't appear if you open the project on a different computer.

Each new project starts with a dictionary named "<Standard>". It's initially empty, and you can rename it if needed. Every project must contain at least one dictionary. You can delete individual dictionaries, but not all of them.

The "Categories" pane

The "Categories" pane in the center lets you organize your dictionary into categories. You can display them as a hierarchical or flat list, depending on how you want to group your terms.

The "Search Items" pane

The "Search items" pane on the right displays all terms assigned to the selected category in your current dictionary. You can add new terms, edit existing ones, or delete them as needed.

For each term, you can define specific search options, including whether MAXQDA should match the "whole word," consider "case sensitivity," or include terms with matching "starting letters."

Managing your dictionary

Creating a new dictionary

To add a new dictionary to the project, click the New Dictionary icon, as shown below.

MAXQDA adds the new dictionary to your project and opens it automatically. By default, it names the dictionary "New dictionary." If that name already exists, MAXQDA adds a number to avoid duplicates.

Managing dictionaries

Once you've created a dictionary, you can manage it by renaming, duplicating, or deleting to keep your project organized.

• Renaming a dictionary
  • Double-click the dictionary name, type the new name, and press Enter.
  • Or right-click the dictionary name and select Rename.
• Duplicating a dictionary
  • Right-click the dictionary name and select Duplicate.
  • MAXQDA will create a copy with the same name plus a sequential number (e.g., "New Dictionary (2)").
• Deleting a dictionary
  • Right-click the dictionary name and select Delete.
  • Each project must contain at least one dictionary. You can delete individual dictionaries but cannot remove all dictionaries from a project.
• Merging dictionaries
  • Right-click the source dictionary and select Copy to other dictionary.
  • Choose the target dictionary from the list.
  • MAXQDA will transfer all categories and search items from the source to the target, while skipping any existing entries with the same name.

Using dictionaries across projects

If you've created a dictionary for one project and want to reuse it in others, you can move it to the In All Projects section. This makes the dictionary available in all MAXQDA projects on the same device.

To reuse a dictionary in another project, drag it between the Current Project and In All Projects sections in the Dictionary window. The dictionary will be copied (not moved) to the selected section.

You can also right-click a dictionary and choose Save as Global Dictionary from the context menu to add it to the "In All Projects" section.

Creating categories and sub-categories

In MAXDictio, you can create both flat and hierarchical dictionaries. A hierarchical dictionary works like the “Code System” in MAXQDA: you can nest categories and switch sublevels on or off as needed. While there’s no technical limit to the number of levels, most dictionaries use no more than three.

To add a category, click the New category icon in the "Categories" toolbar. MAXDictio adds a new category labeled “Category” followed by the next available number to avoid duplicate names. Double-click the category or press Enter to edit its name.

Create dictionary categories from codes

If you've already structured your "Code System" and want to use the same categories for a dictionary-based word analysis, you can transfer the codes directly into your dictionary. To do this:

1. In the "Code System" window, activate the codes you want to transfer. If you don't activate any codes, MAXQDA will transfer the entire system.
2. Click the Insert codes as categories icon in the toolbar.

MAXDictio will ask whether to include only the activated codes. Once confirmed, the selected codes will be inserted as categories into your current dictionary. If a category with the same name already exists at the same level, it will not duplicate it. Instead, it will merge any subcodes as subcategories.

Deactivating categories

You can block categories to temporarily exclude them from your analysis. This helps you focus on specific topics and ignore categories that aren't relevant to your current work.

To deactivate a category:

• Double-click the category name, or
• Right-click the category and select Deactivate Category.

The category icon will change to a block icon to show that the category is excluded from analysis. Deactivated categories won't be included in your analysis until you unblock them.

Populating categories with search items

Once you've created your categories, you can add search items to define which words or phrases MAXDictio should look for during your analysis. You can add search items manually or import them directly from your word frequency results.

Adding search items manually

To add a search item manually:

1. Select the category where you want to add the search item.
2. Click the New search item button.
3. Type the word or phrase you want to add as a search item and press Enter.

Adding search items from word frequency lists

You can also add search items directly from your word frequency results, which is often faster than entering terms manually. To do this, open your word frequency list and the dictionary window side by side, then:

• Drag and drop: Drag a word from the frequency list into the target category in your dictionary.
• Right-click: Right-click a word in the frequency list and select Add to dictionary, then choose the category you want to add it to.
• Double-click: Double-click a word in the frequency list to add it to the currently selected category in your dictionary.

Setting options for search items

For each search item, you can set options that define how MAXDictio matches the term in your text analysis. Search items can be individual words, word stems, or multi-word terms, depending on what you want to capture.

You can choose from these options:

• Whole word – Count only words that exactly match your search item.
• Case sensitivity – Consider capitalization when matching words.
• Starting letters – Match words that begin with your search item.

Using wildcards in search items

You can use wildcards to broaden your search terms:

• ? – replaces a single character (e.g., "wom?n" will match "woman" and "women").
• * – replaces one or more characters (e.g., "inter*" will match "interest", "internal", "interactive").

Wildcards are considered in dictionary-based content analysis. For example, if you enter "i*tion" as your search item with the "Whole word" option enabled, MAXDictio will count words like "indication" and "innovation".

Note that in the Word frequencies (dictionary words only) function, wildcards are ignored, and MAXDictio will look for the exact string entered.

Deactivating and deleting search items

You can manage your search items by either deleting them completely or turning them off temporarily without removing them from your dictionary.

Deleting search items

To delete individual or multiple search items, select them in the list and click on Delete search item.

Deactivating search items

To temporarily exclude a search item from your analysis without deleting it, you can turn it off. This works the same way as deactivating categories.

The icon next to each search item shows its current status:

Green dot: Active and included in the analysis.

Stop sign: Deactivated and excluded from the analysis.

Transfer search items from one category to another

Using drag-and-drop you can easily transfer search items from one category to another. The search item will be removed from the old category immediately. The setting options for the given search item (such as “whole word”) accompany the word to the new category.

Importing and Exporting Dictionaries

Importing and supplementing dictionaries

In MAXDictio, you can import dictionaries from TXT or Excel files, as well as from the older MAXDictio format (MXD). You can either create a new dictionary or add entries to an existing one.

To import a dictionary, click the Import dictionary icon. Then select “Import dictionary” from the menu. This opens a system dialog where you can choose a file from your device.

If you want to add the contents of a file to your current dictionary, click the Add Dictionary icon instead.

Since MAXQDA 11 for Mac, MAXDictio supports a simple format for importing and exporting dictionaries. To import from Excel, create a spreadsheet with the following columns:

Each search term in the dictionary needs its own row. Use the Category column to define categories, and create subcategories by adding slashes "/". Enter the search term itself in the "Search item" column. The remaining columns control dictionary options. Use "1" for "on" and "0" for "off."

When importing, MAXDictio follows these rules:

• You can place the columns in any order.
• MAXDictio uses the row order to sort categories in the tree view.
• If a category appears as "on" anywhere in the file, it's considered active.
• If the columns "Category activated" or "Search item activated" are missing, MAXDictio sets all categories and search terms to "on" by default.
• Anything that isn't a "1," including blank cells, counts as "0".
• If a word or category already exists, MAXDictio ignores the duplicate.
• If a row includes a category but no search term, MAXDictio adds it as an empty category.
• Rows with only categories (no search terms) won’t have any of the three option columns filled in.

Export and print dictionaries

Dictionaries can be exported into other programs, for example, for editing, printing, or for documentation or archiving purposes.

1. Right-click a dictionary and select Export.
2. In the dialog window that appears, enter the desired file name and select a location for it.

The system will save the exported file in TXT format (UTF-8), allowing you to open, edit, and print it using text editing programs, Excel, or word processing applications.