Your Project Cycle: Team Member

As a team member, you join a TeamCloud project, download it, work on it, and upload your changes. This page explains each step, including how to download a new cycle when the team lead starts one.

Before you join a project

• MAXQDA license: you need a supported MAXQDA license (see which licenses work with TeamCloud). You do not need a TeamCloud license.
• MAXQDA Account: you need a MAXQDA Account to access TeamCloud projects. If your team lead sends you an invitation link, you can create the account when you open the link.
• Same MAXQDA version: use the same MAXQDA version as your team lead. Projects from MAXQDA 24 do not appear in newer versions until the team lead migrates them.
• Enough storage space: the whole project, including external files such as videos, is stored on your computer. Make sure you have enough free space.

Step 1: Join the project and download it

If you were invited by email

You receive an invitation email. Click the confirmation button in the email to join the project. You can then download the project in MAXQDA.

If you received an invitation link

1. Open the link. A login page opens in your browser.
2. Log in to your MAXQDA Account. If you do not have one yet, click Sign Up, register, verify your email address, and then log in.

You then join the project as a team member. Your MAXQDA Account dashboard now shows Team Member on the MAXQDA TeamCloud tile.

Download and open the project

1. Open MAXQDA and log in to your MAXQDA Account. You can do this from the Team Projects tab in the welcome screen or from the TeamCloud menu.
2. Open the Team Projects tab in the welcome screen. It lists every TeamCloud project you belong to, whether you lead it or participate as a member.
3. Double-click the project name to download and open it.

Reading the project list

The text below each project name shows its current status. Its color indicates whether you need to download the project:

Gray text: the project is already downloaded to your computer.

• Cycle and start time shown: your downloaded project is current.
• "My last upload" and a date shown: you have uploaded your work in this cycle.
• "# No access #": you are offline, have been removed from the project, or the team lead has deleted it.

Blue text: a new download is available.

• Download icon (arrow pointing down): the project is not on your computer yet. This is normal the first time you join a project.
• Sync icon: the team lead has started a new cycle, so your downloaded project is out of date. You need to download the updated file.

If you are offline, the list shows the state from your last online session. You can only open projects that are already downloaded.

If an invited project is missing from the list, make sure you accepted the invitation, are logged in to the correct MAXQDA Account, and use the same MAXQDA version as your team lead.

Step 2: Work on the project

Once you open the project, work on it as you would on any MAXQDA project. You can add codes, write memos, code segments, add paraphrases, and import new documents. You can also close MAXQDA and resume your work later, or work offline.

To read your team lead's notes for the current cycle, click Lead Comment in the TeamCloud menu.

Check that you are in the TeamCloud project

Use the following signs to confirm that you are working in the TeamCloud project:

• Window title: it starts with "TeamCloud project:", followed by the project name and the current cycle, for example "TeamCloud project: <project name> (Cycle 2)".
• TeamCloud menu: it shows the current cycle and its start date, and it has the Upload Project for Team Lead button.

What you can and cannot do

Your work reaches the main project, the team lead's TeamCloud project, when you upload it and the team lead imports it. Only certain types of changes are carried over.

These changes are carried over to the main project:

• New documents, including edits to their text that you make before your upload
• New codes
• Coded segments, including changes to their weight, comment, or boundaries
• Memos, paraphrases, and summaries you write or edit
• Changes to variable values
• New summary tables, QTT worksheets, and maps

The following changes are not allowed, excluded from import, or imported as new elements:

• Editing documents that were already in the project: team members cannot do this.
• Editing the text of documents you added, once you have uploaded: from then on, only the team lead can change their text.
• Moving or renaming existing codes or documents: they are imported as new ones, and the originals stay in the main project.
• Changing the color of codes: ignored.
• Deleting anything: deletions are never imported.
• Changes to existing code sets and document sets: ignored. New code sets and document sets are imported.
• Restructuring the code system, for example with AI Group Codes: leave this to the team lead. Restructured codes are imported as new codes, and the originals stay in the main project.

For the details, see the import rules on the team lead page.

Step 3: Upload your work

When you finish your work for the cycle, upload your project so the team lead can import your changes into the main project.

1. In the TeamCloud menu, click Upload Project for Team Lead.
2. Add a comment for the team lead, for example, the documents you worked on or anything they should review. The comment is required: Upload becomes available only after you write one.
3. Confirm the upload.

Once the upload is complete, MAXQDA closes the project and returns to the welcome screen. In the Team Projects tab, the project now shows "My last upload" with the date and time. The team lead receives an email and a notification in MAXQDA.

Uploading again in the same cycle

You can reopen the project, continue working, and upload again until your team lead starts the next cycle. MAXQDA reminds you of this when you open the project. Your latest upload replaces the previous one and is available for your team lead to import.

Do this only if you have agreed on it with your team lead. If your team lead has already imported your previous upload, they must import the new one to receive your additional changes. If they start the next cycle before you upload again, the changes you have not uploaded will be overwritten when you download the new cycle.

Picking up a new cycle

When the team lead starts a new cycle, you receive an email. MAXQDA also notifies you on the welcome screen, when you open the project, and while you are working in it.

Click Download to download the updated project file. The project on your computer is replaced with the new version.

If you have work you have not uploaded

Any changes you made after your last upload, such as adding codes, are overwritten when you download the new cycle. If you want to keep them, click Cancel in the notification and save your work first:

• From the welcome screen: hover over the project name, click the More menu (three dots), and select Export as Local Project.
• From within the open project: go to TeamCloud > Export as Local Project.

This saves the current state of your work as a regular MAXQDA project (.mqda). You can then download the new cycle and manually transfer work from the exported file if needed. See how to bring work done outside TeamCloud back in for guidance.