The Tools

Below you will find a compact introduction to ATLAS.ti's main tools and features. A more detailed description is available in the Features section and in the User's manual.

Hermeneutic Unit Editor

The HU Editor is the main window and usually the first thing you see after starting the system. This interface lets you manage, view, annotate and code primary documents (PDs), which are typically the point of departure for your further analytical research. It is also the launch pad for all other capabilities ATLAS.ti offers.

Read more here.

Object Managers

The capabilities of Object Managers – formerly the "extra lists" – have been extended considerably. Instead of displaying a simple list of objects, they now contain a variety of additional functions that bump them up a notch to a true “manager” status. Object Managers are probably the most frequently used tools after the HU Editor.

Hermeneutic Unit Browser

Although projects can be loaded via the standard file dialog, the HU Browser displays some additional information for each HU that can be viewed before loading the unit.

Text Editor

Text editors can be opened to edit comments, to create and edit memos, and to view, format, and print results. All editors are capable of displaying and editing rich text format (RTF). They offer WordPad™-like editing features and usability.

Object Explorer

For easy navigation the Object Explorer displays all the elements in an HU in a strictly hierarchical manner, even if the underlying structures are non-hierarchical, or even cyclic.

Read more here.

Family Manager

Codes, memos, and PDs can be grouped together in "families". The Family Manager enables such families to be created, modified, and edited.

Text Search Tool

From simple string matching to sophisticated pattern match (GREP) and category search, it’s all available in the Text Search Tool.

Query Tool

The Query Tool can be called upon for more sophisticated retrievals. It allows you to formulate queries based on arbitrary combinations of codes and families.

Word Cruncher

The Word Cruncher counts all words in textual PDs. The calculation can be limited to one PD only. To restrict the count, a stop list can be defined to exclude special symbols or words like ‘and,’ ‘or,’ ‘the,’ etc. The result can be directly transferred and displayed in an Excel table.

Object Crawler

With the Object Crawler, you can search all text passages within your ATLAS.ti project. Searches are not restricted to PDs: codes, memos, quotations, all families, code-to-code links, hyper-links, and the HU can be searched. In addition, the scope of the search can be limited to certain fields.

Auto Coding Tool

If the text contains important key words, the Auto-Coding Tool scans the text and automatically assigns a pre-selected code to matching text passages. The coding process can also be controlled manually.

Network View Manager

The Network View Manager contains a list of all previously constructed and saved Network Views. It can be used to create new Network Views, to access or delete existing ones, or to write and edit comments.

Network Editor

The Network Editor provides the tools to construct and refine semantic networks. In addition, it allows the visual creation, patterning and tracing of hypertext structures.

Relation Editor

When the pre-existing relations that are used to connect objects in Network Views are not sufficient, you can edit them or create new ones using the Relation Editor.

Hermeneutic Unit Merger

This tool merges different HUs. A variety of parameters to control the merge strategy are offered.

Coding Analyzer

The Coding Analyzer is helpful after merging HUs, and thus an important feature for team-based analysis. It tests for redundancy among codes, i.e., drawing your attention to codes that are used more than once by identifying overlapping or embedded coded data segments.

HTML Generator

Publishing online or just creating a printout from a project is available with the HTML Generator. A platform-independent view of the results is possible with any Web browser.

XML Generator

The XML Generator exports all information contained in an HU in XML format. This universal, open data format allows for a wide variety of possibilities for display, processing, and even integration of your data with external applications.

XML Converter

The XML Converter lists the HUs saved in XML format and applies so-called "stylesheets" (miniature programs written in XSLT) to the XML files. The user can edit the supplied stylesheets or add new ones.

User Administration

Manage the ATLAS.ti user database through the User Administration Tool. This is a prerequisite for collaborative work, but is also useful to individual users by enabling a personalized login or password protection for HUs.

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