The most current release – QualCoder 3.8
This is available here: https://github.com/ccbogel/QualCoder/releases/tag/3.8
The manual for QualCoder 3.8: https://qualcoder-org.github.io/
The manual has information in French and currently partially translated in Spanish and we hope to expand on those in the future: https://qualcoder-org.github.io/doc/en/
This release will have executables (binaries) for Window 11, macOS (recent versions) and Ubuntu (and similar) Linux.
For QualCoder 3.7
The 3.7 version is available here: https://github.com/ccbogel/QualCoder/releases/tag/3.7
The manual for QualCoder 3.7: https://github.com/ccbogel/QualCoder/wiki
It has taken many, many hours of work to create this software that is provided free to use. If you appreciate QualCoder please: Buy me a coffee
QualCoder 
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Fantastic to see your work on QualCoder. For 8 years I’ve been looking for an open-source, cross-platform QDL and contacted the developers of many early attempts. None of them developed as far as QualCoder. I can’t code, but perhaps I can help with testing or instructional materials. Let’s all hope that other code specialists will join in and help build QualCoder into an even more powerful open-source QDA.
Thanks for your interest Ray. This have been a gradual work in progress, as it is primarily a hobby and with zero cash resources. I have a Debian installer for Linux distributions, but it take a bit more nous to install on Mac and Windows – this is something that I would like to explore and hopefully resolve some day.
I think a lot of the basic analysis functionality is in the software now, but it would be good to get your views on what can be done to improve it. I have others who leave ‘issues’ – whether bugs or suggestions for improved functionality – on the github site.
I am not always able to implement suggestions as my programming skills and the ability to test across platforms limits this.
with regards Colin
This is great, Colin. I found out about QualCoder now that RQDA won’t run for many of us and its future looks uncertain. QualCoder already does most of the ‘code and retrieve’ work I need. There are a few stability issues and room for improvement of course. I appreciate developing QualCoder may not be a priority, but in case this feedback is useful, below are a few issues (Windows 10 x64, QualCoder 1.9, Python 3.8 32 bit). I would think that some of these are easy to address and would improve usability.
* importing RQDA files sort of works but the codes list in ‘Code Text’ displays as dark fonts on dark background — practically unreadable. I changed the colours but the text on the right looks as uncoded. It is coded though because when I ask QualCoder to produce a codes report it works.
* The ‘select file’ dialogue when importing files shows the wrong modified date compared to Windows Explorer (off by an hour, GMT rather than BST)
* ‘show coded text and media’ shows the About info — with the wrong QualCoder version, v1.8 instead of the actual 1.9.
* on a couple of occasions I got an ‘uncaught exception’ but not sure yet how
* QualCoder seems to forget settings I change (eg default folder, windows sizes/positions)
* ‘?’ doesn’t do anything here.
And some suggestions:
* currently, overlapping highlights make it impossible to tell when a snippet is coded for more than one code.
* snippets in code reports should be linked to the source text for context. More generally, double-clicking on things like the snippets, the codes tree, graph visualisations and frequencies should produce relevant info (eg contextualised text or a codes report).
* autosave would be nice (essential actually)
* QualCoder could offer defaults for file-types when saving etc.
* Open recent files would be good for efficiency
Many thanks
Michael
Thanks Michael, as you know I have now worked through most of these issues now. The BST time is trickier to sort out, and window sizes were not stored, but will consider code for this.
Thank you, Colin. Qualcoder changed a lot in these two weeks. I would highly recommend it to anyone doing code and retrieve.
Thanks Michael,
I’m glad Qualcoder works reasonably well for you.
I have made some comments below about possible changes that I may (or not) be able to do.
regards Colin
RE your feedback:
* The import with dark fonts on dark backgrounds – I will test on Windows – this has not occurred to me on Linux. Also the text coding should be visible. So again will test the RQDA import on Windows my end. One possibility is that the code colors in RQDA are very dark, and might need changing. I have limited the range of code colors available in Qualcoder to highlight black text on the coloured background, but the original RQDA colour codes I have not changed on import.
* Select file dialog and the date BST vs GMT – currently I am at a loss on this, as python should draw from the computer’s current set date and time.
* The about info with 1.8 vs 1.9 – yes I forgot to update the text.
* Uncaught exceptions – there is a log file that might give some details – if you fed it back to me to review. Or at least copy the text or screenshot for me to give me some ideas.
* Forgetting settings – some are not stored to be forgotten – e.g. screen sizes and positions.
The default folder – maybe in some dialog windows I have missed this – if you come across these let me know which dialog is opened that misses the default folder – as I might have to review the code to recognise the default folder.
* ‘?’ does not do anything here – I am not sure what you mean.
Your suggestions:
* Overlapping highlights – yes – not sure how to resolve at the moment – so will put it in the too hard basket for now.
* The code snippets and contextualisation – yes this is a good point, with a double click and showing another dialog window with the surrounding text. Do-able but will take me some time.
* Autosave. In the settings, it automatically backs up a copy of the qualcoder folder on opening, unless switched off. All changes that are made after opening are automatically updated (or autosaved if you prefer). There is no undo, unless you open a previous backup.
* defaults for file types when saving. Do you mean for the report format? As other exports are done as text files. Also note I will not be able to export to Microsoft Word or Excel – that would require a lot of coding know-how.
* open recent files – I am not sure exactly what you mean here. The last Qualcoder project should open again when opening Qualcoder.
Helping this project in Spanish, a video installing QualCoder using Microsoft Windows 10: https://youtu.be/D2vks2n9d1g
Thank you for taking the time to make videos. Mucas gracias!
Gracias a ti, Colin Curtain. Yo, encantado de ayudar. Un saludo. Thanks!
And opening QualCoder with a link in the desktop of Microsoft Windows 10: https://youtu.be/cqAy_RJkhvY
Thanks, I am busy fixing some usability issues. and hope to get a new release out within a few weeks.
Dear Colin,
This is impressive work! I am a Professor of Urban Studies in the UK, using Ubuntu as my main platform and for years I has to use half-baked solutions to code my interviews. What you did here is very welcome! It works well with my markdown notes and files. Are you going to continue working on this software (ie further developing it for Ubuntu?) Let me know if there is a way to ‘buy you a coffee’.
All best
Michele
Thanks Michele. Yes I am working on QualCoder including for Ubuntu (I use Ubuntu 20.04 as my main machine). When I release another version, 2.3 it will be more polished with a tabbed interface, rather than many pop-up windows. Once it gets to that stage, instead of a coffee – well – how about some YouTube How To Use videos 🙂
with regards Colin
Hi Colin
Greetings, and thanks! It is exciting to hear you’ll continue development. RE YouTube – message received! I can’t do it strait away, but I will.
Best wishes,
Michele
Hello, I just got QualCoder and am just getting used to the interface… I do not know how to do it but I would like to help with the spanish translation (my native language), if I get an instruction I can work on some parts that require some tuning… 🙂
Hello, first you need to get a GitHub account.
When you download the folder QualCoder-master:
1 There is a translation file inside the inner qualcoder folder: es.po
This file is opened with a program called poedit – you can edit the Spanish and fix it, then upload it to the GitHub page or email it to me.
2 There is a second file inside the /GUI folder called app_es.ts
This can be edited with a program called QtLinguist – which is harder to install.
However, if you are careful and exit the text file directly the translation is stored between tags like this:
All coders
Todos los codificadores
The translation text is in the tags:
Best to email it to me.
with regards Colin
Ok, I’ll give it my best and will let you know
Hi, someone know how to install QualCoder on a MacBook ? Thank you
Hello Amandine. I am sorry I don’t own a modern Mac (I have high Sierra) to give installation instructions. The install instructions were provided by another user a long-time ago. If you open a github account and post yourbissue there on QualCoder I and others can try and assist in installing the python bits needed.
Hi! I’m having the same problem. As I don’t know programming, I can’t understand the installation instructions on GitHub. Did anyone find an easier instruction for mac already?
Colin,
I have a team of three coders working on qualcoder. When they send me their projects, how can I merge their two projects into a master? If it is easier to email me you can reach me at [email protected]
Thank you so much!!
Thank you for the request. I have emailed you.
I am using QualCoder 2.9 and would like to make a few suggestions:
– Once a code is assigned to a video segment, it would be very useful to be able change that code just by right-clicking on the code stripe.
– It would also be useful to assign multiple codes to the same video segment, also by right-clicking on it.
– I would also suggest that, when a code is assigned to a section of video transcription with timestamps, the corresponding segment in the video file is coded accordingly automatically.
Those features would save a lot of time when coding videos.
Thanks for such a wonderful work! Enjoyng it!
Hello Erika. Thanks for the feedback.
I’m glad you are enjoying using it and it installed fine for you. What type of OS are you using? eg Windows? and was it easy for you to set up?
Assigning another code (or more) by right-click may be possible) for me to do.
When a code is assigned to a section of video transcription with timestamps, the corresponding segment in the video file is coded accordingly automatically. – A good idea. I will see if I can do this.
This might be more tricky for me to do: Once a code is assigned to a video segment, it would be very useful to be able change that code just by right-clicking on the code stripe.
Hello, Thank you very much for the program, it works very well. I just have a little problem. When importing the documents from RQDA, it recognizes the files but not the encoding. I also don’t see the codes I used to encode the files in RQDA. I would really appreciate it if you could help me with this, to continue with the coding using the same codes that I used in RQDA and without losing the coding that I did.
Hello, This is because the default coder name in QualCoder is different to the coder name in RQDA.
Go to Menu > Files > Settings. Change the coder name from the default QualCoder coder name to one in the drop down box. Let me know if this fixed your problem.
To check for other potential problems:
‘it recognizes the files but not the encoding’ – when going to code text does each file display its text ?
When going to code text – is the list of codes you created in RQDA shown on the left hand side of the window ?
Hi, thanks for your response. Changing the encoder name did not fix the problem. I tried all the names that appeared in the dropdown box. Each file displays its text, but the text does not have the codes I assigned to it in RQDA. The list of codes is also not displayed in the left side window.
Are you able to able to look at the RQDA sqlite file? Make a copy of it, then open the database to look at the tables and codes. I use Ubuntu and to do this, I open the terminal (command line in Windows) cd to the directory of the .rqda file I then open it:
sqlite3 yourdatabase.rqda
Then type:
select * from freecode;
This command will list all the codes in your rqda project
Then type:
select * from coding;
This should show all the coded text segments.
If either of these is blank, then your rqda project has an unfixable problem.
ctrl+ Z or ctrl=D to exit sqlite.
If not blank, then I cannot fix easily from a distance without testing it, but if you are OK with me looking at the rqda and seeing if I can fix importation errors, you could zip the file and email me.
Hi,
I just triedQualCoder-3.2-Ubuntu22 on Ubuntu 22.04. I imported a media file, but I can’t use it because I always get the failure message:
Cannot locate media. /home/ger/test.qda/audio/record1.wav. ‘NoneType’ object has no attribute ‘media_new’
Yes I get the same error, when using the Ubuntu executable. But the error does not occur when using the code installed from source. I cannot find the reason why this is occurring, I will put a warning about this issue on the release.
This is fantastic 😀 Thank you so much for this wonderful tool!
When I export a coded file, only the colors are displayed and not the code names.
Yes. That is an issue I have not yet been able to resolve.
OK. I have improved this. When exporting as an html file, open the file in a web browser and mouse hover over the coded sections. A tooltip will show the code name, and any coded memo.
hi! I have a question regarding the sharing of text files. We have tried to share files between different devices by importing word files as a zip file from Windows to Mac in QualCoder. I can now see the files under “Files and Cases” but cannot open/code them. The message “This project contains no text files.” appears. What could have gone wrong and what can I do now? Thanks a lot in advance!
Hi Paula, without seeing your project it is hard to comment.
But its best to share (copy from one computer to another) the entire project folder, this can be zipped then shared, then unzipped for use on the second computer.
QualCoder does not import text files from zipped files or folders.
It might be that a database entry for the file is in the project (in the sqlite database) but no actual file text is loaded in the database. So you could delete that entry from Manage files, then import the unzipped text file again.
Hi, I have a question about sharing text files. I have tried to import Microsoft word files in QualCoder from a Windows to a Mac (as a zip file). These are now shown under “files and cases”. However, when I try to open them under “coding”, I get the message: “This project contains no text files”. What could be the error here? I am grateful for any tips!
Firstly, use the latest QualCoder version 3.5. Just in case there was a programming error in earlier versions. I would have to view the project to see what the issue is. Sign into the github page create an issue and discuss further there.
This is very useful app for Linux users, thank you very much!!
hello, thanks for the great software， I want to know how to export chart as .svg ,it seems just can download .png. thanks again!
Hi, The only export option is as png.
hello, thanks to the great software , I want to know how to export chart as .svg , it seems just can download .png. thanks again！
Hi, The only export option is as png
Hi! Thanks a lot for the wonderful work.
I’m on MacOS (ventura) and Qualcoder does not seem to recognize VLC. I haven’t found any instructions or place in Qualcoder to tell it VLC is in fact installed on my Mac. Any clues on how to solve this?
Many thanks in advance !
Valentin
If you have the 32 bit VLC installed, it won’t be recognised. Try the 64 bit version, and also make sure it is installed into it’s usual default place on you mac.
Thanks a lot! It’s now functioning perfectly.
Hello,
(a) The vertical side stripes are a hard function to code. It might be possible at some stage to do this. It’s been asked before.
(b) Yes. Click on the text area just before the mis-aligned codes and press the $ key. You can adjust left (negative numbers) or right (positive numbers).
In the Help menu, select menu Key Shortcuts to see the key options in various parts of the program.
I’m glad you like the software.
with regards Colin
Buenas tardes. Instalé la aplicación QualCoder y fui siguiendo un curso. Desafortunadamente, 2 semanas después, intento usar el programa y ya no funciona, se apaga al momento en que quiero hacer algún proceso. Ya me asesoraron, reinstalé, borré cookies y caché, cambié de ubicación los archivos de trabajo, eliminé ventanas inútiles en mi computadora para no usar memoria RAM y el resultado es el mismo.
¿Qué más puede hacerse?
Did you download the .exe for Windows?
Sometimes the AI part can be a problem. So do this: Go to this Folder:
C:\Users\yourname
Delete the folder called:
.qualcoder
Then start QualCoder again.
Also more details please: Was it one of the exe files installed on Windows 11? or the standalone exe? Were you using AI? – as there is a known issue described in the releases page for QualCoder 3.6.
Thank you for your comments and answer. I found the following: I use an APP for store information in clouds, CLARODRIVE and installed the new version 5.0.3.2. This APP is affecting the QC performance. I unistall CLARODRIVE and QCis working well
Ok good. Yes – do not use the QualCoder software from the cloud, and also do not use actively open a cloud-stored QualCoder project.
You can store project backups in the cloud, but you must then download to your computer to then open them with QualCoder in any active coding or reporting sessions.
Hello,
I use Qualcoder with ubuntu. It worked from the terminal, but it doesn’t open anymore, I don’t know why. I think that I have to reinstall (from https://github.com/ccbogel/QualCoder/releases/tag/3.6) but I have a problem : I don’t know where are the files with my work. Could you say to me how I can find then and save them ?
Many thanks.
Christine
Hello, it might be best to create an issue on the GitHub issues for Qualcoder. There is too much I need to know to try to fix your problems. Firstly, and most importantly, your project folder that contains your project work should be somewhere on your computer, and you also should have backups, both on and away from your computer (good data management practice). QualCoder project folders end with .qda For example, myproject.qda
If your project folder cannot be found, then there is nothing that can be done to restore your work.
The second issue of running QualCoder from the terminal, please put an issue on the GitHub QualCoder page so we can work out any technical problems to get it running.
Hello,
Many thanks for your answer !
Good news, I found the files, I didn’t remember that it was .qda. I suppose it’s not possible to be opened with something else than qualcode, right ?
And last question : I’ll probably reinstall my ubuntu and choose LTS instead of 25.04. With what version of qualcoder does it works ?
Many, many thanks for your help and for all your work with Qualcoder ! I’m a bit frightened to use it for my thesis because of my fragile technical competences, but it’s really good !
Christine
One thing to try to locate your qda folder. Look in your /home/yourname folder. In there, there should be a .qualcoder folder. Inside this folder there should be a recent_projects.txt file. Open that file and see where your recent projects are located.
Great that you found your files. You can down load the executable for 3.6, to be used on Ubuntu 24. It might work on Ubuntu 25. There is a link under the Linux heading here: https://github.com/ccbogel/QualCoder/releases/tag/3.6
Once opened, you could export your project using the QDPX Project Export. Then you would have something that could be imported into another program such as MaxQDA, Atlas or Nvivo.
Hello
I downloaded QualCoder from the github link but it’s not opening on my MacOS Monterey. Is the new version QualCoder_3_7_x86_64.dmg compatible with my OS? or what options do i have to solve this issue.
Thank you
Hi, as mentioned on the Release page: “The app bundles are compiled on macOS Sequoia. They might also work on Sonoma and Ventura.” I think Monterey might be too old. You could try some of the older QualCoder 3.6 which has macOS bundles.
Otherwise try installing from source – but I cannot give good guidance on this, as I do not has macOS, but try following the source install instructions in the README file.
Hello,
I downloaded QualCoder, and have downloaded 64-bit VLC for mac (which is what I have), and have not moved it from the usual place. VLC itself works and runs video/audio, but I cannot get Qual to do anything other than say “VLC not installed cannot play audio or video. Is there any troubleshooting I can do to try and fix this?
Thanks.
I did a search: 2 reasons to look at are these:
Here are two primary solutions:
1. Ensure Correct VLC Installation Location
The python-vlc module for macOS expects the VLC application to be in the standard /Applications directory.
Action: Verify that VLC.app is located in your /Applications folder. If it’s in a different location (e.g., in ~/Downloads or another custom folder), drag and drop it into /Applications.
2. Check for Architecture Compatibility (Apple Silicon vs. Intel)
A common problem on newer Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) Macs is installing the wrong architecture version of VLC.
Action: Ensure you have installed the correct “Apple Silicon” (ARM64) version of VLC if your Python interpreter is also Apple Silicon native, or the “Intel” (x86_64) version if you are running Python through Rosetta 2 emulation. Mismatched architectures (e.g., 64-bit Python with 32-bit VLC) will cause recognition errors.
If you are running on macOS silicone, and running the macOS executable, you might need to install the non-silicone vlc version – (just a suggestion).
Alternatively, instead of running the downloaded executable, you might be better to follow the instructions to build and run QualCoder from source code.