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Parameters (Experiment File) |
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QuickInfo Parameters supply additional information for the presentation of certain files. In the experiment Editor, all parameters are optional but offer the user some nice flexibility. Parameters can be given in any order, must be separated by commas, and the entire set must be enclosed in a single set of parentheses. Note that parameters also can be set for background, backsound, and backvideo files following the same rules except that their parameters are entered after the filename rather than in the parameters field. Parameters
Parameters for Different File Types
Details To apply custom colour and font settings to a questionnaire, you can create a QuickStyle file from the Preferences menu. To apply it to a questionnaire you can enter the name of the QuickStyle file precede by a $. E.g., ($mystyle). See QuickStyles for more detail. command-line arguments (optional) For executables that allow for command line arguments, you can specify the arguments you want to send with the c parameter. Just type in the arguments preceded by a "c" (cmyargument). Follow any arguments with max and the application will be run in a maximized window, e.g., (cmax), or (cmyarguments max) left position, top position (optional) These parameters allow you to place an image or video exactly where you want it by specifying the top left corner of its position relative to the top left corner of the MediaLab window. The unit of measurement is pixels so placement will depend on what resolution you are running on your computer. MediaLab attempts to scale most screens so that the same scale is applicable no matter what resolution you are running. To determine the scale for your system, go to the MediaLab Help menu and click "Showing Location Points". A left value of 400 and a top value 300 would be entered as (l400,t300). Note: As of v2004, you can express ANY location and size parameters as a percentage of the screen. E.g., (w.3,h.25) would be a rectangle 30 percent of the screen's width and 25 percent of its height. To use percentages, simply use a value less than 1 and greater than 0. By default, videos play in their origional size. However, you can set the exact size of the video using the width parameter. The height will automatically be set in proportion to the width you specify. For example, if you specify (w200) for a video that is normally 320x240 it will appear as 200x150. You can also use the following shortcuts rather than specifying an exact width (e.g., w-1, w2, etc.)
Note: As of v2004, you can express ANY location and size parameters as a percentage of the screen. E.g., (w.3,h.25) would be a rectangle 30 percent of the screen's width and 25 percent of its height. To use percentages, simply use a value less than 1 and greater than 0. duration for timed items (optional) The default for many item types (instructions, essays, word documents, fill-in-the-blank, thought and recall lists, image files) is for the subject to press a key to continue. Optionally, you can set a duration for these items instead. For example, if you wanted an instruction or an image to be displayed for 30 seconds and then automatically continue, you would specify (d30). You can also limit the time a subject has to complete a given questionnaire using the d parameter. Questionnaire files also offer a special option you can use to create a special countdown clock to tell subjects how much time they have left to complete the questionnaire. On any questionnaire file, if you use a negative duration value (e.g., d-300) then a countdown clock will appear at the start of the questionnaire, showing how many minutes and second are left before the questionnaire will automatically end. The clock will start with the absolute value of the duration you specify (e.g., d-300 will put 300 seconds, or 5 minutes, on the clock). If you are using a countdown timer for a questionnaire, try to avoid using duration parameters on items within that questionnaire that could conflict with your countdown. Note that you can place a single item in a questionnaire in order to get the countdown timer with a single item. Image. To set the top left corner of an image to the center of a 640x480 resolution screen: (l320,t240) or (l.5,t.5) Movie. To play a video file at full screen on a 800x600 resolution screen: (w800) or (w-1). Word Document. To display a Word document for 60 seconds rather than allowing the subject to press a key to continue: (d60) Background. For a BackGround image to be displayed for 60 seconds with the top left corner located at the top left corner of the MediaLab window, specify the background file as: myimage.bmp (t1,l1,d60)
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