Setting duration of HTML file

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04-11-2008, 03:03 PM
cbrownkramer

Setting duration of HTML file

I'm trying to present participants with an HTML screen for 1 minute before the "Continue" button appears and they're allowed to move on. I tried setting the paramater to (d-60) to test it, thinking that would make the "Continue" button be hidden for 60 seconds. But the "Continue" button never appeared. Is there an easy way to set how long the HTML screen will appear before participants can move on?

At a different point in the experiment (separate questionnaire file), I also want to show participants a series of statements, 1 at a time, and present each statement for 10 seconds before they are allowed to move on. Right now, each statement is set up as a scale response, with a button in the middle of the screen that they click to move on. I'd like that button to be hidden for the first 10 seconds, then pop up so they can click when they're ready to move on. Will the duration function (e.g., "(d-10)") work for this type of item? Or should I format them as instruction items instead?

Thanks!
04-14-2008, 07:28 PM
jarvis24

The negative duration value option is reserved for instruction items, but you can embed your html file within an instruction item by placing its filename as the background. I would take care of the other issue the same way. Hope that helps!
04-14-2008, 10:28 PM
cbrownkramer

I tried your suggestion--putting the HTML file as the background image on an instructions item. That seems to make the duration work, but it messed up the appearance of the HTML. Now all the text is running off the right side of the page.

How do I make the HTML file look like it did before (with line breaks in the appropriate places)?
04-14-2008, 10:51 PM
cbrownkramer

Also, putting it as an instructions item seems to have messed up the BG randomization I had set up. Now it's showing the 5 instructions pages (w/HTML background) in the order they appear in the MediaLab file every time.

Any suggestions?
04-15-2008, 07:48 AM
jarvis24

Try defining a limiting width (and optionally, height) parameter to the background like this:

[I]myhtmlfile.htm (w.95,h.95)[/I]

You can substitutue any value you like eithyer in pixels (1-any value) or a percentage of the screen width (from .01 to .99).

See if that helps. Note that a style line in the HTML file like the following will help it blend in with the default colours that MediaLab uses:

[I]<body style="font: 12pt arial; color: navy; background: #ccccff; margin: 0px">[/I]

With regard to randomization, there is no reason why that should be affected. I'd have to see the files.