Is There A List of 'Hidden' Features? (case 10958)

I know the current version of the manual up and down, but some of the most useful things I've learned about DirectRT simply aren't in the manual.

For example, being able to recall randomly chosen stimuli can be a big help, and it's as simple as writing your initial random value to a variable: rand(write:nameofvariable|1,2,3,4) will randomly choose a number from 1 to 4, then later in the input file rand(read:nameofvariable) will recall which number had been chosen.

Or that you can display the subject ID or condition simply by using var(subj) or var(cond), which will be turned into the subject ID or condition respectively in exactly the same way rand(1,2) is turned into a 1 or 2.

But there's no mention of these features in the manual or interactive help; as far as I can tell the only way to learn these things is by happening on the threads where the features were created: [URL="http://www.empirisoft.com/support/showthread.php?t=3016"]here[/URL] and [URL="http://www.empirisoft.com/support/showthread.php?t=578"]here[/URL].

Then there are some features that are noted as possible, but I haven't been able to find any information on how to use them. For example, the [URL="http://www.empirisoft.com/support/showthread.php?t=5283"]2010 changelog[/URL] notes that
[quote]Stimuli can now move in a vector between multiple specified points
Using point path files allows for complex movement patterns among specified stimuli[/quote]But the manual doesn't make any mention of point path files or how they might be used.

The same thread notes that [quote]Image support added for .PNG, .JPG, .GIF, and .TGA files -- .BMP files are still the fastest to use[/quote], but the most current manual still says that only .BMP files can be used.

Similarly, the manual briefly discusses Meta commands but I have yet to locate a list of all possible Meta commands.

I think the willingness of the devs to make custom features on the fly for requests is a real strength of the program, but there should be somewhere where all these additions are collected and explained in one place- perhaps a stickied thread here that would include all those hard-to-find features like rand(write: ) or var(subj).

I for one would find it a valuable resource- discovering those threads saved my directrt project!

JTE10,

Thank you for the kind words, the links to these useful options, and the great suggestions! We totally agree that more centralized documentation of these features and developments that augment the core functionality of DirectRT would be great. We will take this advice and work to add this documentation to our DirectRT packages.