Create fake pop-up error message

[dubalo]

Hi, I'm trying to program a medialab file such that a fake text box comes up saying that there has been a computer error with the program and that it needs to be shut down (and look just like what you would normally see on a windows computer whenver there is an error). I remember that there is a way to program pop up windows, but I can't remember how. Anyone know how?

[jarvis24]

What do you want to happen from that point? e.g., Is it just the appearance you want or do you want the button box to have any functionality?

[dubalo]

Mostly appearance. If anything I'd want it to reappear if it is clicked on so that the subject cannot advance past that point (requiring a ctl/alt/dlt restart).

[jarvis24]

There are a couple ways to do this. The simplest would be to create a fill in the blank question and use the top (t) parameter to move the question off the screen (e.g., t2000). For question wording, instruct the subject to press "enter" to continue. This will bring up a message box that says something like "it would be ideal if you were to type something". You can edit the text of that message using a substitute.txt file (see user's guide for the section on using the messages.txt and substitute.txt files, or online here: http://www.empirisoft.com/medialab/help/preferences.htm).

You could change the text to "There has been a system error. Press enter to continue" or whatever you like. They can keep pressing enter and they will keep getting this message.

Slightly more complicated solutions might allow more flexibility (e.g., creating a custom html page) but this would be pretty quick to implement.

[suchee47]

I have a similar question. I need to create a pop-up box after a custom item (the html file asking subjects to do calculations and enter their answer in a text box). No matter what they enter, they will see a message saying that the number was wrong. However, they should be allowed to move on to the next page if they decide to give up by clicking "Continue."

Could you help me with this? Thank you so much!

[jarvis24]

Do a search in the MediaLab forums here on "validate" or "validation". That should turn up some threads discussing conditional pop-up windows when using custom items via HTML forms and the various options you have from that point onward.