Recording trial-based responses from Flash (case 434)

[zlevin]

Hi Blair,

I appreciate your advice so far.

Ok, so I've managed to embed a Flash-based visual-task file inside a Custom Item (HTML file), and have it re-load the page with a POST request containing the appropriate variables (I have 2 of them in each Flash-based trial: "xPos" & "Side"). Doing this outside of MediaLab, in the latest versions of Chrome or Firefox for example, works perfectly, and I can see both variables showing up as $_POST variables in a PHP echo.

However, when running a questionnaire in MediaLab 2008, I encounter 2 serious problems:
1. MediaLab keeps crashing (100% of the times) right after the POST submit (even though it first notifies me to "Please inform the experimenter that you have completed this portion of the session").
2. Looking at the results table in Excel, I see the variable *names* showing up instead of their *values*. So it doesn't seem to be intercepting the data.

I suspect the first problem has to do with MediaLab's built-in IE browser. Is it possible to force the questionnaire to load my HTML in a different browser?

I'm also attaching the questionnaire file I'm using. I'd be grateful if you could take a look at it and tell me what I'm doing wrong.

- Thanks, Ziv

[zlevin]

Nevermind, I solved it!
Instead of having the Flash script itself initiate a POST request, it's now passing the parameters to the client-side JS, and that code submits a hidden form.

[sdavis]

zlevin, as a Flash guy myself, I'd appreciate any code or source files you're willing to share. I imagine I'll be doing this in the near future.

my email is
sdavis at mays dot tamu dot edu