E-RECOVERY: Troubleshooting E-Recovery [22926]

Common Data Conversion Problems 

In the E-Run application, when the .txt file does not successfully convert to an .edat3 file, a dialog box will appear at the completion of the experiment. It instructs the use of the E-Recovery utility to recover data.

There are several common causes for a data file not to convert and several solutions discussed below.

Data File Open
A conversion error will occur if an experiment is running with certain startup information (i.e., Subject, Session, etc.), and a data file with the same information is already open in E-DataAid. The data file may have been opened for viewing and not closed prior to running again. E-Run will not convert a .txt file to overwrite an .edat3 file if the .edat3 file is already in use. To rectify, close the data file in E-DataAid. Then, the current run was saved as a .txt file, and can be successfully converted to an .edat3 file by using the E-Recovery program once the .edat3 file is closed.

Reserved Words
A reserved word might have been used in the user-written script within E-Studio. Reserved words, or keywords, are words recognized by E-Basic as part of the E-Basic language, and cannot be used to create a variable, function, constant, or subroutine. The solution to this error is to simply avoid using any reserved words in the user-written script. However, all keywords can be used for names of structure members. For a complete list of all reserved words, refer to E-Prime Command Reference, and type “keywords” or “reserved words” in the Find tab’s search field.

For example, if an attribute is created on a TrialList called "Subject”, it is referencing a variable that is pre-defined globally by E-Prime, hence can only exist at the Session level. When it occurs at any lower level, a logging conflict occurs, and a data file conversion error results. The data logging will log correctly if the attribute is renamed to a unique identifier in the TrialList and/or the TextDisplay object that presents it.

Logging Turned Off
The Property for logging data (i.e., LogData) for a Procedure could have been set to “No” on the SessionProc and/or TrialProc objects. It is possible to shut off data logging for any level except at the Session Level. Without logging the Session level though, the critical variables of the ExperimentName, Subject, and Session will not be logged. Set LogData to “Yes” for the Session Level by selecting the SessionProc in the experiment structure in the Experiment Explorer window, and setting the LogData property via the Properties window.

Extra Tab After an Attribute
When calling an attribute through user-written script, an extra tab may have been added after c.GetAttrib resulting in a run-time error. Thus, E-Basic reads it as printing the number of spaces necessary to achieve a given column position. To correct the error, simply delete the extra tab that was placed after the attribute.

Getting Additonal Help

Lastly, E-Recovery’s interface presents a Help button for getting assistance and searching for items. Click on the Help button to display the help for E-Recovery if data conversion problems persist.

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