E-STUDIO: Experiment Explorer Window (Structure, Browser, and Attribute Tabs) [23591]

The Experiment Explorer Window serves to organize the Structure, Browser, and Attribute tabs within the experiment file, offering detail concerning the events composing the experiment procedures, the objects used to define those events, and the attributes existing within the experiment objects.

Structure Tab

The purpose of the Structure tab is to provide a hierarchal representation of the events within the current experiment. The Structure tab is displayed as a tab within the Experiment Explorer Window docked, by default, to the immediate right of the Toolbox, and features a collapsible tree view of the experiment structure.
 

 
The Structure tab enables the user to easily review and modify the outline of a developing experiment, and to visually inspect the overall experiment based on the placement of the objects. Both objects that are currently in use (e.g., referenced by a Procedure), and objects that have been created but are not directly referenced are visible within the tree. The latter are located in the Unreferenced E-Objects section of the tree. Objects not explicitly referenced (i.e., either unused, or called via script but not called by a Procedure) are listed in the Unreferenced E-Objects folder.
 
While designing an experiment, much of the user’s time will be spent working in, or in conjunction with, the Structure tab. New objects may be created by dragging them to a specific location within the tree in the Structure tab. Furthermore, objects may be repositioned within the tree by dragging them to the desired location. Each object located within the tree features a context menu (accessed by right clicking on the object), which permits standard editing features (e.g., Rename, Delete).
 

 
Double clicking on an object within the Structure tab results in the window representation of that object being opened within the Workspace. When an object window is open in the Workspace, any reorganization of that object via the Structure (e.g., adding or moving objects in a Procedure) will be echoed in the object’s window in the Workspace.
 
Collapsible Tree View
The Tree view in the Structure is collapsible, to facilitate the viewing of specific branches within the tree. The collapsible tree features small boxes to the left of parent objects (i.e., objects containing other objects). When a branch of the tree is collapsed, the small box to the left of the parent object will contain a plus (+) sign. To expand a parent object branch, click on the small box containing the plus sign. When a branch is expanded, the small box to the left of the parent object will contain a minus (-) sign. To collapse a parent object branch, click in the small box containing the minus sign. To expand an entire branch of the tree, including all sub-branches, select the parent object, and right click on the object to reveal its context menu. Choose the Expand All option to expand the selected branch, and all of its sub-branches. Alternatively, the tree can be set to always expand by unchecking the Allow Collapsing option in the context menu.
 

 
Renaming Objects
An object may be renamed in the Structure by selecting any instance of the object in the tree and then clicking it again to get an in-place edit box, by pressing {F2} to enter edit mode, or by right-clicking to display the context menu and selecting the Rename command.
 
Deleting Objects
A reference to an object may be deleted in the Structure by selecting the object and pressing the Del key, selecting the Delete command from the Edit menu, or by selecting the Delete command from the context menu. Objects within the Structure are actually only references or short-cuts to the object, rather than the object itself. When an object is deleted from a Procedure in the structure of the experiment, only the specific reference to the object is being deleted. Thus, it is possible to delete one reference to the object without affecting other references to the same object.

 
If all references to the object are deleted (i.e., the object is no longer referenced by another object within the structure), the object is moved to the Unreferenced E-Objects section of the tree (See E-STUDIO: Unreferenced E-Objects [27730]). The purpose of this intermediate step is to allow users to delete objects from specific Procedures while allowing them to be used by others, or to remain in Unreferenced E-Objects for use at a later time. If the delete operation is requested for an object located in the Unreferenced E-Objects section or the Browser, the user is notified that this action will remove all references to the object and it will be destroyed forever, and the user is asked to confirm the operation.
 
Moving Objects
Objects may be repositioned within a Procedure in a Structure by clicking and dragging them to the desired location. Objects may also be moved to a new location within a Procedure window opened in the Workspace by clicking the object and dragging it to the new location.

To move objects from one Procedure to another, click the object to select it. Then, while holding the Shift key down, click and drag the object to the new Procedure. Any object movement within the Workspace will be reflected in the Structure tab.

To add a reference to the same object in another location in the experiment (rather than copying the object), single-click to select the object of interest, which will highlight the object. With the object highlighted, hold down the left mouse button. Notice that the cursor will change to the purple arrow. Then, move the purple cursor to the desired location and release; the same object will now appear in the new location as well as remain in the original location.

To aid in the positioning of objects, the arrow cursor () is displayed to indicate the placement of the object within the structure. Some moves are illegal (e.g., a Procedure cannot be placed on another Procedure). In the case of illegal moves, the cursor will change to , indicating that the move cannot be completed.

Moves within a Procedure will reposition the object reference. Moves between Procedures will create new references to the same object, thus allowing a single object to be referenced within multiple Procedures without making duplicate objects.
 
Copying Objects
Exact copies of objects may be created within the Structure tree by clicking on the object to select it, then while holding down the Ctrl key, dragging the object to the desired location. Each new object created will be assigned a default name of the format “ObjectNameN, where “N” is an automatically assigned integer (i.e., Fixation, Fixation1, Fixation2). Objects may also be copied within a Procedure window opened in the Workspace by applying the same technique. Any copying of objects within the Workspace will be reflected in the Structure view. Finally, copies of objects may be created in the Browser window by right-clicking on an object to display the context menu and selecting the Copy command. Redisplay the context menu to paste the copy into the Browser window.
 
Opening Objects
An existing object's window representation may be opened in the Workspace by double clicking the object in the Structure. To open a new instance of an object, click and drag the object icon from the Toolbox to the Workspace, or to a specific location within the Structure. Visual cues (arrows) are presented to indicate where an object will be placed when the mouse button is released. If a new object is created in the Workspace, that object will be placed in the Unreferenced E-Objects folder in the Structure. When dragging a new object to a parent object that is collapsed in the Structure, hovering over the parent object will open the window representation for the parent object in the Workspace.

Browser Tab
The Browser is a tab displayed within the Experiment Explorer Window. The Broswer tab displays the objects currently instantiated in the experiment in a report view format. The report lists the name of the object, its type, and whether or not it is currently referenced. The objects listed are not necessarily used in the experiment, but they exist and are available for use. For example, an object that has been deleted from all Procedures, but not from the experiment, would appear in the Unreferenced E-Objects folder in the Structure view, and would be listed in the Browser. The value for the Referenced column in the Browser window would remain blank.

Sorting Objects
The objects listed in the Browser can be sorted by Name, Type, or Referenced status by clicking on the column header. Subsequent clicks on the header reverse the order of the sorting (e.g., A to Z, Z to A).

Deleting Objects
Deleting an object from the Browser results in all references to the object being removed from the experiment. Once deleted from the Browser, the object is not retrievable, and must be recreated if needed. A delete operation within the Browser requires confirmation from the user before it is performed.

Cut, Copy, and Paste
The Browser supports the dragging of objects from the Browser to Procedures within the experiment. To copy an Object, a Procedure needs to be opened in the Workspace. By default, a simple drag creates a new “reference” to the selected object, but a Ctrl key can be applied, as a mouse modifier, to indicate that a copy of the current item should be made. Specifically, Ctrl+Copy is often used to duplicate an object (e.g., to create a Procedure with the same sequence of events, but which calls a different List object). Likewise, cut, copy and paste options are available via the context menu, which can be accessed by right clicking on any object within the Browser.

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