Properties
The Properties command on the File menu allows the user to view an opened file’s properties. The properties of the file provide information about the file, its contents (e.g., subject data files), and columns. This can be a quick and useful way to scan the file without scrolling through the spreadsheet.
General
The General property page may be displayed by clicking the Properties command on the File menu and selecting the General tab. The General tab displays general information about the file.
| Field | Description |
| Filename | The filename without its path is displayed at the top of the dialog. |
| Type | Displays “E-Prime data file” |
| Version | Displays the version of the E-Prime data file format. |
| Status | Indicates if the data file is a “single session” file or a “merged data” file. A single session file is an E-Prime data file generated by the E-Run application. These files contain data for only one session. A merged data file is an E-Prime data file created by E-Merge or created by one of E-DataAid’s import functions. These files can contain one or more sessions. |
| Location | Displays the file path. |
| Size | Displays the file size. |
| MS-DOS name | Displays the file MS-DOS name. |
| Created | Displays the file creation date. |
| Modified | Displays the file last modified date, which is the date that any changes were made to the file. |
| Merged | Displays the file last merged date, which is the date that the file was last merged into another file. |
| Accessed | Displays the file last accessed date. |
| Attributes | Displays the file attributes: Read Only, Archive, Hidden, and System. Read Only means the file cannot be written to by any user or processes. Archive means the file has been changed since the last backup. Hidden means the file is hidden and does not appear in normal directory searches. System means that the file is a system file and is excluded from normal directory searches. |
Additionally, if the file has altered data, the property page will include the message “This file has data alterations!” below the Size field. A file contains altered data if a data value or a variable name has previously been modified.
Contents
The Contents property page may be displayed by clicking the Properties command on the File menu and selecting the Contents tab. The Contents tab displays a list of all sessions contained in the file along with their creation date, last modified date, and last merged date.
Columns
The Columns page may be displayed by clicking the Properties command on the File menu and selecting the Columns tab. This tab lists the variable name (i.e. name of the column), data type, level, read-only status, and hidden status. Columns are listed in the order in which they appear in the spreadsheet.
Options
The Options command in the View menu allows the user to set options concerning the display of the spreadsheet. The options are machine dependent, thus the settings will be consistent across files opened on the same machine, but will not be carried to a new machine by simply copying a file. When exiting the Options dialog by selecting OK, any changes made are immediately accepted and applied to the spreadsheet. When the application is exited, the options are updated in the computer’s registry.
General
General options may be examined/modified by clicking the Options command on the View menu and selecting the General tab. The General tab contains an option for the initial path to open documents.
The first time the Open or Admin Open commands are used, the Open dialog will display this folder. By default, this option is set to the "C:\My Experiments" folder. This option may be changed by entering a new folder, or by using the Browse button to select a folder.
Spreadsheet
The spreadsheet options may be examined/modified by clicking the Options command on the View menu and selecting the Spreadsheet tab. The Spreadsheet tab contains options for font size, column header for multi-level variables, and inheritance.
Font Size
The Font Size is the display size of the text in the spreadsheet cells. By default, the font size is 8. To make the font size larger (10, 12, or 14), click the arrow to display the drop-down list and select the new font size.
Column Header for Multi-Level Variables
E-Prime data files allow a variable to occur at more than one level. These variables are called multi-level variables, and the spreadsheet contains a column for that variable for each level of its occurrence. For example, if the variable "Color" occurs at both the block and trial level, the spreadsheet will contain two columns for that variable: "Color[Block]" and "Color[Trial]". The first column will contain the values logged at the block level, and the second column will contain the values logged at the trial level. Column headers for multi-level variables may be displayed with the level name or the level number in brackets after the variable name. By default, the level name is used. To change this, select the level number option. For example, "Color[Block]" and "Color[Trial]" can be displayed as "Color[2]" and "Color[3]" (assuming block is level two and trial is level three for this example).
Inheritance
The Inheritance option allows the user to toggle the inheritance feature within E-DataAid on or off. By default, this feature is on. When the inheritance option is on, any multi-level variable cell that has missing data will inherit its data value from the variable’s next highest level. For example, if a variable occurs at two levels (e.g., Color occurs at both the Block and Trial levels), the spreadsheet will have two columns for that variable (e.g., Color[Block]and Color[Trial]). When inheritance is on, any cells containing missing values in the lower level for the variable (e.g., Trial) will inherit the value from the next higher level (e.g., Block). Inherited values are displayed in italics to alert the user that the value has been inherited. When inheritance is off, the cell would contain NULL to indicate missing data.
Figure 1: Inheritance turned on Figure 2: Inheritance turned off
Edits
Edit options may be examined/modified by clicking the Options command on the View menu and selecting the Edits tab. The Edits tab contains options for color and annotation prompts.
Color
By default, the spreadsheet displays all edited values in red. To change the color of edits to either green or blue, click the arrow to display the drop-down list and select the new color.
Annotations Prompt
For all modifications to a data file, the application automatically writes an annotation to the file. An annotation records the time and date of the edit, the original value, and the modified value. User comments may be added to annotations. By default, the application does not prompt the user to enter comments when edits are made (i.e., the Annotations Prompt box is unchecked). This option may be enabled by clicking the Annotations Prompt box to check it. Comments may be added at any time using the Display Annotations command on the View menu.
Filters
Filters options may be examined/modified by clicking the Options command on the View menu and selecting the Filters tab. The Filters tab contains an option for displaying values in the drop-down lists on the Range filter.
Range Filter
The Range filter contains fields that allow the selection of values from a drop-down list to include in the filter. By default, the Range filter displays the first 32,767 unique values of a variable. Uncheck this option to prevent the values from being displayed. In large files, because of the time required to process these unique values, it may be advisable to disable this option to reduce processing time when using the Range filter. When this option is unchecked, it is still possible to enter filter values by typing a value in the field rather than selecting it from the list. This option does not affect the checklist filter that always displays the first 32,767 unique values.
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