E-STUDIO: E-Studio Interface [22688]

The E-Studio application is used to design experiments. Experiments are created graphically by dragging and dropping objects on to procedural timelines, and then setting the object’s properties. E-Studio features standard interface characteristics including menus, toolbars, and status bars. Within a single experiment, multiple windows will typically be open in E-Studio simultaneously.

 

E-Studio Menus
Like most applications, E-Studio features a variety of menus. The menu bar is located at the top of the application window.

 

 

Menus are lists of related commands. For instance, an Edit menu typically contains commands allowing the user to Cut, Copy and Paste items; commands performing similar duties are grouped together within the same menu.

 

Commands are selected by clicking on them with the mouse. Alternatively, accelerator and short-cut keys are provided. These short-cuts, sometimes referred to as “Hot keys”, are key combinations typically including the Ctrl, Shift, or Alt keys pressed simultaneously with another key. They activate the corresponding command as if selected from a menu. It is not necessary to open a menu to activate the hot key selection method.

 

An ellipse (…) following a command in a menu signifies that a dialog box will open when that command is selected. The dialog box contains the necessary option information for completing that command. Some menu commands contain sub-menus. The sub-menus function just like regular menus (i.e., commands are selected by clicking on them with the mouse).

 

Shortcut menus are also available for many objects. Also called context menus, they are a collection of related commands pertaining to a specific object. Access these menus by right clicking an object.

 

File Menu

Commands	Shortcut	Function
New…	Ctrl+N	Creates a new E-Studio Experiment File.
Open…	Ctrl+O	Displays a dialog box to open an existing *.ES file.
Save	Ctrl+S	Saves the current *.ES file.
Save As…	F12	Displays a dialog box to save the current *.ES file under a new name.
Exit	Alt+F4	Exits the application.

 

Edit Menu

Commands	Shortcut	Function
Undo	Ctrl+Z	Reverses the last action performed (when possible).
Redo	Ctrl+Y	Repeats the last action performed (when possible).
Cut	Ctrl+X	Removes the selected text and places it on the clipboard.
Copy	Ctrl+C	Places a copy of the selected text on the clipboard.
Paste	Ctrl+V	Inserts the contents of the clipboard in the current location of the cursor.
Rename		Allows the selected object to be renamed. This alters the Name property of the object.
Delete	DEL	Deletes the object from its selected location.
Experiment…	Ctrl+E	Opens the Property pages for the Experiment object.
Properties…	Alt+Enter	Permits the setting of properties for the Structure window.

 

Find and Replace Menu
Commands	Shortcut	Function
Find	Ctrl+F	Finds a designated property in E-Studio.
Replace	Ctrl+H	Replaces a designated property in E-Studio.
Mark	Ctrl+M	Booksmarks a designated portion of script.
Clear Marks	Ctrl+Shift+M	Clears all bookmarks.

 

View Menu
The View menu contains a list of various windows, which can be viewed within E-Studio. The list is comprised of toggle options, indicating whether or not a specific window is displayed. When a window is currently in view, a checkmark appears to the left within the View menu.

 

Commands	Shortcut	Function
Experiment Explorer	Alt+1	Reveals a window that display the Structure, Browser, and Attributes tabs.
Properties	Alt+2	Reveals a window displaying the property settings for the currently selected object.
Output	Alt+3	Reveals a window displaying details of the status of performed operations.
Advisor	Alt+4	Reveals a windows that displays Experiment Advisor information.
Toolbox	Alt+5	Reveals the toolbar containing the E-Objects available for experiment creation.
Full Script	Alt+6	Opens a window in the application area the complete script generated by E-Studio.
User Script	Alt+7	Opens a window in the application area containing user written script.
Full Screen		Displays the Workspace as full screen.
Toolbar		Reveals the toolbar at the top of the application window just below the menus.
Status Bar		Reveals the Status bar along the bottom of the application window.

 

E-Run Menu

Commands	Shortcut	Function
Generate	Ctrl+F7	Generates the E-Basic script based on the current settings in E-Studio. By default, the experiment is saved and compiled each time the script is generated.  These options may be changed through the Options command in the Tools menu.
Run	F7	Generates, compiles, and executes the script.
Test	Ctrl+Shift+F7	Opens the E-Run Test dialog box.
QuickStart	Ctrl+Q	Sets a QuickStart at a designated list and opens the E-Run Test dialog box.
Windowed Mode	Ctrl+W	Specifies that E-Run Test should be run in Windowed Mode and opens the E-Run Test dialog box.

 
Tools Menu

Commands	Shortcut	Function
E-Run		Launches the E-Run application.
E-DataAid		Launches the E-DataAid application.
E-Merge		Launches the E-Merge application.
E-Recovery		Launches the E-Recovery application.
Codec Config		Launches the Codec Config application.
PackageFile Editor		Launches the PackageFile Editor application.
StartupInfo Editor		Launches the StartupInfo Editor application.
SoundTester		Launches the SoundTester application.
Windows Device Manager		Launches the Windows Device Manager for the computer.
Sound Control Panel		Launches the Sound settings for the computer.
Joystick Control Panel		Launches the Game Controllers settings for the computer.
Reset Utility Windows		Resets utility windows sizes and positions to the defaults.
Options…		Specify the global options for the E-Studio application.

 

Options

General Tab
The General tab allows the setting of the initial path for the opening of documents. This tab also sets specific properties for E-Run in regards to compiling and generating script, and the window positions in E-Studio.

 

 

Properties Tab

The Properties tab allows Users to change the visibility of the Properties windows. Also, descriptions of properties can be toggled on or off.

 

 

Toolbox Tab
The Toolbox tab allows the user to set specific properties regarding the Toolbox. By default, all currently active E-Objects are listed.

 

Script Tab

The Script tab allows the user to set whether or not syntax highlighting is used within the script. These colors are applied to user script as well as the full script. Syntax highlighting is discussed in the SCRIPTING: User Script Window [22879]

 

 

Output Tab
The Output tab allows the user to set the visibility of the Output window, and to control whether the Debug pane is cleared after each run.

 

 

Template Tab
The Template tab allows the user to set options on Templates shown to the User at open. The default location for templates can also be changed.

 

 

Packages Tab
The Packages tab allows the user to set options on Packages such as default location.

 

 

Runtime Tab
The Runtime tab allows the User to configure keys used during experiments.

 

 

Updates Tab
The Updates tab allows the User to configure when updates are checked by E-Prime and how often they are checked.

 

 

Window Menu

Commands	Function
Cascade	Arranges windows open in the Workspace overlapping in a cascade formation.
Tile Horizontally	Arranges windows open in the Workspace in rows.
Tile Vertically	Arranges windows open in the Workspace in columns.
Close All	Closes all windows open in the Workspace.

 

Help Menu

Commands	Function
E-Prime Command Reference	Opens the help for the E-Basic scripting language.
Welcome to E-Prime…	Launches the Welcome to E-Prime 3.0 website.
Getting Started Guide…	Launches a .pdf of the Getting Started Guide
Online Resources…	Launches Online Resources for E-Prime 3.0 including the Knowledge Base and documentation.
User Forum…	Launches the E-Prime User Forum.
Register Product…	Provides the ability to register the E-Prime product with the PST Support site.
Technical Support…	Launches the PST Product Service and Support website.
E-Prime Timing…	Launches the PST webpage that contains information on E-Prime timing.
About E-Studio…	Opens a dialog box revealing the application information, including version number and serial number.

About E-Studio
When contacting PST for technical support, the user must provide a valid serial number, which can be found here in the About E-Studio dialog box. In addition to providing the user with the application and product licensing information, the About E-Studio dialog box also includes a helpful tool used by PST technical consultants to collect information regarding the user’s machine and E-Prime.

Clicking the Tech Support button displays the PST Tech Support dialog, listing the available options to help diagnose problems that may occur within the system. This will help to determine causes of problems in relation to the machine and version of E-Prime.

 

The PST Tech Support dialog box will appear which includes two options; Generate a Report or run DirectX Diagnostics. A PST Technical Support representative will instruct which option to choose in order to help remedy a problem that may be occurring. As noted in the dialog box, users need only select from the following options if instructed to do so by a PST Technical Support representative.

 

Next Article: E-STUDIO: Toolbox and Toolbox Defaults [22690]