ERROR: Troubleshooting issues related to opening data files [34478]

This article applies to:

E-Prime 3.0

E-Prime 2.0

E-Prime 1.x

Detail

This article explains common scenarios that prohibit a data file (.edat/.emrg) from being opened or viewed properly. There are 2 common errors that users may receive.

Runtime Error

This error occurs when running an experiment and refers to the Data File Name property found within the Experiment Object > Data File tab in E-Studio. This error can occur for the following reasons:

• The Data File Name is too long. The Data File Name, including the absolute path where the data file is written to exceeds Windows' MAX_PATH (e.g., C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\My Experiments\3.0\Samples\BasicRT\BasicRT123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456.edat3). Please refer to the "Maximum Path Length Limitation" section in the attached .pdf.
• The Data File Name contains an invalid character. Refer to the "Naming Conventions" section in the attached .pdf.

NOTE: The attched .pdf is a document article from Microsoft's website about the rules of naming files and directories.

E-DataAid Dialogue

NOTE: If the file is already open, a similar dialogue may appear as shown below.

The dialogues above may occur even when an .edat or .emrg file is not open. Common causes of this error include:

• Attempting to move or attach the file while it is already opened - the file should be closed beforehand.
• Opening from a ZIP folder - the file should be extracted from the ZIP before opening.
• Permissions error - the file has specific user permissions under the Security tab.

Apart from the error messages mentioned above, you may be able to open an .edat or .emrg file in a manner that does not produce any error messages, but appears unreadable. It is likely the case that the .edat or .emrg file is being opened with another application other than E-DataAid. Below is an example where an .edat file is opened in Notepad.

This is usually due to E-DataAid not being set as the default application to open .edat/.emrg files. This can be prevented by launching E-DataAid, performing File > Open, and navigating to the .edat or .emrg file. Alternatively, setting the default apps by file type in Windows settings prevents this issue.

See Also:

OVERVIEW: Data Handling Using E-DataAid [23284]

E-DATAAID: Opening a Data File [22794]