Guide: E Prime

E-Prime (2.0) is a platform used to create and run behavioral experiments. Thanks to its “drag and drop” format and prespecified functions, it is an accessible alternative to writing code and a way to quickly get a basic cognitive experiment up and running.

Where to find it

E-Prime 2.0 is installed on the center PC (facing the windows) in the LCNL RA office. It is also installed on all computers in the 2nd floor running rooms. It can also be downloaded here as a trial version, which you can run up to 20 times without a serial number. It may be helpful to have the trial version installed on a personal device, to be able to open and look at E-Prime data files without coming into the lab.

Installation/use

When installing and running E-Prime, you must have the Product Key inserted in the USB drive of the computer you’re using. LCNL has two of these—both are USB flash drives attached to floppy disks (one is purple, one is green.) One of these is typically in the RA room, while the other is usually in one of the running rooms on 2nd floor. If you don’t find one in either of these places, check in right-most metal cabinet in the RA office. (There is also a yellow E-Prime Product Key which is not functional.) When installing E-Prime for the first time, you will need a link to the download, and LCNL's Licensing information (User, Institution, and Serial Number).

Terminology

• .es2 File: This is an E-Studio file, i.e. where you create and edit your experiment.
• .ebs2 File: This is an E-Run file. Clicking on a .ebs2 file will immediately launch your experiment; this is used for running participants.
• .edat File: This is your data output file. It records information such as participant number, trial number, date/time, and any other numerical data you've asked E-Prime to record.

Common issues

• Clicking too fast: If you are running an experiment with no other bugs, and it suddenly crashes and displays a “Runtime error”, it is possible this occurred because you (or the participant) were advancing through the slides (e.g. clicking the mouse or hitting the space bar) too quickly. There is no known solution to this error besides doing one’s best not to advance through the slides so rapidly.
• Files in wrong folder: If you have a List which references image files, the files either need to be in the same folder as the script you are running, or the folder they are in needs to be specified. For instance, if your List contains a the filenames of images, the experiment will only run if the images are in the same folder as they script they are in. If they are not in the same folder, you need to tell E-Prime which folder they’re in! Go to List Properties > General, then add the folder name before the name of the attribute—for instance: Filename: images\Image.JPG.
  HINT: Make sure your files are named correctly/the correct file type (e.g. .JPG, .PNG) in the List! Typos = errors.
• Microphone not plugged in: Since we are a lab which is generally interested in language, many of our experiments involve recording speech. We use Blue Snowball microphones for this. These can usually be found in one of the 2nd floor running rooms, in the right-most cabinet in the RA office, or plugged into one of the RA office computers. If you run an E-Prime experiment with has a “Voice Input” function on any of the slides, you will encounter an error if you don’t have a microphone plugged into a USB port on the computer you’re using. You don’t need the microphone to create the script, just to run it.
• Microphone/Mouse/Keyboard not added as input device: It’s also important to make sure any devices participants will be using during the experiment are added as “Input devices” in your E-Prime experiment. To add an input device, double click on the purple Experiment icon at the top of the Structure box. Then, click the tab called ‘Devices’. If the mouse/keyboard/microphone is not listed as a device and you plan to use it, click ‘Add’ at the bottom left of the screen, then select the device. If you do not do this, you will either receive an error, or these devices will be non-functional during the experiment.
  HINT: If participants are going to be using the touch screen monitor, the touch screen doesn’t get its own ‘Device input’ listing; it is considered the ‘Mouse’.
• Touch screen monitor: If E-Prime is moving particularly slowly or freezing on a particular slide, check to see if you’re running it on the touch screen monitor (bigger than the other monitors; currently installed in the station across from the door in room 273). If so, make sure the touch screen is not activated (unless your experiment requires it). There are a few cables connecting the monitor to the computer tower/outlet—you want all of these plugged in EXCEPT the black USB cable. Having the touch screen plugged in tends to make E-Prime laggy and problematic.
• Dropbox: Another thing that makes E-Prime (and everything else) slow and problematic is having Dropbox running on the computer you’re using. When you turn the computer on, check to see if there is a little Dropbox icon on the bottom right of the screen (next to the date and time). If there is, right click on it and choose Exit Dropbox.
• No product key: It is possible to use E-Studio and E-Run without the USB Product Key dongle. However, if the dongle is not plugged in, E-Prime displays a warning message for 10 very slow seconds before opening. Furthermore, without the dongle plugged in, you are only able to save your edits a limited number of times (it is not clear how many times, or if this is just an empty threat.) To save yourself time and frustration, it’s best to always have the Product Key plugged in when you run E-Prime.

Resources

• Tutorials: This tutorial (add link) leads you through the basics of creating an experiment in E-Studio.
  Here is another tutorial from the University of Queensland that may be helpful. YouTube is often a great resource. The PST Channel contains some useful demonstrations.
• Forums: Strategic Googling is often the best way to solve an E-Prime problem. There are countless forum entries where people post about and find solutions for their issues. For instance, if you wanted to have your E-Prime script record reaction times for each trial, you could google “eprime 2.0 record RT” and find solutions (or at least good jumping-off points). This blog created by Leiden University is also helpful!
• E-Prime Knowledge Base: This website is produced by the creators of E-Prime, and thus has valuable information about the purposes of various tools/functions within E-Prime, the possible meanings of errors, and some basic trouble-shooting advice.
• Slack Debug channel: The #debug channel in the LCNL Slack is a useful resource for solving problems someone in the lab may have encountered in the past! The most efficient way to use this is to search for a keyword (e.g. “EPrime” or “runtime error”); this will take you to any posts in the #debug channel containing the search word.
  HINT: You should also post in the #debug channel with a detailed explanation of your issue—lab members are eager to help and have unique insights! Plus, this means the problem and solution will be posted on the channel for future lab members to reference if they encounter the same issue.

E-Prime 3.0

E-Prime 3.0 is the newest version. As of Spring 2017, the LCNL does not have a licensed version of EP3. One can download a trial version here, which can only be used in Evaluation mode (i.e., you cannot create or run custom experiment scripts with this trial version.)