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Parameter/Window sets in MWorks

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ereming

19 Sep, 2014 03:45 PM

Hi Chris,

I'm trying to do two things:

  1. Figure out how to save/load parameter sets in MWorks: the "retain variables" creates a field in the XML file called "persistent" and sets it to 1. I'm assuming this means it will be saved/set when I save a variable set.
  2. Load a set of windows automatically when an experiment is loaded. Looking through the discussions I found this: http://help.mworks-project.org/discussions/suggestions/73. Is this "task definition" file the official way to achieve what I want for the windows? It also seems to be a way of loading parameter sets. If that's the case, would I be able to learn how to use this functionality with the information in that thread?

Thanks,
Evan

1. Support Staff 1 Posted by Christopher Sta... on 19 Sep, 2014 04:51 PM

   

   Hi Evan,

   the "retain variables" creates a field in the XML file called "persistent" and sets it to 1. I'm assuming this means it will be saved/set when I save a variable set.

   Yes, that's correct.

   Looking through the discussions I found this: http://help.mworks-project.org/discussions/suggestions/73. Is this "task definition" file the official way to achieve what I want for the windows? It also seems to be a way of loading parameter sets.

   Yes, that's what you want. (FYI, they're now called "workspaces".)

   If that's the case, would I be able to learn how to use this functionality with the information in that thread?

   Yes, all the details are in that thread, starting here. However, it's pretty simple to use:

   To create a workspace, first set everything up the way you want (connected server, loaded experiment, loaded variable set, client window state). Then, in MWClient's "File" menu, select "Save Workspace…".

   To load an existing workspace, open the client (but don't connect to a server -- that's part of the workspace definition), then select "File -> Open Workspace…".

   You can also create and/or modify workspace files in a text editor. They're stored as JSON data, which is well suited to direct manipulation by a human (far more so than XML).

   Note that the workspace stuff is still a work in progress. In particular, some client windows don't yet support saving/loading their state via workspaces. However, it should be sufficient to meet your needs, and I'd welcome any feedback or suggestions on how to further improve the feature.

   Cheers,
   Chris

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2. 2 Posted by ereming on 19 Sep, 2014 06:00 PM

   

   Hi Chris,

   I tried it out and it seems to do everything that I want it to do at this point. Which windows don't support saving/loading their state?

   Evan

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3. Support Staff 3 Posted by Christopher Sta... on 19 Sep, 2014 07:23 PM

   

   Which windows don't support saving/loading their state?

   • Reward window
   • Eye window
   • Behavioral window
   • Eye calibrator window

   The open/closed state of these windows is saved and restored, but none of their other settings/parameters are.

   Chris

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4. 4 Posted by ereming on 19 Sep, 2014 07:30 PM

   

   Got it. The eye calibrator parameters get saved along with the parameter set, so that's taken care of. Thanks!

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5. ereming closed this discussion on 19 Sep, 2014 07:30 PM.