Running Experiments

The researcher uses various widgets on Maestro's mode control panel to start, stop, and otherwise manage the runtime state of the program during an experiment, and to view and adjust a number of application settings such as video display parameters. It is a dockable, resizable panel housing a set of tabbed dialog pages. Logically related widgets are grouped within a single dialog, and an embedded tab control lets the user navigate among the different dialogs. The set of dialog pages available varies with operational mode. The mode control panel is always visible in Trial, Continuous, or Test modes; in Idle mode it may be hidden to free up more screen space for editing the experiment document. The current operational mode is always displayed in the control panel's title bar. Pressing on the small "close" button in the title bar will exit the current mode, return to Idle, and hide the mode control panel. If Maestro is already in Idle mode, then hitting the "close" button merely hides the panel.

Each page in this chapter describes a dialog that appears in the mode control panel. Some are specific to and visible only in a particular operational mode. Others are available in multiple modes.