E-Prime software:

E-Prime software: 

A “stimulating” introduction 

Caitlin M. Hudac 

Developmental Brain Laboratory 

January 2012

What is E-Prime? 

• Made by Psychology Software Tools (PST) 

• E-Prime is an object-oriented programming language.


• E-Prime 1 – cannot display videos 

• E-Prime 2 – current version. Can open E-Prime 1 files and 

upgrade to EP2 format. 

• Normally requires a dongle (license) Site license runs 

without a dongle!


• Error message 

indicates that the 

license is not being 

read (no dongle or site 

license recognized). 

• Possible to still work in 

E-Studio but only can 

only save a few times.

E-Studio vs. E-Run 

• E-Studio is the Guided User Interface (GUI or ‘gooey’) to 

build scripts. 

• File extension = .es (E-Prime 1) or .es2 (E-Prime 2) 

• E-Run is a way to run any script without needing to open 

E-Studio. 

• Need to have generated the script in E-Studio (see last few slides) 

• Usually does NOT require any license 

• File extension = .ebs (EP1) or .ebs2 (EP2)

Process of building an E-Prime 

experiment that interacts with NetStation 

1. Outline your experiment! 

2. Read E-Prime manual. 

3. Build script without NetStation calls. 

4. Read E-Prime Extensions for Netstation manual. 

5. Add in NetStation calls. Needs to be done at our 

laboratory. 

6. Video tutorials will be available on our website.

Object vs. Attributes 

• Objects are things that “happen” in the script. These get 

ordered into a script as part of the Structure Tree. 

• Attributes are defined variables. Examples: 

• Background color of a slide 

• Slide states 

• Trial number 

• Both objects and attributes need to be established 

BEFORE the script tries to call it.

Hierarchies 

• Session Procedure 

• Text: “Welcome to the experiment” 

• Set Trial Number = 1 

• Looped procedure (x20) 

• Trial Number = Trial Number + 1 

• Display Trial Number and play sound /ba/ 

• Text: “Thank you, goodbye!” 

1 

2 

3 

20 times

The main stage 

Objects 

The 

Structure 

Tree 

Properties 

Box 

Workspace

The main stage 

New.. 

Open.. 

Save.. 

Check the overall 

experiment 

properties 

Run the 

script 

Generate 

the script

Objects to use 

Image (bmp format 

only) 

User-created “in-line” 

code 

Marks a “Go To” 

location in the 

Structure Tree 

The “main” structure of 

the Structure Tree 

Movie (.avi or .mp4) 

How E-Prime interacts 

with external 

packages, like 

NetStation 

Any combination of 

other objects 

A “ready-made” way to 

display a participants 

accuracy, response time, 

etc. 

Record sounds being 

produced 

Sound file (.wav) 

Text 

A way to pause the 

experiment

Image object 

If you enter 

“image.bmp” then E- 

Prime will look in the 

folder directory where 

the .es2 file is save. 

Otherwise, you can 

browse for the 

directory.

Movie object

Slide object Indicates which object is active 

Objects that 

can be used 

Slide State

Slide object – Slide states 

Slide state 

Add new slide 

state

Slide object Objects that are in the slide 

Bring objects 

forward or 

backwards

Slide object – Slide properties

Slide object – Sub-object properties


Slide state 

Add, delete, 

or duplicate a 

slide state


Slide state


The slide state can be 

dependent on the user 

response. 

In this example, prior to the 

slides DeckChosen and 

DeckPayoff, the slide state 

was set based off the deck 

selection (A = 1).

Sound out object 

Note: Sound out 

objects are only 

the Properties 

menu. 

They do not 

have a window 

that appears in 

the Workspace.

Feedback 

Feedback objects are basically 

“ready-made” slides to display 

feedback, such as whether that 

answer was correct, the 

response time, ongoing 

accuracy, etc. These can be 

edited, or you can build your 

own slide object. 

Slide State

Feedback

Feedback 

User defines which 

statistics are collected 

Feedback must be linked to 

an object that appeared 

previously in procedure.

Feedback 

Formatting choices

Lure and In-Line script examples 

A B C 

A 

B 

C 

This example uses 2 attributes: 

Lures 

lastWasLure 

This example uses 3 labels: 

Finish1 

Lure1 

Go1

Procedures 

Green = Start Red = Stop

E-Prime example using 

NetStation calls – The Oddball

Experiment properties 

• Recommended that 

you take the time to 

write notes in the 

General tab. 

• Especially helpful as 

you make 

modifications to 

different versions.


• These are the prompts 

that are shown at startup. 

• Note: Some are 

required to be defined 

to start NetStation, 

although may not be 

necessary to display 

them.


Attribute name 

Options include 

Numeric, Choice, 

String


• Make sure these are 

checked if you need to 

use them. 

• The SRBOX is the 

response pad.

Experiment properties


• Any 3 rd party 

communication (like 

with NetStation) should 

be an approved 

package. 

• Often when you are 

working with tech 

support they will need 

to know the version of 

the package.

Object properties Object properties

Object properties 

Attributes 

• Text object: You can 

type in the general 

box, change the 

alignment, colors, etc.


• Most objects also have 

frames. You can use % 

or pixels. 

• To create a border 

around the object, 

change the width from 

0 to a different number 

(e.g. 20 for a thick 

border).


• Font options


EEG testing should be run in 

Event mode. 

Any devices needed during 

the display of that object 

should be listed here 

Terminate or 

Jump to 

Allowable: Any character that 

can be used during the object. 

Correct: What the correct 

answer should be. This is 

important if you are basing any 

of the script off of user response 

or marking the EEG file with 

correct/incorrect response. 

Tip – use [CorrectAns] here that 

calls back to an attribute in the 

List.


• You can custom select 

any options you’d like 

or use a pre-set on the 

Duration/Input tab. 

• Anything selected will 

be printed and saved 

for THAT OBJECT 

onto the E-Data file 

(.edat)

Lists 

List 

New procedure

Practice List 

Add multiple rows 

(cases) or columns 

(Attributes) 

Attributes: The name and 

case are important. These 

become OBJECTS. 

You can double-click and 

rename if needed.

Practice List 

Step 1: Since it is sequential, start with ID=1. Run PracProc using 

FrequentTone as Stimulus. 

Step 2: TrialBegin object through Pause object. 

Step 3: ID=2. Run PracProc using TargetTone as Stimulus. 

Step 4: TrialBegin object through Pause object. 

Step 5: etc. 

Once an ID has been selected, all 

attributes will be assigned to the value in 

that row.

Practice List 

Text surrounded by “[ ]” indicates an 

attribute (e.g. OBJECT) as well! 

Attributes must be defined prior to 

using in the text! Where were these 

defined?

Lists

List properties

List properties

Block List

Block Procedure

Trial List Weights: How many times 

you repeat a row. 

In this example, ID=1 will 

be run 70 times.

Trial procedure

Trial procedure

Trial procedure

Trial procedure 

Calls to the attribute 

Stimulus (retrieves from the 

PracticeList).


Interstimulus interval was previously 

defined in ISI object.

Trial procedure


Because we have this in-line script, 

anytime an ID is run, if you press CTRL- 

SHIFT during the PracProc, it will pause the 

stimulus until CTRL-SHIFT is pressed 

again.


The last object of 

BlockProc

Generating the script 

This is another way to define attributes. 

These are defined even before script is 

run.


To generate 

the script 

This is the full script. If you see this, the 

script hasn’t been generated yet – 

meaning, no .ebs2 file has been created 

and the stimuli cannot be run.


Clicking the running man 

will automatically 

generate the script and 

start the script.

NS Calls: Big mouth, little sandwiches 

Start Recording 

Practice 

Trials 

Trial Begin 

Stop Recording 

Trial End 

Trial Begin 

Trial End

Adding NetStation calls










Deleting objects

Deleting objects 

These objects STILL EXIST! Be careful 

or they will come into conflict with other 

aspects of the script. 

You can delete them again from this 

Unreferenced section and then they will 

be gone forever.

Deleting Objects

Organization .edat2 = 

Data file with response 

times, accuracy, etc. 

.ebs2 = 

E-Run file. Will 

automatically run script. 

.es2 = 

E-Studio file. Open and 

edit 

.txt = 

Can be used to recover 

edat’s if the program 

stops before the script is 

completed.

Organization Tip: Much easier to open 

files from within E-Studio 

itself!

Organization – E-Recovery 

Use the .txt file in E- 

Recovery to recover 

edat’s if the program 

stops before the script is 

completed.

Organization – E-Recovery

Organization – E-Recovery

ESSENTIAL LESSONS 

• Look for help 

• Read the user manual! 

• Pull open other people’s scripts 

• Examples should be posted on every Center system 

• Online forums (PST net, google forums): Probably need to create 

an account 

• http://www.pstnet.com/forum/ 

• http://groups.google.com/group/e-prime/ 

• Ask for help 

• David office hours for E-Prime = 

• Spring 2012: Thursdays, 10am-12pm 

• Otherwise, check website for office hours

Questions??

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