please Please PLEASE - May something be done about inaccessible output files

Dear Sean,

may I return to the wishlist I posted some time ago (http://www.millisecond.com/community/forums/thread/1128.aspx). I just lost data from two 600-trial experiments done by my subjects over the last 1.5 hours because our university network suffers from timeouts again.

Why, oh, why can Inquisit pop up an error message about its misfortune not to be able to save the output file in the specified location, but not display a simple save dialog offering to store the file elsewhere? I feel taunted.

Malte

The last thing I want is for anyone to feel taunted.

I just added this feature to the next update, which is due in a week or so. If Inquisit is unable to save the data to the location designated by the script, it shows the following message:

"Inquisit was unable to automatically save the data. Click OK to manually save the data file to your local computer. Contact the researchers for instructions on how to send the data file to them."

Then it pops up the Save As dialog allowing the user to save the file to their local computer.

The next update is in testing mode now, so we'll hopefully get it out shortly.

Sean

 

 

Dear Sean,

I was imprecise again in that I referred to the desktop version in my first posting. We save on network shares because we need different output files per subjects. Hopefully, the save dialog feature will make it into the desktop version, too.

Best wishes,
  Malte

Malte,

The Save As dialog will pop up whenever Inquisit (web or desktop) is unable to save the file to the specified location (http, ftp, file share, and local computer).

Regards,
Sean

Just a quick follow up - the Save As feature was added to Inquisit 3.0.2.0, which is now available for download.

-Sean

Soooo many thanks to you, Sean. Multiple thumbs up!

Malte.

I'm afraid my enthusiastic praise was a bit premature. Today we - again - lost quite a pile of data due to an incorrectly assigned network share - with version 3.0.2.0 which did not issue any sign of a save dialog. Yes, I could not believe my eyes either, but take a look at the screenshot below. What happens?

Bye, Malte.


InquisitCouldNotSave.png

Malte,

Are you certain the Save dialog did not appear? Is it possible the user mistakenly cancelled the dialog by pressing the space bar or enter key? I've combed through the code, and I don't see how that dialog would be skipped if Inquisit was unable to save the data to the original location. 

Note that version 3.0.2.0 will show the red "Inquisit could not save the data" error message even if the Save dialog appeared and the user successfully saves the data file. So, the presence of the error message alone doesn't mean the Save dialog did not appear. (The message appears in this case because technically speaking, the intended save failed even though the backup did not have. Nevertheless, after seeing this situation a few times, I thought it seemed confusing so in 3.0.3.0 the error message no longer appears if the back save succeeds.)

Another possibility - Inquisit actually tries 3 times to save to a network location before showing the Save dialog. If the first attempt failed but the second or third succeeded, you might see the error message and the Save dialog would not appear. If you haven't already, you should check wherther the file is in fact there.

-Sean

Sorry to stroll slightly off-topic, but speaking of version 3.0.3.0: It's been anounced as "soon to be released" and available as a beta for quite some time now. Any news on when the final release will see the light of day?

Getting back on-topic: I'll check if I can replicate the behavior reported by Malte and report back.

Best,
~Dave

Okay, so I did a quick check by adjusting one of my scripts to save the data to a non-existent network share. Basically, on my machine (running Windows XP SP3), Inquisit 3.0.2.0 behaves as it should. Well, at least kind of... First, at the end of the experiment, an error message appears indicating that Inquisit could not save data. Then there's a second message-box prompting the user to manually save the data on the local machine and contact researchers. After confirming the message, you would expect some explorer window to pop up in front allowing you to browse to a save location. But this doesn't really happen: The save window remains hidden (i.e. is not raised to front, is not visible in the taskbar), it can *only* be found by using ALT+TAB.

This should definitely be adjusted in one of the next releases. I clearly see how most subjects will simply miss that save dialog.

Hope this helps,
~Dave

Hi to you,

sorry for being absent for such a long time. I am pretty sure that Inquisit did really not display any dialog before quitting without saving. The screenshot I attached was taken directly after an experimental run - without any message being shown.

However, we a) had to upgrade to Vista and b) use Inquisit 3.0.3.0 now and all of a sudden the manual backup copy feature works like a charm. So whatever you did right or we don't do wrong any more: problem gone.

Thanks for your attention and gentle help. Best wishes,
  Malte