Introduction
Getting started
The interface
Items
Running your experiment
Saving your experiment
Credits
License
OpenSesame is a graphical experiment builder for the social sciences. That is, with OpenSesame you can create psychological experiments in a point-and-click way. For more complex tasks, OpenSesame supports Python inline coding <http://www.python.org/>.
The best way to get started is to follow one of the tutorials and/ or look at example experiments. These can be found at <http://www.cogsci.nl/opensesame>
The graphical interface consists of the following parts. You can get detailed help on the file pool, the variable inspector, and the debug window by clicking on the help buttons in the corresponding areas.
The menu (at the top of the window) offers a variety of options, such as opening and closing files, inserting items (see below) and checking for updates. The menu cannot be hidden or closed.
The main toolbar (the big buttons below the menu) offers a selection of the most relevant options from the menu. The main toolbar cannot be hidden, but can be moved or detached from the main window.
The item toolbar (the big buttons on the left of the window) displays a list of available items. You can drag items from the items toolbar into the overview of the experiment. The items toolbar cannot be hidden, but can be moved or detached from the main window.
The tab area contains the tabs which are used to edit the experiment. If you click on an item in the 'overview' window, a corresponding tab will be opened in the tab area. Help is displayed in the tab area as well. The tab area cannot be moved or hidden.
The overview provides an overview of your experiment. The structure of your experiment is visualized as a tree. The overview item cannot be hidden but can be moved or detached from the main window.
The file pool provides an overview of the files which are bundled with your experiment. If you save your experiment in the .opensesame.tar.gz format, the file pool will be saved along with your experiment. The file pool can be hidden (Ctrl+P), moved, and detached from the main window.
The variable inspector provides an overview of the variables that are used in your experiment. The variable inspector can be hidden (Ctrl+I), moved, and detached from the main window.
The debug window shows the messages that are written to the standard output during an experiment. This is mostly useful for debugging inline_script items. A simple Python interpreter is provided as well. The debug window can be hidden (Ctrl+D), moved, and detached from the main window.
Items are the building blocks of your experiment. There are 10 core items, which provide the basic functionality that is necessary to create an experiment. Core items can be added to your experiment using the corresponding toolbar buttons.
The loop item runs another item multiple times. You can also define independent variables here. A loop can, for example, be used for a block of trials.
The sequence item runs multiple other items in sequence. A sequence can, for example, be used for a single trial.
The sketchpad item presents visual stimuli. A built-in drawing tool allows you to easily create stimulus displays.
The feedback item is similar to a sketchpad, but is not prepared in advance. Therefore, a feedback item can be used to present feedback to the participants. However, a feedback item is not suitable for presenting visual stimuli with millisecond precision.
The sampler item plays a single sound file.
The synth item generates a single sound.
The keyboard_response item collects key press responses
The mouse_response item collects mouse clicks.
The logger item writes variables to the log file.
The inline_script item allows you execute arbitrary Python code.
If installed, plug-in items provide additional functionality, such as integration of Eyelink eyetrackers, a Mantra object tracker or a Serial Response Box (SR Box). Plug-ins appear alongside the core items in the item toolbar. An overview of available plug-ins can be found online <http://www.cogsci.nl/opensesame>
You can get detailed help on each item by clicking on the help button at the top-right of an item's tab.
You can run your experiment in full-screen mode (Run → Run fullscreen) or in a window (Run → Run in window). When the 'auto-response' option (Run → Enable auto-response) is enabled, OpenSesame will simulate key press and mouse click responses, which can be useful when testing your experiment.
Experiments can be saved in two file formats:
.opensesame files contain only the experiment script. Therefore, the file pool will not be saved along with your experiment when saving in .opensesame format. The .opensesame format is a plain-text format.
.opensesame.tar.gz files contain the experiment script and all the files from the file pool. The .opensesame.tar.gz format is a .tar.gz compressed archive, which can be opened with most file compression tools. For more information, see <http://www.gzip.org/>.