ANY-maze Help > The ANY-maze reference > The Tests page > Running tests > General information about running tests > Buttons and keys for controlling testing
Buttons and keys for controlling testing
Introduction
In general tests are controlled using the buttons shown just above the video picture of the apparatus. However, in some situations you'll probably find it's more convenient to use a test control key or a test control switch.
| • | Controlling tests using the toolbar buttons |
| • | Controlling tests using a key or switch |
Controlling tests using the toolbar buttons
The actions of most of the toolbar buttons depend on the current test status, for example, the stop button has a different action if you click it when Waiting to start... than it does if you click it when Testing...
Below is a full list of all the buttons and their actions for each status. Although this list may appear rather complicated, button's actions are usually quite intuitive in context:
Add a test
Note: This button is only displayed when manually scheduling tests.
| Ready... | Opens the Add test window where you can add a test for an animal by entering its animal number. In fact you can enter multiple animal numbers, so as to add more than one test at a time. |
| All other statuses | No action |
Prepare next test
Note: This button is only displayed when the Test panels have been set to clear when the Prepare next test button is clicked.
| Test ended | Clears the previous test's data from the Test window panels and prepares the Test window for the next test. |
| All other statuses | No action |
Start test
| Ready... | When using auto-start, sets the status to Waiting to start..., when the user leaves the camera's field of view the test will start. When not using auto-start, starts the test. See Starting tests |
| Waiting to start... | Starts the test. Useful in the unlikely event that auto-start fails to start the test. |
| Accustomising | No action |
| Testing | No action |
| Paused | No action |
| Waiting to end test... | Causes the test to continue as if the event which could have caused the test end had never occurred. |
| Set zone's position | Same as Ready... status action. |
Pause test
| Ready... | No action |
| Waiting to start... | No action |
| Accustomising | No action |
| Testing | Pauses the test. The test clock is stopped and the animal's position stops being recorded, however the system will continue to track the animal so as not to lose it. |
| Paused | Restarts the test. |
| Waiting to end test... | No action |
| Set zone's position | No action |
End test
| Ready... | No action |
| Waiting to start... | Returns to Ready... status. |
| Accustomising | Cancels the accustomisation period and returns to the Ready... status. |
| Testing | Asks you whether you want to end the test and save its results or end the test and set it back to the beginning as if it had never been started. While the message is displayed tracking continues as normal. You can also just cancel the message and continue the test. Note that this message can be suppressed using an option in the protocol. |
| Paused | Same as Testing status action. |
| Waiting to end test... | Confirms the end of the test. |
| Set zone's position | No action |
Undo last test
| Ready... | Asks you to confirm that you want to undo the last test performed - if confirmed the test is set back to unperformed and the test results are irrevocably lost. |
| All other statuses | No action |
Set zone positions
Note: This button is only displayed when the protocol includes one or more movable zone.
| Ready... | Cycles through the movable zones defined in the protocol prompting you to specify the position of each one. |
| All other statuses | No action |
Take background image
Note: This button is only displayed when the protocol specifies that the animal will be in the apparatus before the start of the test.
| Ready... | If the protocol specifies that the animal will be in the apparatus before the start of the test, you should use this button to take a picture of the apparatus before you put the animal in. Thus ANY-maze will have a picture of the empty apparatus which it can use to detect the animal's location when the test does start. Note that you can click the button as often as you like, each time you click it a new background image will be captured, replacing any picture you've already taken. |
If the apparatus's video source is an ANY-maze format video, and the video includes a background picture, then the drop arrow to the right of the button will be enabled - clicking it will display an option to Use the video's background picture.
You can view a video's background picture by clicking the 
Show background button on the far right of the video player tool bar, if the tool bar doesn't include this button it means the video doesn't contain a background image.
| All other statuses | No action |
Adjust the apparatus map
| Ready... | Switches to Map adjustment mode. In this mode you can adjust the apparatus map so it correctly aligns with the apparatus in the picture. |
| All other statuses | No action |
Pan the video image
| Ready... | Switches to Image panning mode. In this mode you can adjust the part of the image which is visible in the live video window - perhaps shifting it so that the apparatus becomes fully visible. Note that this button is disabled if the entire video image is already visible - which will, in fact, normally be the case. |
| All other statuses | No action |
Record a movie for a presentation
| All statuses | Starts recording a standard format video file of the apparatus, showing exactly what you are seeing on the screen - i.e. the video with the tracking overlaid. For more details refer to: Recording movies of tests for inclusion in a presentation. |
For details of the buttons on the right of the toolbar refer to Recording videos of tests.
Controlling tests using a key or switch
When defining a piece of apparatus in the protocol you can optionally specify one of the computer's 'F' keys (F1 - F12) as the apparatus's test control key and/or an input switch as the test control switch.
The exact action of a test control key (or switch) depends on the apparatus's status as follows:
| Ready... | When using auto-start, sets the status to Waiting to start..., when the user leaves the camera's field of view the test will start. When not using auto-start, starts the test. See Starting tests |
| Waiting to start... | Starts the test. Useful in the unlikely event that auto-start fails to start the test. |
| Accustomising | Ends the accustomisation period prematurely - i.e. as if the full period had passed. What happens next depends on how the accustomisation period has been defined, either the test will start or the status will change to Waiting to start... |
| Testing | Acts like the Stop button - i.e.: Asks you whether you want to end the test and save its results or end the test and set it back to the beginning as if it had never been started. While the message is displayed tracking continues as normal. You can also just cancel the message and continue the test. Note that this message can be suppressed using an option in the protocol. Also note that you will only be able to end a test using a test control switch if the apparatus element in the protocol has been set to allow this. |
| Paused | Restarts the paused test |
| Waiting to end test... | Acts like the Start button - i.e.: Causes the test to continue as if the event which could have caused the test to end had never occurred. |
| Set zone's position | Same as Ready... status action. |
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ANY-maze help topic T0796