Knowledge Base

Export the Raw Data (Track and Dependent Variables)

Aim

To export the x,y coordinates and the subject size for each sample together with the values of the dependent variables selected in the currently active analysis profile, including manually scored behaviors and automatically recognized behaviors. The raw data file includes the independent variables that you defined in the Trial List.

Procedure

1. Choose Analysis > Export > Raw Data, or in the Experiment Explorer under Analysis - Export click Raw Data.
2. In the Raw Data Export window, select the Track Smoothing profile, the Data profile, and the Analysis profile that define the data to be exported.
3. Under Data to Export, select Track & Dependent Variables.
4. Click Browse next to Destination Folder and navigate to the location where you want to save the export files.
5. Under File Type, select either ANSI text (*.txt), Excel (*.xlsx), or Unicode text - default (*.txt). For text export, enter the delimiter character you want to use to separate columns in the exported file.
6. Next to Missing Value Representation, choose the character that you want to use to mark missing values.
7. Click Start Export.

Options

File Type

• If you export to text, data of each subject (track) is exported to a separate file. Each file name is unique and is formed by, in the following order: Raw Data (or Manual Scoring, depending on what option you have chosen) - Experiment name - Trial number - Arena name - Subject name. For example: Raw Data-Open Field-Trial 1-Arena 1-Subject 1.txt.
• Choose Unicode text to export according to the Unicode character set, which supports most world languages including Chinese. Choose ANSI text to export data as text files according to the ANSI character set. Choose this option only if the application in which you will open the exported file cannot handle the Unicode character set.
• If you export to Excel, the file contains all tracks of a trial. The file name is unique and formed by the following elements: Raw Data - Experiment name - Trial number. For example: Raw Data-Plus Maze-Trial 1.xlsx. Data of each subject is written in a separate tab of the worksheet, named for example Track-Arena 1-Subject 1.

Important: If your tracks contain more than approximately one million samples, Excel is unable to load the exported file. With 30 samples per second, this happens just after 9 hours. To solve this, export the file to text and use the Excel macro SplitTxtFiles.xlsm, available under Downloads > EthoVision XT > Drivers and Tools.

Manual Scoring Log

• If you want to export the manually scored behaviors to The Observer XT, or in a format such as 5.12s Rearing, 5.88s Not Rearing, choose Manual Scoring Log.
• You can also export behaviors (both manually scored and automatically recognized) in the same format as the other dependent variables, where a behavior is scored as 0 or 1 for each sample time depending on whether it occurs at that time. Choose Track & Dependent Variables and make sure the Analysis profile includes the behaviors to export.

Trial Control Data

• Choose Track & Dependent Variables if you want to export Trial Control events and states defined in your Analysis profile. For example, to export the state "from Cue light on to Subject in Feeder zone." The state is exported as a series of 0s and 1s (0 = state not active, 1 = state active) in the corresponding column of the export file.
• Choose Trial Control Log if you want to export Trial Control events and states with their own time stamp, for example: 6.8s - Cue light on - Activated. For more information, see Export Trial Control Data.

Hardware Log

Choose Hardware Log if you want to export the complete log of events of hardware devices as a separate file. See the EthoVision XT 19 - Trial and Hardware Control - Reference Manual.

External Data

Choose External Data Log (not resampled) if you want to export the values of the physiological data streams. Note that these export files contain the original data, not the resampled data that appear in the EthoVision XT analysis profile.

Missing Value Representation

Enter the character for missing values. By default, missing values are exported as "-". A missing value is exported in the following cases:

• The x,y coordinates of a missing body point.
• The values of a dependent variable that could not be calculated for that sample, for example the distance moved when the previous sample was missing.

File Names, Folders, and Data Format

• If you export the same data multiple times to the same location, EthoVision XT attaches a number at the end of the file name: (1), (2), etc.
• The files' suggested location is the Export Files folder located in your experiment folder.
• The values exported have a variable number of decimals depending on the number of integers. The total number of significant digits exported is always six (for example, 1.23456 or 1234.56), or seven if the unsigned number is smaller than one (0.123456).