Knowledge Base

Problem

EthoVision does not allow editing of arena settings or detection settings, and the options appear greyed out or unavailable.

Details

Arena and detection settings become locked under two common conditions: (1) data has already been acquired using those settings, locking them to preserve data integrity; (2) EthoVision started in Analysis Mode because the USB dongle or SBLK license was not detected at launch, removing acquisition-related editing options. To apply unified arena/detection settings across all trials in a water maze or similar experiment, the settings must be edited before acquisition or via a new experiment template. Affects EthoVision XT across multiple versions.

Solution

1. Determine whether EthoVision is running in Analysis Mode: check the title bar or license status. If in Analysis Mode, ensure the USB dongle is connected (and recognized) or the SBLK license is activated, then restart EthoVision.
2. If data has already been acquired and settings are locked due to existing tracked data, you cannot directly edit the arena/detection settings of the existing experiment.
3. To apply uniform settings across all trials: create a new experiment using the existing experiment as a template (File > New Experiment from Template), configure the desired arena and detection settings in the new experiment, then re-import or retrack the video files.
4. Alternatively, if only a subset of trials needs retracking, delete the tracked data from those trials (which will unlock the settings) and retrack after making changes. Note: deleting tracked data is permanent.
5. To prevent this issue in future experiments, finalize and test arena and detection settings on a sample trial before acquiring all data.