Knowledge Base

Problem

After creating an experiment from a template or after acquiring data, the user finds that the background image, calibration scale/lines, and arena outlines are locked and cannot be edited in Arena Settings, even though zones can still be modified.

Details

This affects all versions of EthoVision XT. The lock is not caused by using a template alone. It occurs because the Arena Settings profile has already been used for data acquisition. Once acquisition has been performed against a profile, EthoVision locks the background, calibration, and arena geometry to protect the integrity of existing tracking data. Zones may remain editable unless they are referenced in Trial Control, in which case those zones are also locked.

Solution

1. Understand the cause: the lock is applied automatically when a trial has been acquired using that Arena Settings profile. It is not a template restriction.
2. If you need different calibration or arena geometry for a new dataset, create a new Arena Settings profile within the same experiment rather than editing the locked one.
3. In the Experiment tree, right-click the Arena Settings node and select Add Arena Settings (or duplicate the existing one) to create an editable copy.
4. Assign the new Arena Settings profile to your new trials before acquiring data.
5. If zones need to change and they are referenced in Trial Control, update the Trial Control rules to reference the new zone names before acquiring.
6. To avoid this in future experiments, configure and verify calibration before running any acquisition trials.