Knowledge Base

Problem

A user wants to reuse arena settings (zones, calibration, detection parameters) from one EthoVision experiment in another experiment, without having to redraw zones and reconfigure settings from scratch.

Details

Symptom: No obvious copy/paste button for arena settings between different experiment files. Users may be unaware of the duplicate/copy arena functionality within the same experiment or the export-as-template workflow for cross-experiment reuse. Affected: All EthoVision XT versions.

Solution

1. Within the same experiment: Select the arena in the Arena Settings window, then use the 'Copy Arena' button or right-click and choose 'Duplicate Complete Arena.' This copies zones, calibration (if not shared), and detection settings to a new arena within the same experiment.
2. To reuse arena settings in a different experiment: Save the current experiment as a template (File > Save as Template, or equivalent). When creating a new experiment, choose to start from this template, which will carry over arena settings, zone definitions, and analysis profiles.
3. Alternatively, export the arena settings profile (if supported in your version) and import it into the target experiment.
4. Note: Calibration tied to a specific video or background image may need to be re-verified in the new experiment if the camera position or zoom has changed.
5. After copying, always verify zone positions against the new video background to ensure alignment is correct before acquiring or re-tracking.