Brain Imaging & Analysis Center

Showplay paradigms are described by a paradigm parameter file (PPF). These are simple plain text files and usually have a '.txt' or '.ppf' file name suffix (the actual filename doesn't matter – in the documentation these are referred to as PPF files for simplicity). PPF files can be created and editted using Wordpad or Notepad. You can also create them using Word, but if you do they must be saved as plain text (no formatting information – i.e., not '.doc' files). To see a sample PPF file run you can load the demonstration showdemo.ppf.

To run your own PPF, select “Load parameter file” from the Showplay menu.

This will bring up a browser dialog, which you should use to open your PPF file. Once you open the file, Showplay will read the header section and execute each line as a CIGAL command.

To run your loaded paradigm, select “Run” from the Showplay menu.

This will read the stimulus list, load images, and allocate data storage. When it is ready to start, it will bring up a "Ready to scan" dialog. If you respond “Okay”, it will start the real-time paradigm. Usually the paradigm itself will pause initially and ask you how you want to start. The only option is to enter 'w', to wait for an external trigger event. Any other response will start the paradigm immediately.

If you want to quickly run through your paradigm you can select the “Set double display speed” option from the Showplay menu. You must first load the PPF (see above), then select the double speed option, before selecting actually running the PPF. You can select double speed multiple times for faster viewing, each time you do it will double the display speed. For example, clicking double speed 5 times will let you run through a 6 minute paradigm in about 12 seconds. Note: Sound and AVI files may act weird when played at faster speeds.

See Also:
CIGAL Home, CIGAL Manual, ShowPlay Home, ShowPlay Manual, Running List, Manual Help