All information about the experiments, subjects, calibration configuration, etc. is stored in Psykinematix-specific files with the 5-letter extension "*pkmx". The following table describes each type of file:
Icon
|
Extension |
Description |
 |
.epkmx |
Files containing a set of experiments (DefaultExperiments.epkmx) |
 |
.cpkmx |
Files containing a set of calibration configurations (DefaultCalibrations.cpkmx) |
 |
.spkmx |
Files containing a set of subject, group and session information |
 |
.dpkmx |
Files containing a set of data for a given session |
 |
.rpkmx |
Files containing event report information for a given session |
 |
.lpkmx |
Files containing log information for a given session |
When running Psykinematix for the first time, default files for the current user are created inside the Psykinematix "Application Support" folder (~/Library/Application Support/Psykinematix/):
DefaultExperiments.epkmx contains the experiments displayed in the "Designer" panel.
DefaultCalibrations.cpkmx contains the calibration configurations displayed in the "Calibration" panel.
DefaultSubjects.spkmx contains the subject, group and session information displayed in the "Subjects" panel.
For each experimental session other files may automatically be created inside the data folder specified in the Admin preferences according to the following structure:
The data folder has a colorful Psykinematix icon and constitutes the root of the files hierarchy. If not specified, a default data folder "MyExperiments" is created on the desktop for the current user (i.e. located in ~/Desktop/). Several data folders can be created, but it is a good idea to use only one so the whole structure can easily be backed up.
Inside the data folder, a folder for each experiment is automatically created when it is first run. The folder name starts with the prefix "Exp_" and ends with a 5-letter suffix derived from the "experiment ID".
Inside each experiment folder, an optional subject folder can be created when the check box "Create folder for each subject?" is checked in the Admin preferences. The subject name starts with the prefix "Subject_" followed by the name of the subject in uppercase.
The last level of the file hierarchy consists of the session files containing the results data (*.dpkmx), the events report (*.rpkmx), and the diagnostic information (*.lpkmx). These 3 files have the same name followed by a different extension. The name starts with the subject name in uppercase followed by the underscore symbol, and ends with the session index which is automatically incremented each time a session runs.