# External commands

Aim

To trigger external software with EthoVision XT.

Prerequisites

▪You need at least the Base version of EthoVision XT.

Procedure

1.Open or create new Trial Control Settings.

2.In the Components pane, under Actions click the button next to External command.

3.Next to Action Name, enter the name of the action (for example, start recording) or accept the default name.

4.Under Actions to perform, select which file you want to run by clicking the ellipsis button.

5.Select one of the file types from the list: Executables (*.exe), or Batch Files (*.bat, *.cmd).

6.Browse to the file and click Open.

7.Optionally, enter a Command line option. Click the Information button to get additional information about defining an External command.

For more details, see the EthoVision XT 19 - Trial and Hardware Control - Reference Manual.

8.To test the command, click the Test button.

Note

If you work with two or more arenas, be aware that an external command is sent out for each arena. For example, the command to play a sound is repeated 96 times for a 96-well plate DanioVision experiment. To prevent this from happening, put a condition before the External command box, which will only become true for one of the arenas, for example Arena 1. In the Arena Settings, create a zone in Arena 1 and call it “Zone 1A”. Make the zone as large as the arena. In the Trial Control Settings, make a condition like “Is subject in Zone A?”, followed by the external command. Make sure that the sequence does not interfere with the rest of the Trial Control rule, like in this example.

Application examples

▪Play a sound

▪Trigger video recording with MediaRecorder

▪Trigger sound recording with UltraVox XT