API

• Core
  • Overview
  • API
    • Tasks
      • Task types
      • Task properties
    • Custom tasks
      • Plugging in
      • Activator function
      • Custom Task Example
    • Settings
      • canvas
      • injectStyle
      • onPreTask
      • onEnd
      • title
      • preloadImages
      • skip
      • skin
      • rtl
      • logger
      • DEBUG
    • Inheritance
    • Project Implicit Build
      • logger.url
      • mTurk
  • Creating a task
  • Playground
• Tasks
  • Time sensitive
  • Questionnaire
  • Allow Leaving
  • Inject Style
  • Is Touch
  • Messages
  • Post
  • Post CSV
  • Redirect
  • Set Value
  • Yes/No
• Examples
  • Weight experiment
  • Displaying Video

The miManager is responsible for managing several MinnoJS tasks sequentially.

Tasks

The basic unit in miManager is the task. There are many types of tasks available, and you can also create custom tasks of your own. Tasks are defined within the sequence just like any other element, and you can use mixers, inheritance, and templates to control their flow.

For example, following is a manager sequence with two subsequent tasks - first a questionnaire, then a time-sensitive tasks.

API.addSequence([
    { type: 'quest', name: 'race-questionnaire', scriptUrl:'race.quest.html'},
    { type: 'time', name: 'race-iat', scriptUrl:'iat.html'}
]);

Task types

Minno time supports many types of tasks (though by far the most extensive are quest and time). Following is a list of tasks types, follow the link to learn how to use them.

Task properties

All tasks have some common properties that can be used to customize their behaviour. Following is a list of such properties and a description of their behaviour.

Custom tasks

The miManager allows the creation of custom tasks. The format is fairly simple though you probably need at least some experience with programing for it.

Plugging in

miManager manages the task sequence for you as well as loading the task script (if needed). There are several ways to plug a new task into miManager, the all involve passing the activator function to the manager in various ways.

1. You can pass the activator function as a script.
2. You can pass it as the play property of the script object ().
3. You can set it into the taskActivateProvider using taskActivateProvider.set(taskName, activatorFunction) during the configuration stage of the angular flow (This is worth the trouble mainly if you intend to use this task many times).

Activator function

The activator function is the function that is responsible for the activation of your task as well as for the communication with miManager.

It should:

• Run your task (just do whatever you like).
• Return a function that may be used to force the end of the task.
• Call the done function whenever it is done.

The activator function is invoked using angular dependency injection, so you can use any of the angular annotation methods to get dependencies.

The following dependencies are supported (as well as all standard angular services):

Custom Task Example

The following displays a messages to the user and proceeds to the next task after 5 seconds:

// the define wrapper
define(function(){
    // the script object being returned
    return {
        // custom script content
        content: 'Hi there, I\'m your custom message',

        // the activator function uses three dependencie
        play: function activator(done, script, $element){
            var timeoutId = setTimeout(done, 5000);
            $element.html(script.content);

            // will be called at the end of the task to clean things up
            // (whether the end is forced or triggered by 'done')
            return function clear(){
                clearTimeout(timeoutId);
                $element.empty();           
            };
        }
    };
});

In order to use it all you have to do is point the task to the correct url:

var taskElement = {scriptUrl:'path/to/script'};

Settings

Settings allow you to control the generic way that the player works. Change the settings using the addSettings function. The first argument to the function is always the name of the setting, the second argument is the setting values. In case the setting is an object, subsequent objects will extend each other so that settings may be progressively added. All the functions within settings are invoked using angular. This means that you have access to any service you like, as well as some specific assets. In order to access the services simply use arguments with the appropriate name. For instance, this is how you would access $rootScope:

function onEnd($rootScope){
    $rootScope.$emit('end!!');
}

canvas

canvas takes an object that describes the style of the task environment. Each property of the object changes a different style element.

API.addSettings('canvas', {
    fontSize: '2em'
});

In case you need to fine tune the styles even further you can add css rules into the raw HTML. Support for dynamically adding CSS is planned but not yet supported.

injectStyle

Injects a string of css into the page.

API.addSettings('injectStyle', '[pi-quest] label {font-size:1.2em; font-weight:normal;}');

onPreTask

onPreTask is a function to be called before each task is called.

API.addSettings('onPreTask', function(currentTask){
    doSomethingWith(currentTask);
});

onEnd

onEnd is a function to be called as soon as the task sequence ends.

API.addSettings('onEnd', function(){
    // Do something: for instance, redirect to 'my/url.html'
    location.href = 'my/url.html';
});

title

title is a string to be used as the page title (the name displayed on the tag).

API.addSettings('title', 'My Manager Title');

preloadImages

Accepts an array of image urls to preload. The manager will not wait until all images are loaded, but it will make images displayed later in the manager sequence be displayed significantly faster.

API.addSettings('preloadImages', ['my/image/url/imageName.png', 'my/other/url/otherImage.jpg']);

skip

Whether to activate the skip and refresh option. If activated, clicking ctrl r reloads the current task (this feature may not be supported on older browsers), clicking escape and then the right or left arrows skips to the next or previous tasks.

API.addSettings('skip', true);

skin

Add a skin to your project. Skins change the way that your tasks look. Currently the only skins that we support are simple and demo.

API.addSettings('skin', 'demo');

rtl

Setting rtl to true will change the layout of the player to right to left in order to ocomodate right to left languages such as arabic and hebrew.

API.addSettings('rtl', true);

logger

The logger allows control of logging activities.

Folowing are the properties available for the logger:

API.addSettings('logger', {
    url: '/manager/data',
    type:'new',
    pulse: 20
});

By deafault the logger posts according to the Project Implicit server rules (old). You can change the logging style by setting the logger type as follows:

You can change the logging strategy or even create new strategies. Doing this is rather advanced and is documented here.

DEBUG

The DEBUG settings allows you to control the debug messages produced by the player. In the development environment (when window.DEBUG is set to true) you have access to a development console. The console will hold messages describing the process of your studies.

At the top of the console window you will see a dropdown that allows you to select the level of logging you would like to see. For example, you may want to be alerted only of errors, or of every possible activity of the player. In addition you have a button that allows you to close and open the console.

API.addSettings('DEBUG', { hideConsole: true});

Inheritance

miManager uses the same inheritance system used by miQuest. It has one type of set: the task set. In order to create task sets use API.addTasksSet(set, list).

Project Implicit Build

mTurk

The project implicit build has a feature for integration with mTurk. All you have to do is add The following code to your project, replacing the <id#> tags with the appropriate data of course. The player will redirect the users back to mTurk immediately after the final task in the manager (as defined by the last property). Setting the isProduction property allows you to switch between the development and production urls for mTurk.

API.addGlobal({
    $mTurk: {
        assignmentId:'<id#>',
        hitId:'<id#>',
        workerId:'<id#>',
        isProduction: true
    }
});