Platform-specific instructions: Windows

Expyriment can be installed for Python 2 or Python 3. In both cases there are two different ways to install Expyriment. The recommended method requires an active internet connection. If you need to install Expyriment on a computer that has no internet connection (like lab PCs), please use the alternative method.

Python 2

Default installation (online)

  1. Install Python 2.7.17 (during installation, also select “Add python.exe to Path”!)

  2. In a command prompt, run:

    python -m pip install -U expyriment[all]

    (Omit [all] to install without additional optional features)

  3. To use parallel port communication, install inpout32 or dlportio (according to the instructions given at each link)

Alternative installation (offline)

On an PC with internet connection (same OS, architecture and Python version!)

  1. On the Desktop, create a directory called Expyriment_Installation

  2. Download Python 2.7.17 to Expyriment_Installation

  3. In a command prompt, run:

    python -m pip download -d %userprofile%/Desktop/Expyriment_Installation expyriment[all]

    (Omit [all] to install without additional optional features)

  4. To use enhanced video playback, download ffmpeg to Expyriment_Installation

  5. To use parallel port communication, download inpout32 or dlportio to Expyriment_Installation (according to the instructions given at each link)

  6. Copy the directory Expyriment_Installation from the Desktop to a portable storage device

On the target PC

  1. Copy the directory Expyriment_Installation from the portable storage device to the Desktop

  2. Install Expyriment_Installation\python-2.7.17.msi

  3. In a command prompt, run:

    python -m pip install --no-index --find-links %userprofile%/Desktop/Expyriment_Installation -U expyriment[all]

    (Omit [all] to install without additional optional features)

  4. To use enhanced video playback, unzip Expyriment_Installation\ffmpeg-latest-win32-static.zip and copy the file bin\ffmpeg.exe to a directory on the local hard drive (e.g. C:\ffmpeg\bin\) and add it to the environment variable PATH!)

  5. To use parallel port communication, install the downloaded inpout32 or dlportio (according to the instructions given at each link)

Python 3

Default installation (online)

  1. Install Python 3.7.5 (during installation, also select “Add python.exe to Path”!)

  2. In a command prompt, run:

    py -3 -m pip install -U expyriment[all]

    (Omit [all] to install without additional optional features)

  3. To use parallel port communication, install inpout32 or dlportio (according to the instructions given at each link)

Alternative installation (offline)

On an PC with internet connection (same OS, architecture and Python version!)

  1. On the Desktop, create a directory called Expyriment_Installation

  2. Download Python 3.7.5 to Expyriment_Installation

  3. In a command prompt, run:

    py -3 -m pip download -d %userprofile%/Desktop/Expyriment_Installation expyriment[all]

    (Omit [all] to install without additional optional features)

  4. To use enhanced video playback, download ffmpeg to Expyriment_Installation

  5. To use parallel port communication, download inpout32 or dlportio to Expyriment_Installation (according to the instructions given at each link)

  6. Copy the directory Expyriment_Installation from the Desktop to a portable storage device

On the target PC

  1. Copy the directory Expyriment_Installation from the portable storage device to the Desktop

  2. Install Expyriment_Installation\python-3.7.5.exe

  3. In a command prompt, run:

    py -3 -m pip install --no-index --find-links %userprofile%/Desktop/Expyriment_Installation --upgrade expyriment[all]

    (Omit [all] to install without additional optional features)

  4. To use enhanced video playback, unzip Expyriment_Installation\ffmpeg-latest-win32-static.zip and copy the file bin\ffmpeg.exe to a directory on the local hard drive (e.g. C:\ffmpeg\bin\) and add it to the environment variable PATH!)

  5. To use parallel port communication, install inpout32 or dlportio (according to the instructions given at each link)

Notes

Make sure python.exe is in your Path

If you get an an error that ‘python’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file, Windows does not know where to find the Python interpreter. To fix this, find the directory that includes python.exe and add it to the environment variable PATH.

Do not start your experiments out of IDLE when testing participants

If you are using the IDLE editor that comes with the Python installation, be aware that IDLE itself is written in Python. Starting your Expyriment programme out of IDLE (by clicking on “Run” or by pressing F5), might thus lead to improper timing!

We therefore strongly suggest to run Expyriment programmes from the command line when testing participants.