Illustration of the three frame types in Labvanced: Canvas, Page, and Website Frame

Frames

A frame is a single screen or step a participant sees, the fundamental building block of a Labvanced study. A trial is built from a sequence of frames shown one after another: a fixation cross might be one frame, a stimulus the next, a response screen the one after that. For how frames are sequenced and repeated across a trial, see Trial Timeline; this page covers what a frame is and the types available.

Once created, a frame's objects and events can be edited individually, and frames can be reordered by drag and drop, copied, deleted, or imported from another task or study.

Part of the Labvanced task editor where frames can be added

Part of the editor where frames can be added.

All frames, regardless of type, share a few common properties, set in the Frame Settings panel, such as:

  • Name: a label to identify the frame within your task (participants never see it)
  • Duration: an optional fixed display time in milliseconds; if left unset, the frame stays on screen until an event or action advances the trial
  • Hide Mouse: hides the participant's cursor while the frame is active

The three frame types

Illustration of the Canvas Frame in Labvanced, showing freely positioned objects on a blank canvas

Canvas Frame

Free positioning: place, resize, and drag objects anywhere on the frame. Use this when exact placement or timing matters, such as perception or reaction-time tasks.

Illustration of the Page Frame in Labvanced, showing objects stacked automatically top to bottom

Page Frame

Automatic top-to-bottom layout, like a web page. Use this for questionnaires, consent forms, and instructions, where flow matters more than exact placement.

Illustration of the Website Frame in Labvanced, showing a real external website embedded in a study

Website Frame

Embeds a real external website in the study instead of Labvanced-built stimuli. Use this for testing or tracking gaze on an actual live site.

Note

If you plan to use a Website Frame, for embedding your external website or creating one in Labvanced, it is strongly recommended to isolate that frame type in its own task rather than combining it with Canvas or Page Frames in the same trial timeline.

Canvas Frame

Objects on a Canvas Frame are positioned freely, at exact coordinates, and can be resized or moved with drag and drop. This makes it the frame type to reach for whenever the precise position or timing of a stimulus is part of the design, such as reaction-time tasks or visual search.

Learn more.


Page Frame

Objects on a Page Frame stack automatically from top to bottom, the way content flows on a web page. This suits questionnaires, consent forms, and instructions, where the reading order matters more than exact on-screen placement.

Learn more.


Website Frame

A Website Frame embeds a real external website inside the study rather than Labvanced-built stimuli. It is used for testing or tracking gaze on an actual live site, and works best kept in a task of its own, as noted above.

Learn more.