Frame Types

A frame is a single screen or step a participant sees during a trial: a fixation cross, a stimulus, a response screen, each is typically its own frame. Frames are created within a trial group, so different trial groups have completely independent frame sequences, and each frame's objects and events can be edited on its own.

The three frame types

Labvanced has three distinct frame types, each suited to a different kind of content.

A Canvas Frame gives free control over layout: objects can be placed anywhere on the frame at exact coordinates, resized, and dragged. This is the frame type for work where precise stimulus position or timing matters, reaction time tasks, visual perception studies, and anything where exact placement is part of the measurement.

A Page Frame arranges content automatically from top to bottom, similar to a standard web page, with elements stacked and spaced consistently. This is the frame type for questionnaires, consent forms, and instructions, where readability and flow matter more than exact positioning.

A Website Frame embeds a real, external, live website in the study instead of Labvanced-built stimuli. It is a third frame type in its own right, not an element placed on a Canvas or Page Frame, used for usability testing and eye tracking on an actual website.

For the full picture, what each type's own settings are and how to choose between them, see the Frames hub.

Frame settings

Beyond the properties specific to each type, every frame, regardless of type, shares a common set of settings: a name, an optional fixed duration, a background color, and whether the participant's mouse cursor is hidden. See Frames for the full list and what each setting does.

Trial Timeline

Frames don't exist in isolation. Within a trial, they are arranged in sequence, in what order they play, how long each one lasts, and how the trial moves from one to the next, and that sequencing is the job of the Trial Timeline. The Trial Timeline is also where the Trial System lives, letting different conditions of an experiment reuse the same frame sequence with per-condition overrides. See the Trial Timeline guide for the full picture of how frames are sequenced, repeated, and varied across an experiment.