Mastering E-Prime: Solving E-Prime Puzzles

[David McFarlane]

How to Solve E-Prime Puzzles
A General Algorithm

I have developed a general algorithm for solving
E-Prime problems, and I am putting this in the
record here in case anyone (including me) ever
needs to search for this. (Note that, in many
respects, this merely repeats what you may find
at the start of the E-Prime "Getting Started Guide".)

- Read the manuals that came with E-Prime and work through *all* the
tutorials:
- Getting Started Guide
- User's Guide
- New Features Guide (EP2 only)
- Reference Guide
- In addition, see the alternative "E-Primer" from Michiel Spapé,
Rinus Verdonschot, and Jan-Rouke Kuipers,
http://step.psy.cmu.edu/materials/EPrimer.pdf

- Look at the example programs that came with E-Prime:
- BasicRT
- PictureRT
- SoundRT
- SlideRT
- NestingRT
- NestingXRT
- MovieRT (EP2 only)
- MultipleDisplayRt (EP2 only)

- Search and study the E-Basic Help facility (but note that E-Basic Help
is incomplete, and in many cases misleading or wrong):
- From E-Studio: Help > E-Basic Help
- From the Windows Start menu: Path may vary, but it will be in
about the same place as the shortcut to E-Studio

- Read the online FAQ, whenever that gets written (I am still working
on this one)

- Look at example programs available on the Web (but use your
judgment, the quality of these examples varies widely):
- From PST: http://www.pstnet.com/e-prime/support/samples.asp
(requires registration and login)
- From the System for Teaching Experimental Psychology (STEP):
http://step.psy.cmu.edu/
- From Paul Groot: http://www.psy.vu.nl/download/menu/xml/TOC.xml
- Attached to various messages at the PST Forum (requires
registration & login to download attachments):
http://support.pstnet.com/forum/Forum3-1.aspx

- Search the E-Prime Knowledge Base at
http://www.pstnet.com/e-prime/support/kb.asp

- Search, browse, and study the web forums:
- E-Prime mailing list -- two portals to the same content:
- E-Prime Google Group:
http://groups.google.com/group/e-prime
- Archives of EPRIME List:
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/archives/eprime.html
- PST Forum: http://support.pstnet.com/forum/Forum3-1.aspx

- After all the above fail, post a question at the web forums above.
This may require registration.

- Or, just skip all the above, and go directly to PST Web Support at
http://support.pstnet.com/e%2Dprime/support/login.asp. They strive
to respond to all requests in 24-48 hours, and this is pretty much
their substitute for proper documentation, so make full use of it.

-- David McFarlane, Professional Faultfinder