Wintrack case file (.WTR) format

Representation of data...

The standard proprietary Wintrack case file format closely matches the memory representation of case documents. Each file contains a case header which stores most of the case properties along with control information to identify the file format. The case header is followed by the case data with one data set per trial, each set consisting of a trial header and the trial data. The trial header describes the format of the trial data and spefies the zoom state of the trial. It may also contain goal position information and the GMT calendar time of the first data point. The trial data consist of a trial note and a path, but can contain additional information. Trial notes are short commentaries that are displayed in the status line when the mouse cursor moves over the corresponding trial view. A path is a series of time stamped xy-coordinate pairs. Note that even though Wintrack can ad hoc replace paths by timeline views to represent the flow of time, case files always contain real path data. In addition, trial data may contain a synchronous stream of event data and/or one or more synchronous streams of supplemental data.

Case header...

char[10]*	Text "WTR 040927" indicating that the file was saved by Wintrack version 2.4.40927 or later. File formats of older versions were tagged as "WTR 010908", "WTR 991212", or "WTR 960115". These files can still be read by later versions of Wintrack, but the current version can no loger save data in older formats, except for "WTR 010908" which is still used if the view mode of a document has not been set to synchronized or overlaid using the Case Properties command.
short	Number of trials in case, 16bit integer. Maximum is 1024.
short	Number of trial columns to be shown in the case window, 16bit integer.
short	Number of trial rows to be shown in the case window, 16bit integer.
short	Setup version to be applied to the case, 16bit integer. This information is only used if working with custom setup files. Default is 1.
short	Viewing mode for trials: 0=independent, 1=synchronized, 2=overlaid. Default is 0. This field is omitted in "WTR 010908" version files.
int	32bit integer variable, indicates number of bits in the following array and is expected to be = 1024.
void*	Array of 1024 bits (128 Byte) representing trials, with bits set = 1 if the corresponding trial is to be shown on a new row. All bits may be set = 0 for a default layout with no row breaks.

Trial header...

short	Number of characters in trial note, 16bit integer. The trial note should not be longer than 64 characters.
short	Number of data points in trial, 16bit integer. Maximum is 16383.
double	Duration of trial in seconds, 64 bit double precision floating point variable.
double	GMT Calendar time of first data point in seconds since 1.1.1970 00:00:00. 1.7e308 if not known
double	SI unit to pixel conversion factor in x-direction when file was last saved by Wintrack. 1.7e308 if not known.
double	SI unit to pixel conversion factor in y-direction when file was last saved by Wintrack. 1.7e308 if not known.
double	SI unit x-coordinate of origin in Wintrack's pixel space when file was last saved. 1.7e308 if not known.
double	SI unit x-coordinate of origin in Wintrack's pixel space when file was last saved. 1.7e308 if not known.
double	Magnification at which the path is to be displayed, 64 bit double precision floating point variable. Default is 1.
SPOINT	x and y offset for display of the path. SPOINT structure see below. Default is {0,0}.
short	16bit integer with trial data flags. Data bits indicate the following: - 0: true if trial data includes an event stream. - 1: true if trial header contains goal position information. - 2: true if XY data is in metric floating point format. - 3: true if trial contains supplemental data - 4-15: unused
short	Facultative 16bit integer indicating the goal quadrant. 0 = no goal, 1 = Northeast, 2 = Northwest, 3 = Southeast, 4 = Southwest, 5 = center, 6 = Barnes maze.
double	Facultative 64 bit double precision floating point variable indicating the angle (in radians) of the polar coordinates of the goal. East = 0, West = 3.1416, Southwest = 3.9270, etc.
short	Facultative 16bit integer specifying the number of supplemental data streams contained in the trial data.

Trial data in standard integer format...

Wintrack uses an internal -16384 to 16383 isometric coordinate space to represent the experimental arena and the path. The standard file format stores XY coordinates as integer values that refer directly to this coordinate space. When reading a file, the correct absolute point positions are always restored, independently of the arena size specified using the Arena Properties command.

char*	String holding trial note.
SPOINT*	Array of SPOINT structures (see below) storing xy-coordinates, one structure per data point in the trial. Value range is -16384 to 16383.
float*	Array of single precision 32bit floating point variables storing time stamps, one stamp per data point in the trial.
short*	Facultative array of 16bit integers holding event data, one element per data point in the trial. Value range is -16384 to 16383.
float*	One or more facultative arrays of single precision 32bit floating point variables storing a synchronous stream of supplemental data with one value per data point in the trial. The number of such arrays is specified in the trial header.

Declaration of SPOINT structure:

struct SPOINT
   {
   short x; // 16bit integer indicating x coordinate
   short y; // 16bit integer indicating x coordinate
   };

Trial data in metric floating point format...

If an experiment is not conducted in a enclosed and apriori defined arena, as it is the case for homing pigeon releases, it may be more appropriate to store path data as real world metric values independently of Wintrack's internal representation. Therefore, Wintrack offers the option to transform internal standard coordinates to real world metric values before saving them. The transformation is based on the current arena definition as set by the Arena Properties command. When reading such a file, the program has to re-map the data. Thus, the position of the path in Wintrack's internal -16384 to 16383 isometric coordinate space will depend on the current arena definition.

char*	\0 terminated string holding trial note.
float*	Array of single precision 32bit floating point variables storing x positions in meters, one value per data point in the trial.
float*	Array of single precision 32bit floating point variables storing y positions in meters, one value per data point in the trial.
float*	Array of single precision 32bit floating point variables storing time stamps, one stamp per data point in the trial.
short*	Facultative array of 16bit integers holding event data, one element per data point in the trial. Value range is -16384 to 16383.
float*	One or more facultative arrays of single precision 32bit floating point variables storing a synchronous stream of supplemental data with one value per data point in the trial. The number of such arrays is specified in the trial header.

Additional information...

• For an overview of Wintrack documents and files see Wintrack documents and files.
• For more information on case documents read Inside case documents.