Variable Tester v2

The original version was based on Anion Variable Tester

Variable Tester v2 is a desktop application that allows users to perform variable testing on their computers. It is a complete rewrite of the original Variable Tester.

Features

• Rebuilt with Electron + React for better maintainability
• Added SQLite database for data persistence
• Optimized Experiment flows, including real-time chart rendering of experiment records, a newly designed score bar, and the ability to modify records after an experiment has ended
• Added a Results Page to access experiment results at any time (including charts and data export)
• Added a Settings Page to customize experiment parameters and configurations

Installation

This application supports Windows and macOS.

1. Go to the Releases page.
2. Download the installer package for your operating system (Windows or macOS; macOS supports Intel x64 and M-series arm64).
3. Follow the installer instructions to complete installation and launch the application.

Recommended for macOS users: Download the .dmg file which includes a helper script to remove quarantine. If using the .zip file, run this command after extraction:

xattr -cr "/Applications/Variable Tester.app"

or download the remove-quarantine.command script and run it after extraction.

Refer to this video for tutorial.

Usage

Variable Tester v2 provides three main types of usage: Experiment, Result, and Settings.

1. Experiment

• Enter the Experiment page and click "Start" to begin a new experiment, or click "Settings" to go to the Settings page.
• Step 1: Enter the subject name and the variable to be tested to start an experiment session.
• Step 2: Experiment instructions are displayed to the subject. Click "Next" to proceed.
• Step 3: Choose the video file to use in the experiment (currently supports mp4). Click "Next" after selection.
• Step 4: Preview the selected video. If it is incorrect, use the "Back" button to re-select.
• Step 5: Conduct the experiment according to the chosen video. A line chart is displayed beside the video in real time, reflecting the scores you modify. A horizontal score bar above the score-changing buttons, below the video and chart, shows the current score. After the video ends or the experiment concludes, click "Next" to proceed to modification.
• Step 6: Review the scores from Step 5. You can click on each dot in the chart to change the score at a specific time. When you click a data point, the video replays at that exact moment. After modifications, click "Done" to go to the Result page for that session.

2. Result

• In the Results page, a list of all available experiment results is displayed. Click on any row to view detailed records for that experiment.
• Each experiment's details include the subject name, tested variable name, experiment date and time, and the selected video. The view also displays the line chart from the experiment session (read-only) and the settings that were applied during that session.

3. Settings

• The Settings page allows you to customize experiment parameters. Changes are automatically saved after a short delay, and a confirmation message is shown.
• Settings persist across sessions, so configure them before starting an experiment if needed.
• The settings used in each session are recorded and viewable in the corresponding experiment result.
• Available settings:

Setting	Description	Default	Input Type
updateInterval	Score capture interval in milliseconds	1000	Number
useNotifySound	Play a sound when scores become stale	true	Switch
notifySoundVolume	Notification sound volume (0–100)	10	Range
resetUnit	Points per reset	1	Number
resetTimeout	Delay before auto-reset in milliseconds	1000	Number
resetInterval	Time between auto-resets in milliseconds	1000	Number
isBidirectional	Allow negative scores	true	Switch
maxScore	Maximum score (can be negative if bidirectional enabled)	5	Number

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues or pull requests to help improve this project.

License

This project is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.