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| VideoToolbox | Psychtoolbox | Eyelink | Tips |
| Home | Intro | Tutorial | Download | Mac OS9 |
OSX |
Win |
USB | Questions | Library | Forum | Help |
Psychophysics Toolbox Mac OS 9
Psychophysics Toolbox Win
Psychophysics Toolbox OS X
Shareware and
freebies
C source
files
Showtime.mex
downloads since 24 March
2000.
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.54 (6 March 2005) requires Mac OS 9, Matlab
5.2.1, and PPC. 
Download stuffit
archive (11 MB).
(We'll
create an installer when MindVision renews our license.)
See Changes for a list of differences between this and earlier versions. Pre-release copies of crucial files may be available there.
For most releases
we've created a
friendly installer 
for the Psychophysics Toolbox. Double-click and it
takes you through the process, quickly doing all the work for you. Highly
recommended. However, if you encounter problems with the Installer (or you can't
run a Mac application) you can still get the stuffit archive. Please try
the installer first, as it's likely to minimize your effort.
BEWARE OF STALE CACHING. Several users have already been caught. When you replace files in Matlab's path while Matlab is running, Matlab doesn't know that you've done so. When you run an M file, Matlab first "compiles" it into m-code (or something like that) and then runs it. It saves a copy of that compiled function in memory. This is called caching. This allows Matlab to respond more quickly the next time you run the function because it's already in memory, already compiled. When you replace the source file on disk with a new version the cache is now stale, and should be flushed, but Matlab has no way of knowing this. Recreating the the paths does not flush the caches (StaleDirectoryCacheBug 230202). CLEAR ALL usually works, as does opening and closing particular files. Quitting and restarting Matlab always works. A stale cache can blow your mind. Matlab will run the old cached code in memory, yet, if an error occurs, will produce an error message displaying lines from the new M file on your disk. You'll look at the code saying it's impossible, as Matlab complacently asks what is your problem.
The Win and Mac Psychtoolbox folders include files of three kinds: M, DLL, and MEX. The filenames end with ".m", ".dll", or ".mex". The M files contain text, Matlab programs, and run identically on Mac and Win platforms. (The Win and Mac M files have different line endings.) The MEX and DLL files are binary executable extensions to Matlab. Win:Matlab uses the DLL files and Mac:Matlab uses the MEX files. Mac:Matlab correctly ignores DLL files, but Win:Matlab can be confused by the presence of MEX files, so we omit the MEX files from the Win:Psychtoolbox.
The version number has three digits, e.g. 2.30, but trailing zeroes may be dropped. We bump the first digit for major changes, the second when we add features, and the third for each release, mostly bug fixes. When the third digit is zero it indicates a beta release; it hasn't yet been exposed to the entire user community. Don't be surprised if you find a bug, but tell us so we can fix it.
We don't recommend
using old versions, but we make them available in case you have a special
need. Version 2.11 is the last one known to be compatible with 68K 
and Matlab 4. However, we think you'd be
better off upgrading to Matlab 5.2.1, the latest and greatest, and a PowerMac.
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.53 (2 August 2003)
requires Mac OS 9, Matlab 5.2.1, and PPC.
Download
stuffit
archive (3 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.52 (12
August 2002) requires Mac OS 9, Matlab 5.2.1, and PPC.
Download installer
(5 MB) or stuffit
archive (3 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.51 (5 July 2002) requires Matlab 5.2.1 and PPC.
Download installer
(5 MB) or stuffit
archive (3 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.5 (25 June 2002) requires Matlab 5.2.1 and
PPC.
Download installer
(5 MB) or stuffit
archive (3 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.44 (7 August 2000) requires Matlab 5.2.1 and
PPC.
Download installer
(5 MB) or stuffit
archive (3 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.43 (10 July 2000) requires Matlab 5.2.1 and
PPC. (Not tested on 68K.)
Download installer
(3.7 MB) or stuffit
archive (3.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.42 (7 March 2000) requires Matlab 5.2.1 and
PPC. (Not tested on 68K.)
Download installer
(3.7 MB) or stuffit
archive (3.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.41 (30 January 2000) requires Matlab 5.2.1 and
PPC. (Not tested on 68K.)
Download installer
(3.7 MB) or stuffit
archive (3.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.4 (24 January 2000) requires Matlab 5.2.1 and
PPC. (Not tested on 68K.)
Download installer
(3.7 MB) or stuffit
archive (3.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.36 (13 July 1999) requires Matlab 5.2.1 and
PPC. (Not tested on 68K.)
Download installer
(2.7 MB) or stuffit
archive (2.4 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.35 (7 April 1999) requires Matlab 5.0 (Student
or regular) or better and PPC. (Not tested on 68K.)
Download installer
(2.8 MB) or stuffit
archive (2.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.34 (1 February 1999) requires Matlab 5.1 or
better and PPC. (Not tested on 68K.)
Download installer
(3 MB) or stuffit
archive (2.7 MB).
Psychtoolbox Mac 2.11 (21 August 1997) requires Matlab 4 or 5, or
Student Matlab 5, or better. 68K or PPC.
Download installer
(2.2 MB) or stuffit
archive (1.9 MB).
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downloads since 24
March 2000.
Psychtoolbox Win 2.54 (20 February 2004) requires Matlab 6.5
(Student or regular) or better. Download Archive (3.1
MB)
The Psychtoolbox 2.54 is offered as an archive without an automatic installer. To install the Psychtoolbox:
See Changes for a list of differences between this and earlier versions.
The Win and Mac Psychtoolbox folders include files of three kinds: M, DLL, and MEX. The filenames end with ".m", ".dll", or ".mex". The M files contain text, Matlab programs, and run identically on Mac and Win platforms. (The Win and Mac M files have different line endings.) The MEX and DLL files are binary executable extensions to Matlab. Win:Matlab uses the DLL files and Mac:Matlab uses the MEX files. Mac:Matlab correctly ignores DLL files, but Win:Matlab can be confused by the presence of MEX files, so we omit the MEX files from the Win:Psychtoolbox.
The version number has three digits, e.g. 2.30, but trailing zeroes may be dropped. We bump the first digit for major changes, the second when we add features, and the third for each release, mostly bug fixes. When the third digit is zero it indicates a beta release; it hasn't yet been exposed to the entire user community. Don't be surprised if you find a bug, but tell us so we can fix it.
We don't recommend using old versions, but we make them available in case you have a special need.
Psychtoolbox Win 2.50 (17 June 2002) requires Matlab 5.0 (Student or regular) or better.
Psychtoolbox Win 2.50 (17 June 2002) requires Matlab 5.0 (Student
or regular) or better.
Download installer
(2.8MB) or zip
archive (4.8 MB).
Psychtoolbox Win 2.45 (1 August 2001) requires Matlab 5.0 (Student
or regular) or better.
This is a rough alpha release. It has serious
bugs.
Download zip
archive (2.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Win 2.44 (7 August 2000) requires Matlab 5.0 (Student
or regular) or better. This is a rough alpha release. It has serious
bugs.
Download zip
archive (2.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Win 2.41 (30 January 2000) requires Matlab 5.0
(Student or regular) or better. This is a rough alpha release. It has serious
bugs.
Download zip
archive (2.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Win 2.4 (24 January 2000) requires Matlab 5.0
(Student or regular) or better. This is a rough alpha release. It has serious
bugs.
Download zip
archive (2.5 MB).
Psychtoolbox Win 0.05 (5 May 1999) This is the original alpha release, by Xuemei (Mei)
Zhang.
Download zip
archive (1.2 MB).
Get the latest version of Stuffit Expander from Aladdin's
site (available for Linux, Mac, Solaris and Windows). It's free. 
To use Showtime.mex (formerly "QT.mex"),
you'll need QuickTime, which is
free.
Mac: Mathworks has a free patch to upgrade
Matlab 5.2 to 5.2.1.
Mac: For manual control of screen
resolution and frame rate, we recommend SwitchRes, which is $15 shareware.
Mac: If you work with image
files, it's nice to have the $35 shareware GraphicConverter.
Mac: If you're not satisfied with Apple's
Energy Saver Control Panel 
as a screen saver, then we recommend St.
Clair's Sleeper ($25
shareware).
Very few users of the Psychophysics Toolbox will want to get into the C source code, but it's here (including support for both Mac and Windows) if you want it. We now offer the same archive, but with Mac or Windows line endings, either stuffed and binhexed for Mac (.sit.hqx) or zipped for Windows (.zip). Choose the appropriate flavor for your platform. (C sources for the OSX version are provided through the OSX page.) If you have trouble unpacking, try Aladdin Expander, which is available for both platforms. The code compiles under Metrowerks CodeWarrior Pro, for Mac, and under Microsoft Visual C, for Windows. Installation of the source is easy and consists essentially of putting one folder in your compiler folder and creating a few aliases to it. The SimpleText file "Install the source" included in the source archive explains the details for the Mac. For the Windows Snapshots, see the enclosed README.txt file.
Download source for
Psychtoolbox 2.54 (20 February 2004) (7.2 MB) zip
Download source for Psychtoolbox 2.53 (2
August 2003) (16.5 MB) sit.hqx
Download source for
Psychtoolbox 2.51 (5 July 2002) (22 MB) sit.hqx
Download source for Psychtoolbox 2.5 (25
June 2002) (18 MB) sit.hqx or (22 MB) zip
Download source for Psychtoolbox 2.44
(7 August 2000) (12 MB) sit.hqx
or zip
Download source for Psychtoolbox 2.43
(10 July 2000) (12 MB) sit.hqx
Download source for Psychtoolbox 2.42 (7
March 2000) (14 MB) sit.hqx
Download source for Psychtoolbox 2.4 (24
January 2000) (11 MB) sit.hqx
or zip
Download source for Psychtoolbox 2.36
(13 July 1999) (10 MB) sit.hqx
Download source for Psychtoolbox 2.11
(21 August 1997) (15 MB) sit.hqx
Showtime.mex allows you to create and show QuickTime movies. This is the Matlab
version of the ShowTime
package created by Beau Watson, Cesar Ramirez, James Hu, and Denis Pelli. Give
Showtime a multidimensional array representing pixel values in multiple frames,
and Showtime converts it to a QuickTime movie that you can show with full
control over timing and color lookup table. You can also email your movie to
colleagues, put it on the web, or include it in PowerPoint presentations.
QuickTime movies are portable; the same file works on Mac and Windows
95/98/NT.
The Mac
Psychtoolbox (above) includes Showtime.mex and demos, but you can get
Showtime alone, without the Psychtoolbox or demos, if you want to. The archive
below contains ShowTime.mex and ShowTime.m, which documents
ShowTime.mex.
Download
"Showtime_2.5.sit.hqx" (25 June 2002) (66 KB)
Several people have inquired about the prospect of Showtime for Windows. It ought to be easy because Apple supports QuickTime on Windows. Thus, in principle, it's just a matter of recompiling the C files we now use on Mac to run under Windows. Easy as that sounds, we haven't been able to schedule it, as Allen's time is fully committed for the foreseeable future with creating the OpenGL version of Psychtoolbox. However, the complete Showtime sources are included in the Mac Psychtoolbox source, and we'd be delighted to have some hardy soul jump in and port the code from Mac to Win. It might be quite easy.
.gif)
visitors since 20
March 2000.