History

Version 5.6.1, february 09, 2026 :

Improved handling of MKV video files.
Double-clicking on a row in the visit table for a zone now jumps to the beginning of the period.
In the curve view, when zooming in with the scroll wheel, the curves are now centered on the mouse cursor.
Improved the readability of the text in the detected zone sizes when adjusting detection parameters.
Bug: If the curve area was closed, the visit table for the zones was not updated.
Bug: In zone visit details display mode, the table was not correctly updated when switching tests.
Bug: When switching to automatic detection parameter adjustment mode with a reference image created by the wizard, the image was not correctly recreated.
Several minor improvements and bug fixes.

Version 5.6.0, december 16, 2025 :

Without a license token, report results remain visible for 30 days after the last license verification.
Added a warning icon to the side panel of analysis results if the detection rate is low.
Added the ability to display the partial track (up to the current position) on the video for the center and head.
Added the ability to display a "Velocity/Direction" vector on the video.
Added the ability to display periods when the head was not detected in the curve area.
Modified the selection and appearance of elements to display when adjusting detection parameters.
Display parameters are now specific to each protocol.
When switching to detection parameter adjustment mode, the video playback position is retained.
Added an option to keep the video centered on the animal during playback.
Bug: In some cases, the USB license dongle was not correctly detected.
Bug: In some cases, animal detection in "greyscale", "simplified color" and "advanced color" modes could be impossible.

Version 5.5.3, november 24, 2025 :

Improved display on high-resolution screens.
Bug : For some experiments, the video display was not refreshing correctly when playing the video of the current test.
Bug : When detecting the animal in "grayscale", "color ( simplified )", or "color ( advanced )" modes, the "excluded areas" in the protocol were not being correctly excluded
Bug : The submenu for configuring the elements to display in the curve area was incorrect.
Several minor improvements and bug fixes.

Version 5.5.2, may 21, 2025 :

Bug: When saving the current test image, adding the trace caused a colored halo to appear.
Bug: If automatic test generation for a stage was disabled, the affected tests were not automatically deleted when closing the protocol dialog box.
Improved messages when deleting a zone in a protocol.
Added a context menu to create a new stage in a protocol.
Added the protocol name to the title of a report or filter dialog box.
Some minor improvements and bug fixes.

Version 5.5.1, march 28, 2025 :

Bug : Some filters in the test list were not working correctly.
Bug : The stage or arena selection area when configuring a filter for the test list was not displayed correctly.
Bug : When using a USB key license, some report results were hidden.

Version 5.5.0, march 11, 2025 :

Added the automatic adjustment function of the arena position using position markers.
Added in the "Analysis" side panel of the "Current test" view the possibility to display the list of visit periods in the zones.
When displaying behavior periods or visit periods in a zone, a new context menu allows you to automatically position the video playback at the beginning of a period.
For alert columns or filters in the test list, it is now possible to choose whether the condition should be made on the actual calculated value or on the displayed rounded value.
Bug: the comparison on the detection rate did not work correctly in the alert columns or filter conditions of the test list.

Version 5.4.1, december 19, 2024 :

Bug: Opening a test without an associated video in the "current test" view caused Ethotrack to crash.
Bug: The description of an alert column could be wrong because it only took into account the first condition.

Version 5.4.0, december 4, 2024 :

Added the "Stage" and "Trial" columns in the test list.
Added the ability to filter the items displayed in the test list, the animal list and the video list.
Added the ability to group videos by recording date and location in the video list.
Added new alerts in the test list + new conditions.
Modified the alert conditions in the test list. The comparison is now made on the displayed value taking into account the display rounding and no longer on the calculated value.
Bug: in the test list, the "Arena" and "Video file" columns were added twice
Bug: in the video list some arena usage columns could be missing.
Bug: the width of the first secondary arena was undefined and could be very large which prevented the following ones from being seen.
Improvements and minor bug fixes.

Version 5.3.1, september 24, 2024 :

Video adjustment information is now preserved when importing from another experiment.
Bug : It was possible to link a video adjustment to an already linked video. What is not taken into account during the analysis
Bug : When resizing the video adjustment pane, the display was not refreshed correctly.
Improved display of video adjustment information when the experiment has multiple protocols.

Version 5.3.0, august 28, 2024 :

Arena position adjustment: it is now possible to adjust the position of a video, then copy (or link) this adjustment to other videos (for example all videos recorded on the same day).
Arena position adjustment for a test: it is now possible to copy the arena position adjustment to other tests.
Added reports of the animal's immobility and head movement times.
Added reports of the number of periods of immobility of the head and the center.
The curve area of the "current test" view is now in a tool window that can be moved in the Ethotrack interface or positioned as a floating window.
It is now possible to view in the curve area the periods of immobility of the animal's center, as well as the periods of immobility and head movement.
Bug: After changing the minimum immobility duration in the protocol, the motion and immobility ratios were not automatically recalculated.
Bug: After changing the use of a video in the "Current Video" view, the current test was not properly refreshed.
Bug: Changing the display of a behavior in the "Curves" view was not properly managed.
Some minor improvements and bug fixes.

Version 5.2.0, march 25, 2024 :

In the video selection dialog box, it is now possible to filter and sort videos.
Added an option "Consider the animal outside the zone during the first evaluation as an exit" in the event "The animal leaves a zone one or more times".
Added a context menu to check or uncheck all animals in a stage's animal selection panel.
When using a video recorded by software other than Ethotrack, the recording date is now the date the file was last modified and not the creation date.
Bug: the creation of a user field in the animal creation wizard opened from the "stage" tab of the protocol was not correctly handled.
Bug: when creating a composite zone, it was impossible to select the outside of an zone.
Some minor improvements and bug fixes.

Version 5.1.0, february 09, 2024 :

Added the ability to create a heatmap on the position of the animal's head.
In the reports added the possibility of creating a heatmap for the groups with the averaged data of all the tests of the group.
Added the ability to export the test schedule to save in ics format for import into a calendar.
Bug: problem refreshing the display after modifying a report if the report type was changed from "Heatmap" to "non-heatmap".

Version 5.0.1, december 20, 2023 :

Bug: after recording a video for several animals the dialog box allowing you to modify the name of the video was not offered.
Bug: The behavior position display settings were not saved.
Bug: In the protocol dialog box the user fields created in the "User Fields" tab were not visible in the wizard for creating several animals in the steps.
Bug: In certain cases, the "Select tests" checkbox in the view allowing animals to be assigned to arenas for a video was not correctly handled.
Some minor improvements and bug fixes.

Version 5.0.0, november 29, 2023 :

Added Stages and trials to the protocol. More information.
Added automatic test creation function. More information.
Added the ability to schedule test recording. More information.
Added a wizard for creating multiple animals.
Automatic arena assignment when recording videos with multiple animals.
Modification of the choice type zones: it is now possible to use a stage or a user field from the “Animals” category. It is also possible to use a user field for several choice type zones.
Creation of exclusion zones.
Mobile zones can now be linked to another mobile zone.
User fields in the "tests" category can now be selected by stage.
Added the ability to specify a default value for choice type user fields.
In batch analysis it is now possible to select a test that has already been analyzed.
Many improvements and fixes of some minor bugs.

Version 4.4.5, march 19, 2024 :

Added an option "Consider the animal outside the zone during the first evaluation as an exit" in the event "The animal leaves a zone one or more times".
Bug: adding a user field of choice type to the protocol was not correctly handled.
Bug: an error could occur when importing animals from an Excel 2003 file (*.xls).

Version 4.4.4, august 29, 2023 :

Bug : The calculation of visit duration or start before entering a hidden area was wrong.
Bug : It was possible to select a new zone as the main arena, even after creating secondary arenas.
Bug : A compound zone consisting of the exterior of a simple zone was not correctly handled when the main arena was not defined.
Bug : In some cases editing a hidden area was prohibited for the wrong reason.
Modification of the license management to allow the use on the same computer of a version 4 and a version 5.

Version 4.4.3, june 30, 2023 :

Bug: The test list alert columns were not saved correctly in the experiment file.
Bug: exporting the list of tests in Excel format could cause Ethotrack to crash when alert columns were created.
Bug: When importing elements from another experience, the text of choice-type user fields seemed empty. You had to save and re-open the experience to see them.

Version 4.4.2, march 09, 2023 :

Bug : In an experiment with several protocols the user fields appeared several times in the test order selection list of the "Group / Sort" dialog box.

Version 4.4.1, march 07, 2023 :

Reduced webcam opening time.
Improved refresh of current test analysis info.
Improved visibility of video usage info.
Bug: in a certain configuration it was possible to have 2 tests of the same protocol using the same video in the same arena of the same protocol.
Bug: in the "Current test" view, the video image could remain displayed after deleting the link between the test and the video.
Bug: the calculation of the number of images per second of the webcam before the start of the recording was wrong by +10%.
Bug: when exporting a video the number of frames per second of the file is now more precise.
Bug: when exporting to an Excel file, the "empty" dates appeared in the Excel file as 01/01/1970.
Bug: "Animals" category user fields were not automatically added in the columns of the test list.
Bug: when opening an experiment, the cancel button in the dialog box allowing the recording of the current experiment did not work.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 4.4.0, november 22, 2022 :

In the "current video" view, it is now possible to display the list of tests that use video directly on the image. It is also possible to assign a test to this video by a simply drag and drop.
Assigning a test to a video by "dragand/ drop" is also available in the dialog for using a video.
It is now possible to import a video recorded by Ethotrack into another experiment.
Bug: in some cases deleting a test from the list of tests could cause Ethotrack to crash.
Bug: in the "test" dialog box it was possible to modify the protocol and the arena even if the test was already linked to a video.
Some minor improvements.

Version 4.3.1, september 29, 2022 :

In the dialog for defining tests that use video, it is now possible to filter the tests according to a user field.
Bug : in the list of tests the level of grouping by protocol was not correctly managed for experiments containing several protocols.
Bug : in the filter creation dialog the number of selected tests was always zero.
Bug : when deleting the video source of a test, the icon in the workspace was not refreshed.

Version 4.3.0, september 02, 2022 :

Improved opening of certain video file formats (especially under Windows 7)
Added help in English.
Better support for HD cameras.
Better support for disconnecting webcam while recording.
Better management of recordings with a number of images per second lower than 5.
Improved test list and workspace refresh time, especially for experiments with a large number of tests and grouping levels.
When using a webcal, the actual fps provided by the camera is now displayed above the image.
The test information side panel now displays the source name in addition to the file name.
Bug: fixed several problems in the dialog box: Group / Sort.
Bug: in the list of tests, the sorting on the recording date was incorrect.
Bug: In some cases opening or closing the webcam could cause Ethotrack to close.
Bug: with some videos, positioning on a specific image could cause a discrepancy between the real position of the animal and that detected by Ethotrack.
Bug: in some cases when creating a new test, it could not appear in the workspace.
Bug: with version V4.2, exporting a video failed if the width or height of the selected area was odd.
Bug: fixed some minor bugs.

Version 4.2.0, june, o2 2022 :

Added the ability to import animals from a text file or Microsoft Excel.
Added a reference image creation wizard for auto detection and image subtraction modes.
Added the ability to delete multiple videos at the same time.
Improved fast speed video playback for videos with frame rate below 10.
Bug: pressing the video management keys while playing a video could, in some cases, cause Ethotrack to close.
Bug: with some videos, positioning on a specific image could cause a discrepancy between the real position of the animal and that detected by Ethotrack.
Bug: deleting a video could cause Ethotrack to close.
Bug: in some cases, the notes of an experiment could not be saved correctly.
Bug: the export of the animal list or the test list in Microsoft Excel 97-2003 format ( *.xls ) was actually done in Excel 2007 and later format ( *.xlsx ).
Bug: when adding several videos from a directory, the presence of certain non-video files could cause Ethtrack to close.
Bug: Setting a selection area for creating a reference image was incorrect if the arena was adjusted with rotation.
Some improvements and minor bugfixes.

Version 4.1.0, february, 17 2022 :

It is now possible to display the position of behavior periods on the video of the current test.
It is now possible to adjust the position of a mobile zone even if the test is analyzed (only if the zone is not used in the analysis sequencer).
When creating a new protocol, it is now possible to select a camera that is not connected when it has already been detected by Ethotrack.
It is now easier to modify the saved image of a protocol: The image can be selected from an element of the experiment (saved test or video file) and it is no longer necessary to delete the image before choosing another.
In the multiple test creation dialog, it is now possible to select animals that are not related to the selected protocol.
In the protocol zone creation tab, the "Expand / Contract" dialog box becomes "Transform" and allows additional modifications (mirror and rotation).
Addition of a contextual menu in the side panel for selecting display elements of the current test allowing to configure certain elements.
During the installation the shortcuts allowing to launch Ethotrack are now valid for all users of the computer.
Bug: Fixed the Zoom button menu of the video playback control bar.
Bug: when changing the language, the name of the behaviors was erased in the selection view of the display.
Bug: The display of visited areas was incorrect for an adjusted arena with rotation.
Bug: Improved management of side panels when using multiple screens.
Bug: in some cases when resizing the main window, the Heatmap image could be replaced by a black rectangle
Some improvements and minor bugfixes.

Version 4.0.2, december, 24 2021 :

Bug: the export of part of the video of a test could fail for a video recorded by an old version of Ethotrack.

Version 4.0.1, december, 23 2021 :

Bug: fixed a problem on the scroll bar of "heatmap" reports.
Bug: test order problem in the test tree tab of the "Filter" dialog box.
Bug: in the demo version, some features were blocked after the creation of a tenth test.

Version 4.0.0, november, 15 2021 :

Addition of 'Exclusive OR' composite zones and "zone choice" type user choices.
Added behaviors.
Addition of the heat map ("Heat map").
User fields in the 'Tests' category can now be linked to a specific protocol.
Added an "Animals" folder to the workspace.
In the workspace the tests are now grouped by protocol.
Addition of new reports: Heat map, center trace and head trace with the possibility of exporting the report in rtf or html format.
Improvement of the "Information" side panel in the "Current test" view (tooltips on the buttons and addition of a "warning" icon when an error or an "out of standard" configuration is detected).
Added shortcut keys for video playback control: 'N': next frame, 'B': previous frame, X, C, V: playback speed management.
Added the possibility to visualize on the video the areas in which the animal is located by displaying these highlighted areas.
In the dialog of a protocol the recording parameters are now in the "Source" tab.
For number reports the group averages are now displayed with 2 decimal places.
Optimization of the display of curves (speed, zones, etc.) in the current test view for a smoother display.
Many minor improvements.
Bug: The max Fps of the webcam was not correctly taken into account.
Bug: for "entry..." reports, the parameter "Consider presence in the zone at the beginning as an entry" was not correctly saved.
Bug: in various places, choosing a duration > 1190 hours caused an overflow and a program error. The maximum duration (recording, events, etc.) is now limited to 1000 hours.
Bug: When copying a protocol, some filters were not correctly copied. If the copy of the filter is not possible, the filter is deleted and an error message is displayed.
Fixed minor bugs.

Version 3.11.0, may, 25 2021 :

Bug: video files recorded with the "mp4v" codec were poorly managed, which caused playback problems and an error during analysis.
Reduced experience file size for videos recorded by Ethotrack.
Improved fast speed video playback.
Bug: The modification of a video recorded by Ethotrack in the view: "list of videos" could lead to the loss of certain information and a degraded precision on the analysis.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 3.10.0, may, 03 2021 :

Improved import function: it is now possible to import animals from another experiment.
Added a "Expand / Contract" function to automatically increase or reduce the size of an area.
Added an "Undo/Redo" function to undo or redo the last action performed when defining zones ("Arena" view of the "Protocol" dialog box).
Added the ability to import a recorded image when the protocol source is a webcam.
Optimization of screen refresh when changing view to "Current test" or "Current video" view.
Bug: in some cases when a polygonal zone was used in a report or as a trigger, a modification of the protocol zones could lead to the loss of the link with the zone in the report or the trigger.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 3.9.2, february, 25 2021 :

Bug: Notes entered in the experiment view were not saved correctly.
Improved workspace refresh.

Version 3.9.1, september, 24 2020 :

Added the possibility to automatically check the availability of an update each time Ethotrack is launched.
Added pre-saved configurations for the sequencer to the "Analysis" tab of the "Protocol" dialog.
Added the ability to group tests by protocol in the workspace and test list.
Help file updated.
Bug: the state of the workspace was not correctly saved between 2 sessions.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 3.9.0, june, 25 2020 :

Bug: When the start of the analysis was delayed from the start of the recording by a delay or a condition, the start of the analysis was not correctly taken into account in the calculation of the reports and this could lead to errors in reports.
Bug: When copying a report, the fields used were not copied into the new report.
Bug: In the analysis sequencer ("Analysis" tab of the "Protocol" dialog box) an event which followed an action was not correctly triggered.
Bug: In the analysis sequencer ("Analysis" tab of the "Protocol" dialog box) certain modifications could lead to a crash of Ethotrack

Version 3.8.0, april, 28 2020 :

Addition of new reports: mini and maxi distance from the center (or from the head of the animal) with the edge of an area.
The "Duration" report is deleted because it is identical to the "Total duration of visits in an area" report.
Grouping reports into categories.
Added display formats (duration/area of area, percentage of total time, etc) for average, min and max time reports in an area.
By default when creating a new report only interior areas are selected.
Bug: An error occurred when saving the protocol if the name of a report included the character "`"
Bug: The display of the position of a secondary arena was incorrect if the previously selected arena was a secondary arena.
Bug: When adjusting a mobile zone, an error occurred when the zone was moved outside the arena.
Bug: When adjusting the arena or a mobile area, the selection rectangle could not be visible.
Bug: In some cases, the "Calculate the average of the groups" checkbox was not displayed.
Bug: It was possible to set the rule as an arena.

Version 3.7.2, march, 26 2020 :

Help file updated.
Bug fix: when Ethotrack was activated with a demo license key, opening the "About" view after the end of the demo period caused the application to crash.

Version 3.7.1, march, 25 2020 :

Bug fix: Ethotrack activation with a demo key could fail.

Version 3.7.0, march, 24 2020 :

Report results are now remembered. This avoids having to recalculate the entire report each time you open it.
For a protocol with a webcam as source, it is now possible to save an image of the webcam in order to be able to modify the protocol even if the webcam is no longer connected.
In the list of animals it is now possible to delete several animals at once.
In the list of tests and reports, it is now possible to define the grouping levels and the order of the tests to be identical to what is defined for the workspace.
Added "Check for updates" and "ethotrack website" links in the "About" tab of the "File" view.
When exporting a video, it is now possible to choose the area to export.
Some minor improvements.
Bugfix: Ethotrack could stop working if the video was playing when opening the "Detection Settings" panel.
Bug fix: in the "Protocol" dialog box, the webcam was disconnected when modifying the parameters of a zone.
Bug fix: in the "Current test" view, the webcam was disconnected when opening the "Arena adjustment" or "Detection settings" panels.
Bug fix: creating a new report failed if the report name contained the "'" character.
Bug fix: when importing user fields from another experience, the choices were not imported correctly.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 3.6.0, february, 10 2020 :

Added the possibility to activate Ethotrack by floating license managed by a license server.
Modification of the test creation wizard to improve the choice of tests to create.

Version 3.5.1, december, 26 2019 :

Bug fix: When adding a video recording, the changes made in the "Video" dialog box were not taken into account.

Version 3.5.0, december, 24 2019 :

A zone can now be "mobile". Its position can then be adjusted and vary according to the tests.
Improved animal detection around hidden areas to better detect exit.
Following the improvements of the detection module, the filtering according to the size of the animal can be less strict. The default animal size is now set to: "mouse (10g < weight < 70g)".
Bug fix: when exporting a video, the reframing on the arena was wrong in the case of an adjusted secondary arena.
Bug fix: in some cases, a point added on a polygon could be added at the wrong position.
Bug fix: when deleting a point on a polygon, the next point was automatically selected and could be moved by mistake.
Bug fix: The detection of entering an area according to the percentage of the surface of the animal present in the area could be imprecise.
Bug fix: on the position adjustment view of a secondary arena in the protocol dialog, the reset buttons did not work correctly.
Bug fix: in the definition dialog box of a test the automatic name was not correctly refreshed on modification of the protocol or the arena.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 3.4.1, november, 18 2019 :

Bug fix: problem reading some video files.
Added the ability to suppress head detection on certain images.
Improved video image refresh during analysis.

Version 3.4, november, 12 2019 :

Improved head detection on some videos.
Added the ability to display head coordinates in the scan results table
Fixed bug: the display of the max time without head detection mismanaged the start and end of the analysis.
Bug fix: with some videos, the display of a particular image by clicking on the speed curve or on the table of analysis results could be shifted by a few images.
Bugfix: Error in the title of a "number of visits in an area" type report.
Bug fix: A filter defined by a complex logical condition was not correctly saved when exiting the dialog box.
Bug fix: In some cases the batch scan could fail.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 3.3.3, october, 04 2019 :

Fixed bug of automatic naming of tests on the display of report curves.
Bug fix: the configuration of a filter defined with a simple or complex logical condition could, in some cases, be lost.
Improvement of the refresh speed of the display of the trace and the speed curve on long analyses.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 3.3.2, september 2019 :

Added automatic test naming function.
Addition of the test creation wizard.
Fixed some minor bugs.

Version 3.3.1, july 2019 :

First public version

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