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(Added in Version 1.78.00)
The Static Component allows you to have a period where you can preload images or perform other time-consuming operations that not be possible while the screen is being updated.
Typically a static period would be something like an inter-trial or inter-stimulus interval (ITI/ISI). During this period you should not have any other objects being presented that are being updated (this isn’t checked for you - you have to make that check yourself), but you can have components being presented that are themselves static. For instance a fixation point never changes and so it can be presented during the static period (it will be presented and left on-screen while the other updates are being made).
Any stimulus updates can be made to occur during any static period defined in the experiment (it does not have to be in the same Routine). This is done in the updates selection box- once a static period exists it will show up here as well as the standard options of constant and every repeat etc. Many parameter updates (e.g. orientation are made so quickly that using the static period is of no benefit but others, most notably the loading of images from disk, can take substantial periods of time and these should always be performed during a static period to ensure good timing.
If the updates that have been requested were not completed by the end of the static period (i.e. there was a timing overshoot) then you will receive a warning to that effect. In this case you either need a longer static period to perform the actions or you need to reduce the time required for the action (e.g. use an image with fewer pixels).
See also
API reference for StaticPeriod