IMPORTANT: When using the Standard coding mode, without exclusion lists, each [key] is used TWICE per Event: Once to mark the start of a behavior and AGAIN to mark its end.
Preparations
As a reminder, here all the preliminary steps at a glance:
▪Click Start - File - New 
to create a new or open an existing data file.
▪Open the Code definition file containing the Code you plan to use in the Code definitions dialog: Start - Observation - Define Codes 
.
▪Open your source of observation through Start - File - Open 
or drag the multimedia file into your dat file.
(You can also activate the Live observation mode in Start - Observation - Observation settings 
instead.)
▪Make sure the coding mode Standard (ad-hoc) is selected.
Start logging
To actually log Events, you need to switch to the Observation mode:
▪Click 
to activate the Observation mode.
The moment you activate this Observation Mode, the Coding panel appears, showing the Codes of the current Code definition file.
INTERACT is now waiting for your commands.
▪Click Play 
to start the multimedia file(s) or press F7 on your keyboard.
Enter Codes
You have basically two ways of actually entering your Observation Codes:
 | Using the Coding panel - Log Observation Codes per mouse click. |
▪Click once on the Code that describes the behavior just starting.
A new Event line appears in your document. It shows the start time and the corresponding [key] in blue, as well as the Code you just clicked. The Code is automatically placed within the correct Class column and is shown inside the Active Codes field as long as it is open.
▪Click the same Code again to 'close' this Event.
The end time is entered in the corresponding Event; the [key] disappears from both the Event line and from the Active Codes list. The color changes to black, indicating that the Event is now 'closed'.
| Using the key board - The old-fashioned way of pressing shortcut [keys] on the computers keyboard still works for all logging methods. |
▪Close the Coding panel to gain space on your monitor.
▪Press one of the defined [keys] on the keyboard.
A new Event line appears in your document. It shows the start time and the corresponding [key] in blue, as well as the Code you just clicked. The Code is automatically placed within the correct Class column and is shown inside the Active Codes field as long as it is open.
▪Press the same key again, as soon as the behavior ends.
The end time is entered in the corresponding Event; the [key] disappears from both the Event line and from the Active Codes list. The color changes to black, indicating that the Event is now 'closed'.
Note: If you enter a Code that belongs to a Class that does not yet exist in your data file, the column for that Class is automatically created. If you press a [key] that was not assigned to a Code, nothing is entered. Codes without a [key] cannot be logged. Codes without a Class are not entered into the data file.
Correcting Wrong Codings
You can, at all times, manually enter/correct/overwrite your codings within a cell in your data file, even without leaving the coding mode.
Much easier is the possibility to Refine Events on the fly, without switching the coding mode:
▪Select the Event that holds the wrong Code.
▪Press CTRL while you click the Code that should be entered instead into that Event.
The previous code is overwritten, as long as it is located in the same Class. Removing a Code from another Class can be done by manually editing that cell.
Overlapping Events
If you click another Code (before the previous Code was closed) an additional new Event is created, logging the time information of this new behavior simultaneously. This allows you to log behavior that overlaps in time within one coding session.
Using Mutual Exclusive Codes
If the new behavior should automatically end the previous behavior, use Mutual Exclusive Codes. As soon as some of your Codes belong to the same Exclusion list, INTERACT makes sure that Codes within the same list do not overlap, during a single coding session.
IMPORTANT: INTERACT automatically closes the previous Event with the start of a new one.
Advantages
•The observer only clicks a Code -or presses a [key]- once per Event.
•Any previous Event, holding a Code from the same exclusion list, is automatically closed.
•No need to pay attention to closing previous Events in time.
▪For further details, read the section Coding Consistently & Sequentially
Note: For a continuous coding rhythm, you need a Code for every situation. This means that some additional Codes (like 'NILL' or 'neutral') that cover the uninteresting parts simplify and speed up the logging process. Because switching between logging only the start for most Events and then sometimes needing to code the end separately is confusing and therefore a source of error.