How to define a tier type

ELAN supports the following options:

Adding new tier types

Every tier is assigned to a tier type. The tier type specifies the stereotypical constraints (and, as a consequence, whether or not the tiers are time-alignable).

Information about the relationship between tiers is given in two different places: for each individual tier it is given in the Add tier dialog window (see Adding new tiers), and for all tiers belonging to one tier type it is given in the Add type window (this section), i.e.:

  • Add tier attributes window: specify the parent tier of the individual tier.
  • Add type window: specify the stereotypical constraints of tiers belonging to one type.

To create a tier type, do the following:

  1. Click on the Type > Add new tier type... menu. The Add Type dialog window appears:

    Figure 2.6. Add a tier type

    Add a tier type


  2. Enter the following information for the new type:
    1. Go to Type name. Enter the name or label for the type.
    2. Go to Stereotype. Select the stereotypical constraint that apply to the tiers based on this type (see Basic Information: Annotations, tiers and tier types).
    3. Optionally go to Use Controlled Vocabulary. Select a controlled vocabulary or leave this to None (see Associating a tier type with Controlled Vocabularies).
    4. Optionally go to Lexicon Connection. Click the + button to select a lexicon and a lexicon entry field to be associated with this tier type (see Consulting a Lexicon, Set the Lexicon Service and entry field information for a Tier Type and Lexicons).
    5. Optionally go to ISO Data Category to associate this type with a data category via the + button (see Associating a tier type with a Data Category.
    6. The Time-alignable checkbox cannot be edited, its value depends on and changes with the selected Stereotype.
  3. Click Add to save the settings; otherwise click Close to exit the window without saving them.

Changing tier types

Do the following to change the attributes of an already existing tier type:

  1. Click on Edit > Change tier type… The Change type dialog window appears.
  2. The labels of all available tier types are displayed in the Current Types table, e.g.:

    Figure 2.7. Change a tier type

    Change a tier type


  3. Click on the tier type whose attributes you want to change.
  4. Change the settings. The Stereotype drop down box will be disabled if there is at least one tier based on the selected type. For changing the Stereotype of a tier consider the options to copy (see Copying tiers) or to reparent a tier (see Changing the parent of a tier).

    Associations with a Lexicon field or a ISO Data Category can be changed via their + button or removed by clicking their - button.

  5. Click Change to save the changes. Otherwise click Close to exit the window without saving the changes.

Deleting tier types

To delete a tier type, do the following:

Click on Edit menu.

  1. Go to Delete tier type…
  2. A dialog window appears. The names of all available tier types are displayed in the Current Types table, e.g.:

    Figure 2.8. Delete a tier type

    Delete a tier type


  3. Click on the type you want to delete.
  4. Click Delete to delete the type; otherwise click Close to close the dialog window.

You can only delete a tier type if it is not used by any of the tiers. If it is used, the following error message appears:

Figure 2.9. Tier type is used

Tier type is used


Importing tier types

It is possible to import tier types from .eaf or .etf files.

Click on Edit > Import types.... Here you can select a .eaf or .etf file by clicking on Browse. Select the file you want to use in the next window and click Select. Finally click Import to import the tier types from the selected file.

Associating a tier type with a Data Category

In ELAN it is possible to associate a tier type with a data category of the ISO Data Category Repository (DCR). To do so click on Type in the ELAN main menu and select Change Tier Type.... In the window that now appears, click the Browse... button to the right of the ISO Data Category option. In the next window(Figure 2.10, “Local Data Category Selection”), select a category from the list and click Apply to associate the selected data category to the tier type.

Figure 2.10. Local Data Category Selection

Local Data Category Selection


More information about the ISO DCR and how to use it can be found in Data categories.