Depending on your way of using the Lexical coding mode, you can choose between the following routines to create overlapping Events:
 | In multiple passes - If you go through you material in multiple passes (which is most often recommended), you can log all this data into the same data file and into the same DataSet. Independent of the order of the Events in your data file, INTERACT puts all your Events in the right perspective automatically (Timeline Chart). |
| In one pass by rewinding - If there are only short overlaps, or overlaps that occur sporadically, you can do as follows, to log this data in one pass: |
▪Log the first Event with the SPACEBAR, as described before in Log Events - lexical coding, complete with all descriptive Codes needed, after the Event is closed.
The video is still paused at the end of this behavior.
▪Rewind the video to the exact position where the second behavior did start.
▪Click Start new Event or press the SPACEBAR to start the next Event and the video.
▪Click Stop current Event to end this Event when necessary.
▪Continue as before.
| TIP: | If both behavioral Events are overlapping each other for the better part, you can easily rewind the video to the start of the first Event: Double click the start time code of the first Event. The video jumps to this point and you can play the video from there. Pause the video and refine its position with the Frame by frame arrows and proceed as described above. |
| In one pass, using Codes - If you log Events directly with the top-level Codes, instead of the SPACEBAR, logging overlapping Events can be done simultaneously and works almost like logging with the Standard coding mode: |
▪Make sure that, in the Code definitions, at the end of each chain, the option EOC is selected (If no chains are available, select the EOC box on the first level!).
▪Make sure that none of the sub-level key assignments are used for the top-level Codes.
▪Click on the a Code, or use the assigned [key], to start the first Event.
▪Click the Code for the second behavior, the moment it occurs (or use the assigned [key]).
▪Close the Event, that ends first, by clicking the corresponding Code for the second time (or press the [key] again).
INTERACT now pauses the video and the Lexical chain indicator 
appears.
▪Now enter any additional Codes into the just coded Event.
IMPORTANT: Make sure, that you do NOT re-use any of the [keys] from the first level Codes for the subordinated Codes!
Keys can be re-used in all levels, except the first, whenever you do not use the SPACEBAR, to log the start and end of each new Event. (INTERACT closes an open Event, whenever a [key] is used for the second time, independent of the Code level it is used).
To continue coding:
▪Start a new Event, that seamlessly follows the Event just closed.
OR
▪Click the Play button (or press F7), to start the video again.
Now the still open Event, of the parallel behavior, can be ended accordingly.
| TIP: | If the Lexical chain indicator does not disappear automatically after the last Code for an Event, press ESCAPE. Now you return to the main code definition file* and the lexical status is left. |
Events Without Duration
If you also want to add Codes to log something that only needs to be counted, you can add Codes without duration to your top-level Codes. That way you can log your regular lexical Events with duration - either using the SPACEBAR or the Codes themselves - and also add your 'counting Codes' in one pass.
But if those none-durational Codes do not have any chained, lower-level Codes linked to them AND can occur quite frequently, the automated pausing of the video for those Events might be annoying, because you will need to hit PLAY every couple of seconds or so.
For those situations you can make use of this great Observation Setting:
▪Select the option Do not pause video for Codes without duration, to keep the video playing whenever one of those top-level Codes is used.
*) Hierarchical Codes, stored in separate files, can be linked, building a chain of related code definitions. Read Hierarchical Coding Systems for details.