Sending message to EyeLink

Coding
,
1

Hello, I am running a pupillometry paradigm and want to mark timestamps for when I have images on (the trial images, fixation, mask etc). I especially want to have a idea of when the fixation image is on, so I am trying to write out the message the same way I do for the mask images which is like:
if Mask.status == STARTED: el_tracker.sendMessage('Mask.running %s' % maskClock.getTime()). However, for some reason the fixation timestamps don’t end up on my sample message column when I export the data (my code is below). When I print them, they print just fine, so I don’t think it’s a clock issue. I think I might be missing something small and would really appreciate another set of eyes on this!

Best,
Bahar
`

------Prepare to start Routine “fixation”-------

continueRoutine = True
routineTimer.add(2.000000)
# update component parameters for each repeat
# keep track of which components have finished
fixationComponents = [fixation]
for thisComponent in fixationComponents:
    thisComponent.tStart = None
    thisComponent.tStop = None
    thisComponent.tStartRefresh = None
    thisComponent.tStopRefresh = None
    if hasattr(thisComponent, 'status'):
        thisComponent.status = NOT_STARTED
# reset timers
t = 0
_timeToFirstFrame = win.getFutureFlipTime(clock="now")
fixationClock.reset(-_timeToFirstFrame)  # t0 is time of first possible flip
frameN = -1

# -------Run Routine "fixation"-------
while continueRoutine and routineTimer.getTime() > 0:
    # get current time
    t = fixationClock.getTime()
    tThisFlip = win.getFutureFlipTime(clock=fixationClock)
    tThisFlipGlobal = win.getFutureFlipTime(clock=None)
    frameN = frameN + 1  # number of completed frames (so 0 is the first frame)
    # update/draw components on each frame
    # *"fixation"* updates
    if fixation.status == NOT_STARTED and tThisFlip >= 0.0-frameTolerance:
        # keep track of start time/frame for later
        fixation.frameNStart = frameN  # exact frame index
        fixation.tStart = t  # local t and not account for scr refresh
        fixation.tStartRefresh = tThisFlipGlobal  # on global time
        win.timeOnFlip(fixation, 'tStartRefresh')  # time at next scr refresh
        fixation.setAutoDraw(True)
    if fixation.status == STARTED:
        el_tracker.sendMessage('fixation.running %s' % fixationClock.getTime())
        print(fixationClock.getTime())
        # is it time to stop? (based on global clock, using actual start)
        if tThisFlipGlobal > fixation.tStartRefresh + 1.5-frameTolerance:
            # keep track of stop time/frame for later
            fixation.tStop = t  # not accounting for scr refresh
            fixation.frameNStop = frameN  # exact frame index
            win.timeOnFlip(fixation, 'tStopRefresh')  # time at next scr refresh
            fixation.setAutoDraw(False)
    
    # check for quit (typically the Esc key)
    if endExpNow or defaultKeyboard.getKeys(keyList=["escape"]):
        thisExp.saveAsWideText(filename+'.csv', delim=',')
        thisExp.saveAsPickle(filename)
        logging.flush()
        terminate_task()
        core.quit()

    # check if all components have finished
    if not continueRoutine:  # a component has requested a forced-end of Routine
        break
    continueRoutine = False  # will revert to True if at least one component still running
    for thisComponent in fixationComponents:
        if hasattr(thisComponent, "status") and thisComponent.status != FINISHED:
            continueRoutine = True
            break  # at least one component has not yet finished
    
    # refresh the screen
    if continueRoutine:  # don't flip if this routine is over or we'll get a blank screen
        win.flip()

# -------Ending Routine "fixation"-------
for thisComponent in fixationComponents:
    if hasattr(thisComponent, "setAutoDraw"):
        thisComponent.setAutoDraw(False)
EncodingTrials.addData('fixation.started', fixation.tStartRefresh)
EncodingTrials.addData('fixation.stopped', fixation.tStopRefresh)
el_tracker.sendMessage('fixationEnd %s' % fixationClock.getTime())`