.amz Files and NIH Compliance: What AnyMaze Users Need to Know

If your lab uses AnyMaze by Stoelting, your projects are almost certainly stored in a proprietary .amz file. That works fine inside AnyMaze, but it creates problems when you need to share results, archive experiments, or comply with the NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy. ConductVision .amz file NIH data conversion solves this challenge by transforming locked AnyMaze projects into open, NIH-compliant datasets that are shareable, reproducible, and repository-ready.

What’s an .amz File?

An .amz file is the proprietary project file format used by AnyMaze, a widely adopted behavioral tracking software developed by Stoelting. For researchers studying animal behavior, from open field tests to elevated plus mazes, AnyMaze is often the tool of choice, and the .amz file is where all their hard work lives.

But what exactly does that file contain?

The Anatomy of an .amz File

Think of the .amz file as the blueprint of your entire experiment, housing a wealth of information that includes:

• Experimental design
  Layouts of mazes, arenas, zones, and regions of interest (ROIs). This includes calibration settings for video scaling and tracking precision.
• Trial and group structure
  Definitions of subjects, treatment groups, trial schedules, and conditions for each phase of the experiment.
• Tracking & analysis parameters
  Event definitions (like zone entries, speed thresholds), selected metrics (e.g., path length, time in center), and filters for data cleanup.
• Media file references
  Links to external raw video files used in the trials, not the videos themselves, but their file paths.
• Internal processed results
  Cached results and charts that make data retrieval fast within AnyMaze, but are inaccessible to other programs.

This all works brilliantly inside AnyMaze. But the moment you want to open, share, or publish this data outside that environment, especially in formats acceptable to the NIH the limitations of .amz become clear.

Why ConductVision .amz File NIH Data Conversion Matters

The .amz format is designed for internal use in AnyMaze, but it isn’t portable, transparent, or FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Without conversion, your data risks becoming inaccessible to collaborators, reviewers, and repositories. ConductVision .amz file NIH data conversion ensures that your experimental setups, tracking data, and metadata are exported into open formats like CSV, JSON-LD, and MP4 — enriched with NIH Common Data Elements and ontology mappings. This means your datasets don’t just meet NIH requirements, they’re future-proof and reusable across platforms.

Why .amz Files Are Difficult to Share

If your data lives in .amz, you may run into major issues when trying to collaborate, publish, or archive:

• Locked format – Only AnyMaze can open .amz, and there’s no open spec.
• External video links – Your video files must be manually tracked down.
• Missing key metadata – Things like species, sex, age, equipment, or environmental conditions often don’t make it into exports.
• Manual conversion required – NIH needs CSV, JSON, and standardized metadata, which .amz doesn’t natively provide.

If your lab is NIH-funded, you’re responsible for fixing all of this, manually or otherwise.

How to Convert .amz Files (Manually)

Yes, you can do it yourself — here’s how:

1. Open .amz in AnyMaze
2. Export trial data to CSV or Excel (e.g. time in zones, path length)
3. Copy video files from their storage locations
4. Record parameters — zones, maze layout, calibration, etc.
5. Add metadata — species, strain, sex, equipment, environment
6. Format everything into NIH-compliant folder structure

It’s possible. But slow. And error-prone.

Enter ConductVision: Fast, Accurate .amz File Conversion

If you’ve ever tried converting an .amz file into something shareable, reviewable, or NIH-compliant, you know the struggle. That’s exactly why ConductVision was designed to take the friction, time, and uncertainty out of behavioral data conversion.

ConductVision doesn’t just read your AnyMaze exports, it understands them. From raw tracking data to trial settings, it intelligently reconstructs the full experimental context, then translates everything into standardized, open formats that are ready for repository deposition.

From Proprietary to Portable

When you import your .amz file into ConductVision, here’s what happens:

• Project Recreation
  Maze layouts, zone definitions, and calibration parameters are fully reconstituted. No need to manually re-map anything.
• Data Import & Enhancement
  Tracking metrics, event timestamps, and derived measures are imported from CSVs or directly integrated via our pipeline. ConductVision adds missing layers of context, like NIH-required metadata that AnyMaze doesn’t include by default.
• Media Conversion
  Linked videos are automatically located, linked, and (if needed) re-encoded into MP4 using H.264, the NIH-accepted standard.
• Metadata Population
  Every export comes packed with NIH Common Data Elements (CDEs): species, strain, sex, age, weight, environmental conditions, and more — all validated and structured correctly.
• Ontology Mapping
  Variables and behavioral events are mapped to identifiers in NCBI Taxonomy, NBO, OBI, and UMLS, ensuring your data is both human-readable and machine-interpretable.
• Provenance & Traceability
  Every export includes metadata on software version, AI model hash, analysis settings, and export timestamp that meets the NIH’s reproducibility requirements.
• Repository-Ready Package
  Your output isn’t just “converted”, it’s organized and pre-packaged to fit into NIH-recognized repositories like OpenNeuro, OSF, or SPARC. Folder structures, readme files, licensing text, and manifest files are included by default.

Why ConductVision is a Game Changer

Instead of spending hours manually exporting, renaming, formatting, and validating your .amz data, ConductVision automates it all with precision and transparency.

You get:

• NIH-compliant datasets with zero rework
• Rich metadata and ontology mapping included
• Consistent formatting across labs and experiments
• Confidence that your data is shareable, searchable, and repository-ready

Whether you’re running a single study or managing a multi-site behavioral research program, ConductVision transforms how you handle AnyMaze data,  from locked-in to fully liberated.

Example Output from ConductVision

Here’s what your converted .amz project looks like after export:

All files are:

• Open formats (CSV, JSON-LD, MP4, PNG, SVG)
• Metadata-rich and ontology mapped
• Repository-ready for platforms like OSF, OpenNeuro, or SPARC
  

Why This Matters

If your lab uses AnyMaze and you’re funded by the NIH, or plan to publish or share your data in open-access repositories, then simply saving your experiment as an .amz file is no longer enough. The NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy mandates that behavioral datasets must be FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Proprietary formats like .amz are none of those things.

The Risks of Inaction

Sticking with proprietary files and manually patching together exports puts your research at risk. You may face:

• Grant rejections or delays due to non-compliant data management plans
• Publication barriers when journals require open formats or rich metadata
• Limited collaboration if your collaborators can’t open or verify your project files
• Reproducibility concerns due to missing metadata or undocumented processing steps
• Inaccessible archives if AnyMaze is discontinued or your lab loses access to licenses

The longer you wait to convert your .amz files, the harder it becomes to revisit or reuse that data. And in a research world increasingly built on open science and reproducibility, falling behind isn’t an option.

ConductVision Solves the Problem

ConductVision doesn’t just make your data NIH-compliant, it makes it future-proof. By converting .amz files into fully documented, interoperable, and searchable datasets, your work becomes:

• Shareable across labs, reviewers, and platforms
• Structured for repository upload with zero rework
• Traceable with full provenance, versioning, and ontology mapping
• Reusable by future you, your collaborators, and the broader scientific community

Whether you’re preparing for a data sharing deadline, looking to archive older projects, or building reproducible workflows for the long term, ConductVision gives you peace of mind and saves hours of manual labor.

Next Steps

Have .amz files to convert? Want to future-proof your research?

Book a Free NIH Data Compliance Consultation
We’ll help you migrate, structure, and share your datasets — with zero stress.