Molecular modeling often involves intricate edits, and making mistakes along the way is inevitable. Fortunately, SAMSON provides a powerful History feature that allows you to manage undoable operations efficiently, saving both time and effort during your design workflows.
What is the History View?
The History view in SAMSON displays a chronological list of undoable operations performed during your session. This allows you to navigate to a prior state of your project with just a click. Designed to simplify complex workflows, this tool ensures that experimental or accidental changes can be reversed quickly, letting you focus on testing new ideas without fear of losing progress.
To access the History feature, follow these simple steps:
- Click on Interface > History in the menu bar.
- Alternatively, use the shortcut:
- On Windows/Linux: Ctrl + 3
- On Mac: Cmd + 3
How Does It Work?
The History view provides a visual representation of your previous actions within SAMSON. Each entry corresponds to a specific operation you’ve completed. Whether you’ve added hydrogens to a molecule, aligned structures, or performed a simulation, every undoable modification is logged here.
Clicking on any entry in the History immediately reverts SAMSON to the state associated with that point in time. This is a fantastic way to iteratively explore modeling options or quickly backtrack after an undesired change.
As seen in the image above, each action in the list is neatly organized for clarity. If you’re unsure about the results of a previous operation, the History view provides a valuable safety net to restore any preferred state.
Notes on Limitations
While the History feature is incredibly practical, it comes with a few limitations worth noting:
- Not all operations are undoable. For instance, certain structural changes or external computations may not be reversible.
- Performing non-undoable actions between undoable ones may disrupt the ability to return to earlier states. This can result in the loss of specific undo functionality beyond that point.
It’s a good practice to save your project regularly to mitigate the effects of limitations. Delete and reperform certain operations only when necessary, to ensure the History log remains functional for crucial tasks.
Why Use the History Feature?
The History view is more than just a convenience. For molecular modelers, it provides:
- Confidence: Test different configurations without fear of losing your original setup.
- Efficiency: Quickly undo errors or trial changes without manually retracing every step.
- Clarity: Track the progress of your project step-by-step.
Learn More
If you’d like to explore SAMSON’s History feature further, check out the official documentation at https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/interface/.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.