Using Property Model Attributes in SAMSON’s NSL

When working on molecular models, fine-tuning and efficiently accessing property data is often crucial. For SAMSON users, the Node Specification Language (NSL) provides a way to define and manipulate attributes associated with nodes, and today, we’ll take a closer look at the property model attribute space. If you’ve ever wondered how to control visibility, selection, and naming of your property model nodes effectively, this post is for you!

The Property Model Attribute Space

NSL’s propertyModel attribute space (abbreviated as pm) enables molecular modelers to work specifically with property model nodes. This attribute space includes numerous attributes like visibility, selection flags, and materials that help you manage your models.

Below, we’ll break down some commonly used attributes and how you can leverage them to optimize your workflow. The table below summarizes key attributes:

Attribute name	Short name	Possible values	Examples
hasMaterial	`hm`	`true`, `false`	`pm.hm`, `not pm.hm`
hidden	`h`	`true`, `false`	`pm.h`, `not pm.h`
name	`n`	strings in quotes	`pm.n "A"`, `pm.n "L*"`
selected	—	`true`, `false`	`pm.selected`, `not pm.selected`
visibilityFlag	`vf`	`true`, `false`	`pm.vf`, `pm.vf false`
ownsMaterial	`om`	`true`, `false`	`pm.om`

Practical Examples

The propertyModel attribute space enables intuitive ways to search and modify your molecular models based on properties.

Material presence: If you want to check whether property model nodes own material, use pm.om, or to find nodes without material, use not pm.om.
Visibility: Use pm.h to filter nodes that are hidden or not pm.h for visible ones. Additionally, leverage pm.vf for visibility flags.
Naming: To search for nodes with a specific name, use pm.n "Name", or for patterns, use wildcards like pm.n "A*".

These attributes allow for a highly targeted approach to managing and interacting with your molecular models. By combining them, you can create robust expressions tailored to your needs.

Summary

The propertyModel attribute space in SAMSON is a powerful tool for molecular modelers, enabling precise data handling and search functionality within molecular systems. Attributes such as visibility, material ownership, and naming support diverse operations, improving workflow efficiency and model clarity.

To dive deeper into the full documentation on the property model attributes, visit the official page here.

SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON here.