Make Your Molecular Measurements More Informative with Labels in SAMSON

For molecular modelers, measuring distances, angles, and torsions is a critical part of understanding molecular structures. But what happens when you need to save measurements for later use or share them with colleagues? This is where the ability to save measurements as labels in SAMSON becomes a game-changer. Let’s explore how SAMSON makes it easier than ever to manage and customize measurement labels.

Why Save Measurements as Labels?

In molecular modeling, it’s common to carry out multiple measurements and visualize them. However, unless these measurements are saved, they remain temporary and disappear once new ones are added. Saving measurements as labels ensures that they are readily accessible in the project document and persist for future references or analyses.

How to Save Measurements

Using the Measure editor in SAMSON allows you to measure distances, bond lengths, angles, and torsions. Here’s how you can save them as labels:

  • After making a measurement, press the Enter key to save it as a label in your document.

This ensures that the measurement becomes a permanent part of your project file. Saved labels are also preserved when you save your document in SAMSON file formats like .sam or .samx.

Measuring example

Accessing and Customizing Labels

One of the benefits of saving measurements as labels is the ability to customize them. To access a label’s properties, select the label and open the Inspector. For example:

  • Atom-atom distance measurements saved as labels also display additional projection data in the Inspector.
  • Modify the font, color, and offset of the label text.
  • Change line and plane colors for measurements like distances and angles.

For example, you can colorize distance lines or torsion planes using options in the Inspector interface. Below are some illustrations:

Colorization of an atom-atom distance line and text

Colorization of a torsion angle

Resetting Label Properties

Need to reset label settings to their defaults? You can double-click the text or click on the X (clear) button next to the Text color option in the Inspector.

Reset text color

Why It Matters for Molecular Modelers

Saving your measurements as labels is not just about convenience. It’s about enhancing the clarity and collaborative potential of your projects. By leveraging SAMSON’s label functionality, you ensure measurements are preserved, customizable, and easily accessible, making your molecular modeling workflows smoother and more informative.

Learn more about measurement labels and customization capabilities from the official documentation page.

SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at www.samson-connect.net.

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