A file that will not load can interrupt a molecular modeling session at exactly the wrong moment. Before assuming the structure is damaged—or searching for a conversion tool—it helps to answer a simpler question: does SAMSON have an importer for this file format?
In SAMSON, an importer is an extension that parses a file and loads its contents into a document. Importers can handle structures, maps, meshes, and other objects. PDB and electron-density files are examples of formats an importer may read, but the supported formats depend on the importers available in your SAMSON installation.
A quick way to orient yourself
When a file is not opening as expected, use these questions to identify the right next step:
- What are you trying to load? Is it a molecular structure, an electron-density map, a mesh, or another kind of object? Importers are not limited to molecular structure files.
- Do you know the file format? Check the list of formats supported by SAMSON to see whether the format is covered.
- Is there a workflow question as well as a format question? If you want guidance on opening local files or fetching structures, go to Loading molecules. The supported-formats reference is the better destination when you only need to check format availability.
- Is the format missing? SAMSON includes default importers, and additional importers can be added from SAMSON Connect. If you still cannot find an importer for the format you need, the documentation invites users to contact the SAMSON team.
Format support and file-opening workflow are different questions
It is easy to treat “How do I open this?” and “Can SAMSON read this format?” as the same problem. They are related, but they lead to different references. Loading molecules covers the user task of opening files and understanding documents. Supported formats is the lookup page for import and export formats. Keeping that distinction in mind can save time: first establish whether the format is supported, then consult the workflow guide for the task itself.
Importing is only one side of file exchange
Importers bring data into SAMSON; exporters are the matching extension family for writing files out. If your goal is to save or share a document in a particular format, consult the Exporters reference rather than looking for an importer. The Extending SAMSON page provides more context on extension-based capabilities.
For developers: build only when you need to
If you are trying to support a format that is not available, you may be considering writing an importer. The documentation points developers to the guide for generating SAMSON Extensions and to the Documentation center. For ordinary file-opening questions, however, start with the supported-format list and the existing importer extensions; development is a separate path.
The practical takeaway is to identify the file’s format and the kind of object it contains before troubleshooting further. Then check format support, consult the workflow guide if needed, and look for an additional importer through SAMSON Connect if the format is not covered by the defaults.
For the importer reference and its related resources, learn more in the SAMSON documentation.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.