Starting a molecular modeling session can involve more than opening a structure. You may need to check whether your machine is ready, find your way around an unfamiliar interface, learn how to navigate the view, and decide which help resource to use. Trying to tackle all of that at once can make a first session feel harder than it needs to be.
A simpler approach is to treat onboarding as a short sequence of decisions: Is SAMSON installed? Can I find the main interface areas? Can I load a structure? What do I want to do next? You do not need to learn every feature before getting to useful work.
First, choose the path that fits your situation
If you are setting up a new workstation, start by checking Requirements and Platforms, then follow Install SAMSON. Checking requirements before installation gives you a clear first step, especially if you need to confirm operating-system support, graphics requirements, or Linux dependencies.
If SAMSON is already installed, you can skip those setup pages and go straight to the Quick Start Guide. It connects the essentials—interface, navigation, selection, documents, simulations, apps, and help—without requiring you to treat every topic as a separate project.
Orient yourself before learning commands
Once SAMSON is open, take a little time with First look: the interface. Knowing the main parts of the interface makes later instructions easier to follow. Then visit Moving around to learn viewport controls and the default editors used for navigation and selection.
This order is useful because it separates two common beginner questions: Where am I in the application? and How do I move around or select things? Getting those bearings first can make the next step—opening a structure—feel much more straightforward.
Make the first structure your practical checkpoint
Continue to Loading molecules to open or fetch a first structure. This is a good point to pause and check that the basic workflow makes sense: you can bring a structure into SAMSON and understand where documents, files, and shared data appear.
Think of this as a checkpoint, not a test. The goal is not to master every tool before proceeding. It is to have one structure loaded and a basic understanding of how your work is organized. From there, choose your next step based on the task in front of you. For selection, inspection, or measurement, continue to Work with structures. If you want to modify or construct systems, use Build and edit. For visualization, labeling, rendering, or presentation, go to Visualize and present.
Use help when it matches the way you learn
If you prefer learning by following a walkthrough, try Interactive tutorials after you know where the main interface areas are. If you would rather ask questions or explore assistant-led workflows, see SAMSON AI. These are optional routes, not prerequisites for loading a structure.
SAMSON Connect is more relevant when you need downloads, extensions, account settings, or shared documents. You can leave it for later if your immediate goal is simply to get oriented and start working locally.
A quick first-session plan
- For a new machine, check requirements and install SAMSON.
- Read the Quick Start Guide, or use it as a refresher if you have already installed SAMSON.
- Review the interface, then learn the basic navigation and selection controls.
- Load or fetch a first structure and notice how documents and files are organized.
- Choose the next guide according to your goal, rather than trying to read everything at once.
This sequence turns a broad onboarding task into a handful of manageable steps. To see the complete suggested paths and decide where to go next, learn more in the SAMSON Start here guide.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.