A molecular animation can show atoms moving, but a visual presentation alone may not give you a reusable path to inspect or play back later. The practical challenge is capturing the positions produced by one or more animations—and knowing whether the capture is complete. In SAMSON, the Record path animation records atom trajectories as a path during a presentation.
Put recording in the right place
First, add Record path from the Animation panel in the Animator. Double-click the effect to add it at the current frame, then move its keyframe if needed. The keyframe can be repositioned later, so you can adjust the timeline without having to treat its initial placement as permanent.
The most important setup detail is the order of animations. The Animator executes animations from top to bottom. Place Record path after the animations whose movements you want to capture. For example, if your presentation uses an animation that changes atomic positions, recording should come after that animation in the Animator’s order. Otherwise, the recorder may not capture the result you intended.
Use the track as a recording check
The track’s colors provide a useful status check while you work. A green segment means positions have been recorded at that part of the timeline. A red segment means positions have not yet been recorded or have become invalid. This makes the track more than a timeline marker: it can help you spot gaps before you try to create the path.
To fill the intended recording range, play the presentation and check that the relevant portion of the Record path track becomes green. If a segment remains red, treat it as a signal to investigate rather than assuming the path is complete. The documentation specifies that the presentation must be played and the animation must be fully green before creating the corresponding Path node.
Keep recording on only when you need it
Recording can be enabled or disabled from the animation’s Inspector, or by right-clicking the animation in the Animator and changing Enable recording. When recording is disabled, the animation controllers are darkened. This option can be useful when you are still editing a presentation and do not need to record every time, or when the path is complete and you do not expect to change it. If you later change the animation or want to capture updated positions, check the recording state and the track before exporting.
Create the Path node
Once the presentation has been played and the Record path track is fully green, create the path in the document. You can click Create path in the animation’s Inspector, or right-click Record path in the Animator and choose Create path. The result is a Path node corresponding to the recorded trajectories.
A simple pre-export check helps avoid common workflow surprises: confirm the recorder comes after the motion-producing animations, review the track for red segments, and make sure recording is enabled when you play the presentation to capture positions. These checks connect the timeline setup to the path you ultimately create.
For the complete instructions, see the Record path documentation.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.