A molecular model can be ready to review long before the rest of a collaboration is ready. A colleague needs the document, a group needs the right access, or a cloud job needs its visibility managed—and suddenly the scientific work is only one part of the task. Unclear sharing steps can waste time and make it harder for collaborators to find the right resource.
A useful way to avoid that friction is to treat collaboration as a sequence: get oriented on SAMSON Connect, decide what you need to share, then manage the people and access involved. The sequence matters because account and site workflows, shared documents, and collaboration settings are related but distinct parts of the process.
Start with the site and account context
If you are new to the workflow, begin with SAMSON Connect. This is the starting point for understanding the website sections and account context, including downloads, extensions, and shared resources. Taking a moment to establish where the relevant resources live can prevent a common team problem: looking for collaboration controls in the wrong place.
Choose the path based on what you need to share
Before sending a link or inviting someone, identify the resource and the task:
- Sharing or downloading a document: read Share documents. This is the focused guide for sharing documents on SAMSON Connect or downloading documents that have been shared.
- Organizing people or managing access: read Collaboration. It covers profiles, groups, permissions, shared documents, and shared jobs.
- Working with a cloud job: use the collaboration guidance when you need to manage job visibility or permissions. A job and the document used to prepare or inspect it are different resources, so be clear about which one your collaborators need.
This distinction is useful when a team says, “Can you share the model?” That request might mean access to a document, access through a group, or visibility of a job. Clarifying the resource first helps you follow the appropriate workflow rather than assuming one sharing action covers everything.
A practical handoff checklist
For a smoother handoff, answer a few questions before sharing:
- What should the other person access? Identify whether it is a document, a job, or both.
- Who needs access? Decide whether you are coordinating with individuals or organizing collaborators through a group.
- What access needs managing? Use the collaboration guidance to review the relevant permissions and visibility rather than assuming that sharing a document also settles job access.
- What should happen next? If someone will inspect or edit the shared structure, point them to Work with structures. For cloud-job workflows and analysis, the next guide is Simulate and analyze.
This checklist is not a substitute for the platform’s instructions; it is a way to make the collaboration request precise. It can also help a team agree on a repeatable handoff: identify the resource, follow the matching guide, and tell collaborators what they should do with it.
When you only need an account task
Not every SAMSON Connect visit needs a collaboration setup. If you only need downloads, Marketplace access, or account settings and are not sharing work, you can focus on the SAMSON Connect guide for now. When collaboration becomes necessary, continue with document sharing and then the collaboration guidance as appropriate.
The full Share and collaborate guide brings these paths together, with suggested reading order for account workflows, documents, groups, permissions, and jobs.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.