When preparing molecular presentations, many researchers face the challenge of pacing. Unlike classic presentation software, molecular animations often run linearly, leaving little space for pausing, discussing, or revisiting key moments on the fly. If you’ve ever tried explaining a complex conformational change only to have the animation glide past crucial frames, you’re not alone.
Fortunately, SAMSON offers an understated but helpful feature: the Stop animation. Used correctly, this can mimic a ‘slide’ break—making your molecular presentation feel more like a series of controlled, interactive snapshots than a continuous movie.
What is the Stop Animation?
The Stop animation halts the presentation at a specific keyframe and waits for user input to continue (such as hitting the Space key or pressing the Play button in the Animator controls). This gives presenters the flexibility to:
- Pause and elaborate on molecular events
- Take questions before continuing
- Emphasize a transition point
- Transform long animations into manageable sections
How to Add a Stop Effect
To insert a Stop in your animation timeline, simply:
- Open the Animation panel within the Animator interface.
- Double-click on the Stop effect. A keyframe will automatically be placed at the current frame in the animation timeline.
- Drag the keyframe to another frame if needed. You can always reposition it later.
Once the animation reaches this frame during playback, it will halt until resumed manually. This gives presenters breathing room when explaining sensitive molecular dynamics or highlighting structural changes.
Practical Uses in Molecular Modeling
Let’s say you’re illustrating how a ligand binds to a receptor. You might want to:
- Stop the animation right before binding to discuss the active site
- Resume to show the interaction
- Stop again to explore binding-induced conformational changes
This level of control allows for more interactive sessions, both in research discussions and educational settings. It essentially turns your molecular animation into an engaging story with clearly defined chapters.
What if You Want More Flexibility?
The Stop animation is different from the Pause animation: the Pause simply delays the animation by a fixed amount of time, while the Stop gives complete control to the viewer. For in-person presentations or lessons, the Stop is often a better choice for engagement.
Reminder
Note
You can always move the keyframes of the animation.
Even if you’re new to SAMSON’s presentation tools, adding Stops is straightforward and can significantly improve how your molecular animations are received by audiences. Try building your next presentation with a few well-placed Stops—you might be surprised by how much smoother and interactive the experience becomes.
To dive deeper into Stop animations in SAMSON, visit the official documentation page.
**SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use**. You can get SAMSON here.