Whether you’re visualizing a protein-ligand complex or analyzing cryo-EM data, loading external molecular data is often the very first—and sometimes frustrating—step of your workflow. Inconsistent file formats, unsupported extensions, or partial loading of structures can make this simple task surprisingly complicated.
This is where SAMSON offers a practical approach with something called Importers. In short, Importers are dedicated tools inside SAMSON specifically designed for parsing various types of molecular and structural data files.
What are Importers?
Importers in SAMSON are essentially plug-ins that understand and process specific file formats. Whether you need to load PDB files, electron density maps, or even spline-based models, SAMSON likely already has an Importer that can handle it.
Some Importers come built-in by default when you install SAMSON, which makes it easy to open common file types right out of the box. For example, standard structural formats like .pdb, .mol2, and .cif are supported immediately. You can view the full list of supported file formats here.
When Default Importers Are Not Enough
Sometimes you may encounter a specialized file format that isn’t supported by default. Instead of changing your workflow or converting data manually, you can search for additional Importers on SAMSON Connect. These are community-developed or team-developed plug-ins that can be easily added to your installation.
If the Importer you need still doesn’t exist, the SAMSON platform is extensible—you can create your own. This is especially useful for academic labs or niche projects using custom data structures. The developer GitBook documentation includes guidance on using the SAMSON Extension Generator to get started.
What Makes This Approach Useful?
- Modularity: Allows you to use only the Importers you need, minimizing software bloat.
- Extensibility: For advanced users and developers, building a custom Importer ensures compatibility with proprietary formats.
- Community Support: Through SAMSON Connect, you benefit from solutions created by other users in the field.
Having Trouble?
If you’re missing an Importer you expected SAMSON to support, you can contact the team directly at contact@samson-connect.net. Collaborations and feature suggestions are always welcome.
Whether you’re a computational biologist working with cryo-EM datasets or a chemist analyzing ligand binding, Importers make data loading less painful and more efficient. And in scientific research, that’s already a big win.
Learn more on the official documentation page.
Please note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON here.