One common frustration for molecular modelers when using complex design platforms is tool overload: too many features enabled at once, leading to cluttered interfaces and unpredictable behavior. In SAMSON, this problem is addressed in a simple but effective way: at any given moment, only one editor is active.
But what does that mean in practice—and why does it matter to your molecular modeling workflow?
What is an Editor in SAMSON?
Editors in SAMSON are interactive tools that respond to user input—such as mouse clicks and keyboard presses—to perform specific tasks. These can range from generating nanotubes, deforming molecular structures with local rigidity constraints, to selecting sets of atoms using a rectangle tool, or performing rigid-body transformations on entire molecules.
Each editor carries a specialized function, akin to how Photoshop or CAD software separates tools for drawing, cropping, or measuring. However, unlike many older desktop tools where multiple functions can be active or overlapping, SAMSON makes a conscious choice that only one of these high-level editors can be active at once.
Why Only One Active Editor?
This design decision isn’t arbitrary. By ensuring that only one editor is active, SAMSON facilitates clearer interactions and minimizes unintended behavior. If you’re using a deform tool on a large biomolecule, you wouldn’t want that action to interfere with a simultaneous selection tool, or a transformation editor applying a movement at the same time.
The editor menu allows you to easily switch between editors, but only one is active at a time.
How to Switch Editors
You can switch between editors quickly in several ways:
- Use the editor menu on the left side of the viewport.
- Access quick commands for the active editor in the top-left corner of the viewport.
- Use the Find Everything box at the top of SAMSON to locate and activate editors.
Switching is immediate and doesn’t require restarting or resetting the workspace. This flexibility means you maintain flow while moving between tasks—selecting, transforming, generating—each with tools perfectly adapted to the task at hand.
An example of an editor in action: a nanotube generator building carbon nanotubes interactively.
Where to Get More Editors
SAMSON comes with a default set of editors, but you can expand your toolbox by adding more from the SAMSON Connect store. There are editors for specialized tasks like coarse-graining, interactive energy minimization, or docking preparation, designed by both the SAMSON team and third-party developers.
Developing Your Own
If you need even more customization, SAMSON allows users to develop their own extensions and editors. You can refer to the Extension Generator documentation and the general Documentation Center to get started building your own editors.
So, next time you wonder why you can’t click or select while using another tool, remember: it’s by design, to keep your modeling workflow clean, predictable, and focused.
To learn more, visit the official documentation page on Editors in SAMSON.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON at www.samson-connect.net.