When designing complex molecular systems, getting the right perspective can significantly enhance both understanding and productivity. One common source of friction in many workflows is the constant need to rotate, zoom, and reposition your view as you analyze or present different aspects of a molecular model. If you’ve ever found yourself repeatedly adjusting your viewpoint to revisit specific areas, you’re not alone.
The good news is that SAMSON, the integrative platform for molecular design, offers a very practical solution: multiple cameras within a single molecular document. Using multiple cameras saves time and preserves context, providing ready-made viewpoints you can switch between instantly.
What is a camera in SAMSON?
In SAMSON, a camera represents a 3D view of the document. It is saved along with the document itself, and every document includes at least one camera by default. You can think of each camera as a virtual camera looking into your molecular world: you control where it’s placed and how it sees the data.
Why use multiple cameras?
Having more than one camera allows you to create and save different views of your document — for example:
- A close-up view of a binding site
- A top-down view showing global structure
- An orthographic projection for crystalline systems
- A snapshot of a specific interaction, like hydrogen bonding
Instead of manually repositioning the camera every time you need a different view, you can switch between saved cameras instantly.
Adding and Managing Cameras
To add a new camera, navigate to Visualization > Camera or use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + C (Cmd + Shift + C on macOS). The new camera will appear in your Document View with a default position.
To switch between cameras, simply double-click on the desired camera in the Document View, or right-click it and choose Set as active camera. This makes your workflow more fluid as you rapidly toggle between key views during research sessions or presentations.
Additional Camera Features
Right-clicking on a camera also presents several useful options:
- Center the camera on the selection or the entire document
- Enable inertia to give camera movement a smoother, more dynamic feel
- Switch to orthographic projection, which can be useful when examining symmetric systems like crystals
- Move the camera or review its properties in the Inspector, including zoom, position, and projection type
Through the Inspector panel, you can access and edit all attributes of the camera. Selecting a camera and opening the Inspector allows you to view or fine-tune properties like position, projection type, and whether inertia is enabled.
Better Presentations, Smoother Analysis
Whether you’re showcasing a molecular simulation to collaborators or focusing on different views as you refine a drug design, having multiple perspective presets allows you to stay focused and be more efficient. It also helps when you return to a project after a break — each camera acts like a visual bookmark inside your model.
To learn more about working with cameras in SAMSON, visit the original documentation here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/camera/.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.