When you’re creating molecular animations, clarity matters. Whether you’re preparing a molecular movie for a publication, a presentation, or a classroom, controlling exactly when elements appear or disappear can make the difference between an obscure or a crystal-clear explanation.
Enter the Show animation in SAMSON: a simple yet effective tool that gives users precise control over when specific atoms, molecules, or any molecular nodes become visible in an animation timeline. This avoids the need to manually blend hide and show sequences together. Instead, Show does it all in one coherent, clean step.
Why Visibility Control Matters
Let’s say you’re spotlighting a ligand as it docks into a protein pocket. You want this visual to be as clear as possible for your audience. Using transparency animations might make the ligand visible too early or too late, or even dilute the visual priority you want to assign to it.
Instead, the Show animation makes selected nodes fully appear at a specific point in the animation and remain visible until the end — no fade-ins, no partial disarrays. This preserves scientific clarity and enhances visual focus.
How It Works
Here’s how to set it up in SAMSON:
- First, select the nodes (atoms, residues, chains, objects) that you want to appear in your animation.
- Open the Animator, and find the Show animation in the Animation panel.
- Double-click to add it to your timeline.
The Show animation uses three keyframes. Here’s what each one does:
- Between keyframes 1 and 2: nodes remain hidden.
- At keyframe 2: nodes instantly appear and remain visible from keyframe 2 through 3.
You can move the keyframes freely to synchronize the animation with events in your molecular movie. This gives you complete control over timing with minimal clicks.
Customizing Transitions
If you’re looking for more flexibility, the Easing curve settings can influence how other animation parameters transition between frames. While the Show animation itself creates an instant visibility switch, the easing curve is useful when you’re combining it with movement, rotation, or scale animations.
One Less Pain in the Workflow
Before the Show animation existed, users would have to combine a Hidden animation followed by a Shown animation manually — adding more keyframes, more tests, and more room for synchronization errors, especially in complex assemblies or large systems. Now, it’s just one animation item, one action, and a smoother workflow.
Caveats and Notes
Older tutorials or videos might mention the Animation menu. Be aware that this menu isn’t part of the latest SAMSON interface. All animation functionalities have now been integrated into the Animation panel inside the Animator, for a cleaner and more unified user experience.
If you’re building molecular animations and want to simplify control over when specific parts are revealed, the Show animation is a tool you’ll likely use again and again.
To learn more and explore further features, you can visit the original documentation page here.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use.
Download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.