Creating consistent and clear molecular illustrations can quickly become tedious when you have to manually adjust representations, colors, and rendering options every time. Whether you’re preparing multiple images for a publication, setting up visuals for a presentation, or just trying to explore a complex molecular system efficiently, the process can feel repetitive and error-prone.
This is where Visual Presets in SAMSON can save you time and help maintain visual consistency across your work. A visual preset in SAMSON is a bundle that automatically applies specific visual models (like ribbons or surfaces), color schemes, and display settings to molecules—all with just a few clicks.
Why Visual Presets Matter
Applying visual styles consistently is essential for comparative molecular studies, teaching materials, and communicating research findings. Using SAMSON’s Visual Presets, you can:
- Apply multiple visual models simultaneously (e.g., ribbon & licorice)
- Colorize molecules based on chain, residue, or other properties
- Quickly switch between representation styles for better insight
- Create your own presets for recurring visual needs
Applying a Visual Preset Step-by-Step
To apply a visual preset to a molecular system:
- Go to Visualization > Visual preset
- Select a preset such as Protein-ligand or Illustrate…
For example, here is how the “Protein-ligand” preset looks when applied to the PDB structure 1AA1:
This preset automatically highlights the protein and ligand using distinct representations and coloring styles.
Create Your Own Presets
If you often modify a default preset to match your style or emphasis, you can save your custom configuration as a new visual preset. This is particularly useful for research groups who want to maintain the same visual standard across figures and presentations.
You can learn how to create your own presets in the Visual Presets section of the documentation.
Showcase of Preset Styles
Some presets are designed to replicate popular molecular art styles. For instance, the Illustrate… preset mimics the visual style of the RCSB PDB’s Molecule of the Month series by David S. Goodsell. It combines van der Waals representations and chain-based color schemes to create pastel, illustrative renderings.
Switching and Resetting Rendering Presets
If you need to quickly switch between visual environments, you can toggle rendering presets under Visualization > Presets. For example, switching from Illustrative to High quality modifies shadows, fog, and ambient occlusion to enhance realism. All rendering parameters can also be customized to suit your preferences.
A Consistent Visual Workflow
Using visual presets allows you to focus more on molecular insights and less on tweaking styles. If you’re collaborating in a team or preparing educational content, consistent modeling visuals improve clarity and save time.
To learn more about visual presets and how they fit into SAMSON’s visualization workflow, visit the Visualizing section of the SAMSON documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.