One of the most common frustrations scientists face when working with molecular modeling software is file compatibility. You find the perfect dataset online, but when you try to load it into your molecular modeling environment, you’re met with cryptic error messages, unsupported format notifications, or just silence. If you’ve ever had a PDB, CIF, MOL2, or electron density file that your software just didn’t want to open, you’re not alone.
That’s why SAMSON supports a flexible system of Importers. An importer in SAMSON is a module that knows how to read a particular file format, like a PDB structure or a volumetric electron density map. It’s a way of telling SAMSON: “Here’s how to make sense of this.”
Out of the box, SAMSON comes equipped with a set of importers that supports many standard file types used in structural biology, molecular chemistry, and materials science. But the architecture is also designed to grow with your needs. You can add more importers directly from SAMSON Connect. Just search for importers in the Extension Store, and install what you need—no coding required.
Common Use Cases Where Importers Save the Day
- Parsing PDB files: Easily load protein structures from the Protein Data Bank without post-processing.
- Working with volumetric data: Importers can read electron density maps or voxel data seamlessly.
- Materials modeling: File types unique to this area can often be added using extensions from the community.
If you’ve encountered a file that SAMSON can’t import, don’t worry. The team encourages you to let them know. Chances are someone else needs it too, and it might lead to a new importer becoming available for the community.
If You’re a Developer
You might want to write your own importer to handle a custom format used in your lab. This is fully supported through the SAMSON Extension development tools. The Extension Generator makes it easier to generate boilerplate code for your own importer. Clear documentation is available to help you write and integrate your custom importer into your SAMSON instance or even share it on SAMSON Connect.
Next Steps
If you often deal with unusual file formats that most tools don’t support out of the box, consider checking what SAMSON already provides. You might be surprised at how many formats are natively supported or simple to add via the Extension Store. For the full list of supported formats, visit the Supported Formats page.
To learn more about importing files and developing your own importers, visit the full documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/importers/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at www.samson-connect.net.