When working on molecular design projects, especially when collaborating with large teams or managing complex systems, molecular modelers often deal with a variety of views and camera nodes. Navigating through dozens or even hundreds of them just to focus on a specific view can be difficult and time-consuming.
The Node Specification Language (NSL) in SAMSON offers a powerful and concise way to query and filter nodes — including camera nodes — by specific attributes. In this post, we’ll explore the camera attribute space (short name: ca) and show you how to streamline your workflow by filtering for specific cameras using just a few keystrokes.
An intelligent way to target camera nodes
The camera attribute space is designed to match only camera nodes. This means you can isolate views in your molecular scene when running queries, without having to sift through unrelated objects such as molecules, surfaces, or annotations.
Here’s an overview of useful attributes available in the camera attribute space:
| Attribute | Short Name | Example Use |
|---|---|---|
name |
n |
ca.n "Top View" — Finds a camera named “Top View” |
selected |
(none) | ca.selected — Finds selected cameras |
selectionFlag |
sf |
ca.sf false — Finds unflagged cameras |
Practical examples to clean up clutter
If you’ve ever opened a file or received a shared document filled with multiple preset views it can be overwhelming. Here are a few simple examples you can use in SAMSON’s search bar to filter camera nodes quickly and focus only on what you need:
ca.n "Analysis*"— filters to camera nodes whose name starts with “Analysis”ca.selected— finds only the views currently selectednot ca.sf— reveals hidden or unflagged cameras, which may contain useful but overlooked visualizations
These filters are particularly helpful when preparing visualizations for teams or presentations. You can review all camera views at once, refine which ones to keep, delete, or rename using simple filters instead of checking each manually.
Fast onboarding for collaborators
If you’re collaborating with other modelers or researchers, a well-structured set of cameras can make the difference between confusion and clarity. Using NSL camera filters, you can quickly audit what cameras exist in a scene, find inconsistencies in naming, and ensure only the right views are shared.
Remember, all these filters rely on the camera attribute space, so prefix with ca. to ensure you’re specifically querying camera nodes.
To learn more about the camera attribute space and its available properties, visit the official documentation page: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/nsl/camera/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.