When working on molecular systems, it's common to need to inspect or adjust properties of atoms, residues, or other entities—often not just one by one, but in groups. Whether you’re refining a simulation input, validating a structure, or preparing a visualization, working efficiently at scale can save time and reduce errors.
This brings us to the Inspector in SAMSON, which is a versatile panel designed to display and edit the properties (or attributes) of selected nodes, from single atoms to entire residues or beyond.
What Makes the Inspector Useful?
At a glance, the Inspector tells you the state and properties of selected elements in your molecular model. Its most powerful feature is that when multiple objects of the same type are selected (e.g. several atoms), editing one attribute (such as the position) will apply the change to all of them—provided the attribute is modifiable.
This is especially helpful when making collective changes, like repositioning a segment of your model or resetting properties to their defaults to troubleshoot a simulation inconsistency.
Modifying Attributes: What You Can and Can’t Change
The Inspector classifies attributes according to node types (Atom, Bond, Residue, etc.) and their internal groupings. Clicking on an atom shows its attributes, such as element type, symbol, mass, or position. However, not all are editable. For example, while you can’t manually edit the atomic weight (since it depends on the element), you can change the element type—and the rest will update accordingly.
A handy feature: to return an attribute to its default value, hover over its description. If the label changes its UI appearance (as a cursor change), double-clicking resets the attribute.
Batch Editing in Practice
Let’s say you’ve selected multiple atoms and want to move them collectively. Through the Inspector, adjusting a coordinate (e.g., z-position) changes it for all selected atoms. But there’s a key modifier: the Relative option.
– If Relative is toggled on, atoms are moved while preserving their relative positions.
– If it’s toggled off, each atom’s attribute is set to the same value, which can collapse your structure if misused.
This behavior is particularly valuable when you want to carefully reposition groups without manual re-alignment. And if you make a mistake? Don’t worry: SAMSON has a history mechanism that lets you undo changes.
Quick Filtering: Save Time Finding the Right Property
When working with complex nodes, attributes can be numerous. Use the built-in filter at the top of the Inspector to quickly find what you’re looking for. Typing, for example, position narrows the visible properties to only those relevant. This is a small but effective way to reduce visual overload and focus on high-priority attributes.
When to Use the Inspector for Efficient Molecular Modeling
The Inspector becomes particularly useful in workflows such as:
- Checking properties of atoms before exporting for simulations
- Batch-updating positions during model setup
- Troubleshooting structure definitions by examining live parameter values
- Resetting edited attributes to default values
While powerful, it’s also important to remember how context matters: the Inspector shows the values from the last selected object if many are chosen. Edits, however, apply to all selected entities of the same type.
For full guidance on the Inspector, visit the official documentation: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/inspecting/.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.