When working on detailed molecular systems, clarity often makes the difference between insight and confusion. Labels—while useful—can sometimes clutter your 3D view, especially during presentation or when focusing on specific structures. Fortunately, SAMSON offers an elegant solution: precise control over label visibility through the Node Specification Language (NSL).
The label attribute space (la) is tailored specifically for label nodes in your molecular models. By using simple but powerful attribute filters made available through NSL, you can quickly show, hide, or even search for specific labels based on customizable properties. If you manage complex visualizations daily, this can help you stay organized and speed up your workflow.
Controlling visibility without GUI clicks
Instead of toggling labels one-by-one manually, SAMSON’s NSL lets you use queries like:
la.v— select all visible labelsnot la.v— select all hidden labels
This can be particularly helpful when preparing snapshots, screenshots, or animations and only a subset of labels should be displayed. For example, during a protein-ligand binding site animation, you might only want to show key residue labels—no background clutter.
Going further with flags
In addition to direct visibility (la.v), SAMSON provides more granular flags, such as:
- Selection flag:
la.sf - Visibility flag:
la.vf
The visibility flag (la.vf) does not directly control whether a label is shown, but it represents whether the label can be influenced by the application’s visibility propagation rules. This is powerful for scripted or hierarchical control of visibility in larger assemblies.
Find and filter with ease
Let’s say your project contains several labels named “Site A1”, “Site A2”, etc. To isolate those, you can write:
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la.n "Site A*" |
This selects all labels whose names begin with “Site A”—useful in multi-site enzyme models or comparative studies. Want to refine further and get only the visible ones?
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la.n "Site A*" and la.v |
Boost focus in complex models
When dealing with hundreds of annotations, quickly hiding everything and revealing only the essentials is a must. These commands give you control over what you see—and what you don’t—with predictable, scriptable logic.
Try these:
not la.v: to work on hidden labels selectivelyla.sf: select labels marked for further selection tasks
Coupled with node-based operations, this system opens possibilities for batch editing, automatic selection flows, and cleaner visuals for publication or collaboration.
To explore all attributes available to label nodes, check the NSL label documentation here.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. To get SAMSON, visit https://www.samson-connect.net.