Have you ever wrestled with clarity while recording molecular animations? Whether you’re creating a presentation for a research talk or designing educational material, sometimes the challenge is simply: how do I make parts of a molecular structure disappear at the right moment?
If you’re using SAMSON, there’s a straightforward and effective way to do it—without adjusting transparency or manually toggling visibility. The Hide animation in SAMSON lets you focus attention by making selected nodes (atoms, groups, or molecular structures) disappear cleanly, at just the right time during your animation.
Why Hiding Matters in Molecular Presentations
Molecular models can be dense. When you’re trying to explain protein-ligand interactions, demonstrate conformational changes, or simplify a complex macromolecular environment, hiding unnecessary elements temporarily can help viewers focus.
But toggling visibility manually at every frame? That’s tedious. Especially when animations span dozens or hundreds of frames. This is where a dedicated Hide animation becomes a time-saver.
How the Hide Animation Works
The Hide animation in SAMSON operates using three keyframes:
- Keyframe 1–2: the selected nodes remain visible.
- Keyframe 2: the nodes disappear.
- Keyframe 2–3: the nodes remain hidden.
It’s a combination of what are separately called “Shown” and “Hidden” animations in SAMSON. But instead of chaining them together, you have a concise, single animation that just does what you want: disappear and stay gone.
Using the Hide Animation Effectively
Here’s a basic workflow to get you started:
- Select the nodes (atoms, residues, molecules) you want to hide.
- In the Animation panel of the Animator, double-click on the Hide effect.
- The animation is inserted with its default keyframes. Move them on the timeline as needed to control precisely when disappearance happens.
- You can adjust the transition behavior using easing curves if you want finer control over the timing interpolation.
Check the example below to see it in action:
A Note on Interface Updates:
If you’re following older tutorials or videos, you might see references to the Animation menu, which has since been removed. No worries—the same functionality lives in the Animation panel of the Animator, accessible via Ctrl+7 (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+7 (Mac).
When to Use Hide
- To make surrounding molecules disappear during zoom-in animations.
- To emphasize a binding site by making other chains vanish after a few seconds.
- To sequentially reveal steps in a molecular mechanism by hiding previous states.
These small optical cues can hugely increase clarity for your audience, and thanks to the Hide animation, setup takes seconds instead of minutes.
Learn more about the Hide animation in the official documentation.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON here.