Clarity is key when working with complex molecular models. Whether you’re presenting your work, preparing publication-ready visuals, or simply analyzing your system, labels can provide valuable contextual information—but only when they’re visible at the right time, and not contributing to visual clutter.
In SAMSON, the integrative molecular design platform, labels are special node types that help annotate the viewport. They can contain information such as atom names, residue identifiers, groups of atoms, and even measurements. However, in dense molecular systems, too many labels can make a visualization hard to interpret. This is why controlling label visibility is so important.
Controlling label visibility
By default, you can quickly toggle the visibility of labels in the Document view by ticking or unticking them:
But there’s more: visibility changes dynamically as you zoom. When you zoom out, only larger structures like molecules tend to show labels. Zoom in, and finer elements (like atoms or residues) will reveal theirs. This ensures that detailed labels don’t overwhelm a macro-scale view, and prevents your screen from becoming overloaded.
Fine-tuning visibility with display radii
Sometimes, though, the default behavior isn’t enough. Maybe you need an atom label to stay visible even when zoomed out. Or perhaps you want a protein name to disappear earlier as you zoom in to focus on a specific binding site. Fortunately, SAMSON lets you customize this using minimum and maximum display radii.
To do that:
- Select the label you want to modify.
- Open the Inspector panel.
- Adjust the Minimum display radius and Maximum display radius values.
These radii define the zoom levels at which the labels appear or disappear. A smaller displayed radius means the label will only be shown when you’re zoomed in closely. A larger radius will keep it visible from farther away.
When should you use this feature?
Label display radii are particularly useful when you are:
- Preparing presentation visuals: Emphasize high-level molecules when zoomed out, and reveal detailed atom or bond labels as you zoom in during a talk.
- Focusing analysis: Reduce noise by hiding labels unless you’re working at the appropriate zoom level.
- Creating responsive tutorials or animations: Control what’s visible based on context, improving educational flow.
More intuitive visualization supports better decision-making and communication—and this simple feature can save you from a cluttered screen.
Learn more about labels and their settings in the SAMSON documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON here.