When working on molecular systems, small changes can have big consequences. Accidentally deleting an entire chain, misplacing a fragment, or tweaking a parameter too early in the workflow can compromise hours of careful work. What makes it worse is that many modeling environments make it difficult—or even impossible—to recover from these mistakes once they happen.
This is where SAMSON’s History View becomes a helpful tool for molecular modelers. Let’s look at how this feature can help reduce modeling anxiety and make iterative design processes more robust and transparent.
What is the History View?
In SAMSON, every document has its own history. This means that the software keeps track of actions applied to each model or scene, and lets you move backward—and forward—through these changes. Instead of losing your progress or needing a backup to revert a mistake, you can selectively undo or redo modifications.
Accessing the History View
Getting to the History View is simple:
- Go to the menu: Interface > History
- Or use the keyboard shortcut:
Ctrl+3(Windows/Linux) orCmd+3(Mac)
This opens a list of actions associated with the current document. Each undoable operation is a clickable step, allowing you to jump across versions of your molecular model like time-traveling between workspace states.
When You Should Use It
The History View is especially useful when:
- Testing out different structural hypotheses
- Building models through trial and error
- Working collaboratively and needing to trace back what was done
- Preparing illustrative steps for publication or teaching
Using the History View with the undo (Ctrl+Z or Cmd+Z) and redo (Ctrl+Y or Cmd+Y) shortcuts makes it even faster to correct errors and evaluate progressive changes.
Important Caveats
It’s important to note that not all operations are undoable. For example, if you perform non-undoable actions between two undoable actions, SAMSON might not be able to fully revert the previous state. This is especially important when performing complex simulations or importing/exporting large data sets.
SAMSON displays a message if it cannot execute an undo or redo correctly, so make sure to save your work regularly if you attempt high-impact edits. To keep changes traceable and conducive to collaboration or refinement, familiarize yourself with what operations can be reversed and make it a habit to use the History View as your safety net.
A Visual Example
The following animation demonstrates how you can go through the action history directly:
Conclusion
For anyone performing molecular modeling, reproducibility and safety in design iteration are vital. SAMSON’s History View offers a straightforward way to revisit and refine changes—making it an essential feature, especially when working on large or complex systems.
You can learn more about the History View in the official documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get it at https://www.samson-connect.net.