If you’ve ever found yourself juggling molecular structures in SAMSON while constantly switching between views, searching for commands, or resizing panes, you’re not alone. The default interface is powerful, but every molecular modeler has a workflow rhythm—and when the tools don’t follow that rhythm, even simple tasks can become tedious 🧪🖱️.
Fortunately, SAMSON offers a surprisingly flexible interface that can be rearranged and tailored to your exact needs. In this article, we’ll walk you through useful ways to customize the layout to streamline your modeling process, reduce friction, and focus on the science.
Drag-and-Dock Your Way to Productivity
Parts of the interface like the Document view, History, and Inspector can be undocked and redocked through simple drag-and-drop. Just grab the title bar of the panel you’d like to move, then drop it where it makes most sense for your workflow — SAMSON will automatically adapt.
Multiple panels and widgets (including those provided by Extensions) can be docked together in tab groups or stacked vertically. This allows you to consolidate related tools in one place, reducing the time spent navigating between them.
Some user-favorite combinations:
- Dock Document view and Inspector side by side for simultaneous structure and parameter editing.
- Group History and Job manager at the bottom to track changes and computations together.
- Pin transient panels like Apps with the “Pin” icon to keep them out of the way, yet easily accessible.
Shortcut Switchboard: A Few Keys Away
Learning a few keyboard shortcuts can significantly reduce cognitive friction. For example:
- Ctrl + 1 (Cmd + 1 on macOS): Show/hide Document view
- Ctrl + 2 (Cmd + 2): Show/hide Inspector
- Ctrl + 3 (Cmd + 3): Show/hide History
This makes it easy to bring in what you need on demand and declutter when you don’t. Full list of shortcuts is available in the documentation if you want to optimize further.
Workspaces and Favorites: Personalize Even More
If you work in alternating modes — e.g., modeling vs. analysis — consider using workspaces. You can switch between interface configurations that reflect your current task needs. Each workspace adjusts the displayed panels and menus, letting you declutter without losing access to functionality.
Likewise, the Find everything search tool lets you locate commands, apps, and editors quickly. From there, one click on the ⭐ icon adds them to your favorites — which are pinned right at the top of the ribbon menu and editor viewport.
Your Layout, Remembered
Once you’ve arranged everything, SAMSON remembers your setup. Next time you launch it, your customized interface returns just the way you left it—ready for your next molecular design session.
Customizing your interface may feel like a small change, but over time it adds up to smoother workflows, fewer clicks, and a more pleasant modeling experience. Explore all the customization options in the official documentation: First look: the interface.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.