When molecular modelers create animations in SAMSON, they often aim to communicate complex ideas precisely and clearly — sometimes in the form of a presentation. However, there’s a recurring challenge: how to structure these presentations so audiences can follow critical points without the animation racing ahead.
This is where the Stop animation effect becomes helpful. Instead of producing one long continuous animation, you can break it down into meaningful sections, mimicking the feel of slides in a traditional presentation.
Why Stop Matters
During scientific presentations — whether recorded or live — it’s important to pause intentionally at certain frames. For examples, this can include:
- Focusing attention on a specific conformation or molecular interaction
- Letting the presenter explain a mechanism before moving to the next step
- Allowing the audience time to understand or absorb visual changes
Without well-placed pauses, critical transitions in the animation may be missed, reducing clarity.
How to Add a Stop
In SAMSON’s Animation panel (part of the Animator), double-click on the Stop effect. This will insert a keyframe at the current timeline position.
You can always move this keyframe later to adjust the timing in your animation.
What Happens When You Hit a Stop
When the animation reaches a Stop keyframe, playback will pause. To continue, simply press the Space key or click the Play button in the Animator controls.
It’s a simple, manual control feature — but it unlocks a lot of potential for organizing your presentation delivery more effectively.
Example Use Case
Imagine you’re presenting a ligand binding process in multiple steps. Between each major step (e.g. docking, conformational change, binding site closure), you insert a Stop to describe what’s happening. This tool helps keep both experts and non-specialists aligned with your explanation without the pressure of keeping up with a moving animation.
Pair this with Pause for automated temporary delays, but for slide-style control — Stop is a better choice.
Remember
Note
You can always move the keyframes after inserting them — plan your structure, then fine-tune timing visually in the animation timeline.
This feature is particularly useful in teaching environments, conference talks, and within collaborative research presentations.
To learn more about the Stop animation effect and see other related tools, visit the original documentation page:
https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/stop/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.