When working on molecular presentations, especially those that involve atomic movements such as docking, assembly, or simulation, demonstrating atom trajectories can significantly improve clarity and understanding. But how do you precisely capture those trajectories for presentations and further analysis?
This is where the Record path animation in SAMSON comes in. This animation allows you to automatically record the trajectory of atoms throughout an animation sequence – and it’s more powerful than you might think 🧪
Why record atomic paths?
Researchers and molecular designers often encounter this dilemma: they use multiple effects to simulate structural rearrangements, complex dockings, or molecule-building steps, but once the animation is over, there’s no persistent trace of how the atoms moved. Being able to revisit or export this path helps with analysis, publication visuals, or just to share clear insights during a presentation.
That’s exactly the problem the Record path animation addresses. Instead of manually tracking the movement or losing time recreating it, you simply add this effect and SAMSON will do the heavy lifting for you.
How to add the Record path animation
To record trajectories:
- Double-click on the Record path animation in the Animation panel.
- This adds a new animation effect (a track) that begins recording atom positions from that frame onward.
- Drag the keyframe if you need to change the starting point of the recording.
You’ll notice that the track turns green where recording has happened, and red where positions are missing or invalid.
Tips for smooth path recording
Here are a few useful strategies to avoid issues:
- Animations in SAMSON are executed top-down. To ensure your Record path effect captures correctly, place it after animations like Dock or Simulate that modify atomic positions.
- Recording can be toggled on or off. If you’re still tweaking your animations, disable recording to save on performance. You can do this either in the Inspector or via right-click in the Animator panel.
Exporting recorded paths
Once the animation has played and every segment of the Record path track is green, you’re ready to export the path as a new object:
- In the Inspector, click on Create path.
- Alternatively, right-click on the Record path animation in the Animator and choose Create path.
The resulting path can now be reused, visualized, or exported depending on your workflow.
For molecular modelers and educators regularly creating molecule presentations, being able to record and replay paths makes a meaningful difference in storytelling and scientific clarity.
To learn more, visit the original documentation page for Record path: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/record-path/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.