Controlling the visibility of elements in molecular animations can be frustrating. You might want some parts of your model to appear at specific times without gradually fading in or tweaking transparency. This is especially important in presentations or educational videos illustrating reaction mechanisms, assembly processes, or simply simplifying what the viewer sees at the right moment.
The Show animation in SAMSON provides a straightforward solution to this. Instead of adjusting transparency or manually turning visibility on and off, the Show animation lets you define a point in time (a keyframe) when nodes (atoms, molecules, groups, etc.) simply appear—and stay visible afterward. This makes it ideal for step-by-step revealing of molecular components in a controlled and repeatable fashion.
Why not transparency?
Transparency-based animations can give nice effects, but they can also create confusion, particularly when teaching or demonstrating structural changes. Viewers might wonder whether faded parts are still active or just decorative. In contrast, the Show animation works by modifying node visibility—not transparency. Before the selected keyframe, the nodes are hidden; at the keyframe, they appear suddenly and remain visible. This discrete approach removes ambiguity.
How it works in practice
Here’s how to use the Show animation in SAMSON:
- Select the nodes you want to make appear.
- Open the Animation panel in the Animator UI.
- Double-click on the Show animation effect to apply it to the selection.
This will add three keyframes to your animation timeline:
- Between the first and second keyframes, the selected nodes will stay hidden.
- At the second keyframe, the nodes become visible.
- Between the second and third keyframes, the nodes stay visible.
Controlling the timing
You can easily adjust the timing of the appearance by moving the keyframes along the timeline. This flexibility lets you synchronize the appearance of parts of your system with narration, annotations, or other effects. You can also control how smoothly the change happens (in time, not in transparency) by changing the easing curve.
Tip: This animation essentially combines the logic of both the Hidden and Shown animations. But instead of managing two separate effects, you can just use Show for better control and fewer clicks.
Whether you’re making a molecular assembly video or want to walk your students through the step-wise visualization of a macromolecular complex, the Show animation is a dependable, no-nonsense feature you’ll likely return to many times.
To learn more, visit the full documentation page here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/animations/show/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.