Working on molecular models often involves teams of researchers, spread across institutions and time zones. Sharing progress, simulations, and models efficiently — without versioning headaches or manual file exchanges — can be a challenge.
This is where Shared Documents on SAMSON Connect come in. With a few clicks, you can share working documents directly from your SAMSON installation and access models shared by peers. This simplifies many collaboration workflows, especially when speed and clarity matter.
What is a Shared Document in SAMSON?
A shared document is any molecule set, simulation, or molecular design you’ve created in SAMSON and want to make accessible to others. Whether you’re presenting a protein docking result or running simulations with extension-based filters, shared documents provide a straightforward mechanism to distribute your work.
You can control the visibility of each document (private or public), and manage who can view or interact with them — directly inside the A platform molecular modelers are already comfortable using.
Accessing Shared Documents
To explore or open shared documents, go to Resources > Shared Documents on SAMSON Connect. You’ll find a sortable list of documents made public by other users, ready for one-click import into your SAMSON interface. This is an excellent way for teams to distribute updates or for educators to assign starting templates for students.
Sharing a Document from SAMSON
Once your molecular system is ready, sharing it takes just seconds:
- Go to the Documents section of your user menu on SAMSON Connect
- Select a document from your SAMSON library
- Choose who you want to share it with: specific users, groups, or everyone
You can even create a public link to include in manuscripts, presentations, or online courses.
Versioning and Collaboration
Each shared document keeps its integrity upon transfer. When others open your shared structure, they receive exactly what you published — including annotations, molecular arrangements, and included extensions. This makes it easier to debug results or reproduce demonstrations as intended.
And don’t worry — you can update documents later or delete them entirely if needed.
Why It Matters
In computational science and molecular design, communicating accurately is crucial. Sending screenshots or exporting static PDB files often loses important context. With SAMSON’s shared documents, your collaborators see the same molecules, in the same 3D space, with the same tools. This reduces errors and eliminates repetitive re-explanation.
And for the community at large, this feature opens the door to more open science. Researchers can now accompany publications with interactive models that others can explore right inside SAMSON — no extra setup needed.
To learn more, visit the SAMSON Connect documentation.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.