When diving into molecular modeling, visualizing your data from the right angle can be all the difference. Cameras in SAMSON play a crucial role in this process, letting molecular modelers manipulate views to better analyze their designs. But how do you efficiently handle camera nodes and their attributes? This post will break down the Camera attributes in SAMSON’s Node Specification Language (NSL) and show you how to make the most out of this feature.
What Are Camera Attributes?
Camera attributes belong to a specific attribute space called camera (short name: ca), which exclusively interacts with camera nodes. These attributes define properties like the name, selection state, and selection flag of camera nodes. If you’ve found yourself navigating a complex molecular design with multiple views, understanding these camera-specific attributes can simplify your workflow.
Breaking Down the Key Attributes
1. name
The name attribute, inherited from the generic node space, allows you to assign or filter camera nodes by name. This is particularly helpful when working with multiple cameras in your molecular project.
Examples:
ca.n "A" – Matches cameras named A.
ca.n "L*" – Matches all cameras with names starting with L.
2. selected
This Boolean attribute indicates whether a camera node is currently selected (true) or not (false). If you often toggle between views, querying ca.selected helps you identify the active camera.
Examples:
ca.selected – Matches selected camera nodes.
not ca.selected – Matches unselected camera nodes.
3. selectionFlag (sf)
Another Boolean attribute, selectionFlag, refines your interactions by matching camera nodes with or without the selection flag set. With its short alias (sf), it’s quick and simple to use.
Examples:
ca.sf false – Matches cameras without selection flags.
ca.sf – Matches only cameras with selection flags.
When Should You Use Camera Attributes?
Consider using camera attributes when:
- Working with multiple camera nodes in complex designs, especially for animations or presentations.
- Trying to isolate specific views based on names, selection states, or flagged properties.
- Streamlining your modeling workflow by querying exactly the nodes you need.
Practical Tips
When scripting in NSL, remember that camera attributes are part of a broader attribute system, inheriting functionality from the base node space. That means you can creatively combine these attributes with other node-related filters to create efficient queries for your molecular modeling tasks.
Learn More
To dive deeper, explore the full documentation at SAMSON Camera Attributes Documentation.
*Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get started today by downloading the platform at SAMSON-Connect.net.