When working with complex molecular systems in SAMSON, one common source of frustration is trying to efficiently manage and return to specific viewpoints. Whether you’re preparing publication-ready visualizations or comparing structural motifs across different conformations, being able to name, select, and activate camera nodes is more than just a convenience—it becomes essential to your workflow.
To address this, SAMSON’s Node Specification Language (NSL) includes camera-specific attributes that allow you to precisely query and filter camera nodes. These attributes give users the power to streamline navigation and automate the management of multiple viewpoints. Let’s dive into this practical solution and explore how to make your visual work in SAMSON faster and cleaner.
Quick Recap: What’s a Camera Node?
In SAMSON, camera nodes store viewpoints. Think of them as bookmarks that capture the position and orientation of the camera. They’re particularly useful when you want to return to a specific view or compare structures from the exact same angle.
But what happens when your project has 10, 20, or even more stored views? Searching manually becomes time-consuming. That’s where the Node Specification Language (NSL) helps.
Specialized Attribute Space: camera or ca
Camera nodes live in the dedicated attribute space camera (short name: ca). You can write conditions for camera nodes using this short name, for example:
|
1 |
ca.n "View_1" |
This would match any camera node with the name “View_1”.
Useful Camera Attributes You Can Query
| Attribute | Short Name | Examples | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
name |
n |
ca.n "Side_View", ca.n "Top*" |
Find cameras by name, including wildcards |
selected |
N/A | ca.selected, not ca.selected |
Match only selected or unselected views |
selectionFlag |
sf |
ca.sf, ca.sf false |
Find views marked for export, batch ops, etc. |
Examples You Can Use
- Find all camera nodes:
ca - Find cameras whose names start with “A”:
ca.n "A*" - Find selected cameras:
ca.selected - Find unselected cameras not flagged for export:
not ca.selected and ca.sf false
Why This Matters
If your project includes multiple views to present different ligand binding poses, conformational states, or visualization modes (e.g. surface, cartoon, wireframe), being able to identify and switch between these efficiently can save hours of time. The ability to query by name allows for scripted workflows where specific camera views are used to generate high-quality renders automatically.
This also helps in presentation settings. Suppose you’re building an animation from multiple viewpoints—being able to filter and select those automatically becomes invaluable instead of tediously re-finding them manually each time.
Lastly, using the selectionFlag attribute helps manage which cameras are pre-marked for certain operations, such as rendering or exporting, allowing you to focus only on the outputs you need.
To learn more about camera-specific attributes in NSL and how to use them effectively in your workflow, visit the full documentation at this link.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.