When several molecular components occupy the same crowded view, it can be difficult to show which parts belong together—or simply to reveal what is underneath. Moving objects by hand may help, but it can also make a presentation harder to reproduce. The Undock animation in SAMSON offers a more structured way to show groups of atoms or meshes moving away from their current, docked positions.
This is especially useful when preparing a molecular presentation: you can keep one selected structure as a visual reference while the others move away, making the relationship between components easier to follow. The animation automatically computes the final positions away from the docked positions, so you do not have to manually place every animated node just to create a separation view.
Set up the selection before adding the animation
Selection determines how Undock behaves. Select at least two structural nodes or meshes in the document. The first selected node acts as the static receptor; the other selected nodes are animated. In other words, selection order is part of the setup, not just a way to indicate which objects are involved.
If more than one node should remain static as the receptor, group those receptor nodes in a folder and select that folder first. Then select the nodes or meshes you want to animate. This provides a practical way to treat several structures as one stationary reference while the remaining components move away.
If nothing is selected, SAMSON will try to guess which nodes the animation should affect. That can be convenient, but when a particular component must remain still, making the intended selection explicitly is a clearer and more predictable workflow.
Create the motion and adjust its timing
- Choose the receptor node first, or create and select a folder containing multiple receptor nodes.
- Select the other structural nodes or meshes that should move.
- In the Animator, open the Animation panel and double-click the Undock animation effect.
- Review the animation between its two keyframes, then move the keyframes as needed to fit the pacing of your presentation.
The movement amplitude is computed automatically when the animation is created. If the separation feels too small or too large for your view, inspect the animation and change its amplitude. You can also modify the easing curve to change how the parameters are interpolated between frames. These controls help you tune the presentation without changing which nodes are designated as the receptor and which are animated.
A few useful checks
- The wrong component moves: check the selection order; the first node is the static receptor.
- Several components should stay in place: put the receptor nodes in a folder and select that folder first.
- The motion is poorly timed: reposition the animation keyframes.
- The separation is not visually suitable: inspect the animation and adjust its amplitude.
- The motion feels abrupt or too gradual: review the easing curve.
Undock is a presentation animation, useful for making spatial relationships easier to see. Treat the movement as a visual aid rather than as a result that, by itself, establishes a molecular mechanism or predicts what happens experimentally.
For the complete instructions, see the SAMSON Undock animation documentation.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON at www.samson-connect.net.