A molecular animation can show atoms moving, but reviewing that motion later is easier when the trajectory has been captured as a path. In SAMSON, the Record path animation records atom positions as a presentation plays. This is useful when you want to preserve the motion produced by another animation—such as Assemble, Dock, Move atoms, or Simulate—rather than relying on the animation alone.
The key detail is that recording depends on both the animation order and the presentation being played. A track that is not fully green is a useful signal that the path may not yet be complete.
Put the recorder after the motion
Add Record path by double-clicking it in the Animation panel of the Animator. Its keyframe is placed at the current frame, and you can move it if needed.
Animations run from top to bottom in the Animator. Therefore, place Record path after the animations whose atomic positions you want to capture. For example, if a presentation uses a motion-producing animation followed by Record path, the recorder comes later in the execution order and can record the resulting positions.
This ordering is easy to overlook when assembling a presentation. If the recorded path does not reflect the motion you expected, first check where Record path sits in the Animator relative to the animations that change atomic positions.
Read the track before creating a path
The track gives you a quick view of recording progress. A green segment means positions have been recorded for that part of the presentation. A red segment means positions have not yet been recorded or have become invalid. So, before creating a Path node, check that the Record path animation is fully green.
If some of the track is still red, play the presentation so the recorder can capture the positions. If it was green earlier but has become red, treat that as a cue to review the presentation and recording state before using the path. The color is a progress indicator—not simply a decoration.
Separate editing from recording
Recording can be enabled or disabled in the animation’s Inspector, or by right-clicking the animation in the Animator and changing Enable recording. Disabling it can help with performance while you are still working on a presentation, or after the path has been recorded and you do not expect it to change. When recording is disabled, the animation controllers appear darkened.
A practical sequence is to arrange and adjust the presentation first, then enable recording and play it through. Once the track is fully green and you are satisfied with the captured result, you can disable recording if you no longer need it to update. This keeps the recording step deliberate instead of making it part of every editing pass.
Create the Path node
After the presentation has been played and the Record path animation is fully green, create the corresponding Path node in the document. You can do this in either of two places:
- Open the animation’s Inspector and click Create path.
- Right-click Record path in the Animator and choose Create path.
In short: put the recorder after the motion you want to capture, play the presentation, confirm the track is fully green, and then create the Path node. Keeping those steps in order helps avoid mistaking an unrecorded or invalid segment for a finished trajectory.
For the complete instructions, see the Record path documentation.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.