If you’ve ever felt stuck while trying to perform a specific action in molecular modeling—like reconstructing a protein structure or setting up a molecular simulation—you’re not alone. Many researchers and modelers face the same challenge: learning complex software tools on the fly, often under time pressure. The learning curve can be steep, especially when tackling a new platform or exploring advanced features.
SAMSON, the molecular design platform, addresses this common pain point with a practical and hands-on solution: interactive tutorials directly embedded in the software itself. These guided experiences walk you through specific tasks in SAMSON, step by step, as you perform them in real time. It’s like having a built-in mentor, available whenever you need a quick example, a refresher, or a deep dive into a new workflow.
Where to Find the Tutorials
To launch a tutorial in SAMSON, simply open the application and navigate to Help > Tutorials from the main menu. Once there, you’ll see a list of available tutorials—just pick the one you need and click Start tutorial. SAMSON will then guide you interactively, showing you what steps to take through contextual tip windows that appear directly in the Viewport.
What Makes These Tutorials Useful?
The key strength of these tutorials is that they are not passive. Instead of watching a video or reading a web page and then trying to replicate the steps on your own, SAMSON’s tutorials let you follow along as you do the task yourself. That means less flipping between windows, and more focused, productive work.
You can pause or exit a tutorial at any time by clicking the tip window’s close button in the top-right corner. Need to start over? Go back to Help > Tutorials and relaunch your session. It’s flexible and designed to accommodate learning at your own pace.
Perfect for Busy Scientists
For molecular modelers juggling multiple projects, grant deadlines, or experimental data, these tutorials offer a quick way to refresh your memory on specific workflows—no forum digging required. Whether you’re smoothing out molecular models, running simulations, or preparing visualizations, starting with an interactive tutorial can save you valuable time and help avoid common mistakes.
Extending the Learning
Interested in exploring beyond the core features? If you’re experimenting with SAMSON Extensions, there’s a dedicated set of tutorials to guide you there as well. These are available separately from the Extensions section, and you can find them linked in the SAMSON Extensions Tutorials.
Whether you’re new to SAMSON or revisiting specific features, the interactive tutorials make onboarding and continued learning smoother and more efficient. No scripting required, no preliminary knowledge assumed—just open, choose a topic, and start learning by doing.
Learn more about SAMSON’s interactive tutorials.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.