When you are focused on a molecular modeling task, a small interface problem can become a major interruption: you know the action exists, but not which menu, editor, or panel contains it. SAMSON’s interface has several ways to reach commands, and knowing which one to use can make routine work feel more direct—without memorizing every menu.
The first place to try is Find everything, the search box in the top-right corner. It searches the names, tooltips, and shortcuts of commands, apps, and editors. Instead of browsing menus one by one, type a descriptive term for the action you need. This is especially helpful when you remember what a tool does but not what it is called.
Use the right route for the task
Search is useful for discovery; the menus are useful when you want to understand how actions are grouped. In the default workspace, the ribbon menu organizes common work into areas such as Home, Edit, Select, and Visualization. For example, Home brings together document operations and structure-related actions, while Edit groups undo and redo, clipboard actions, adding document items, and simulation controls.
Keep in mind that the ribbon depends on the selected workspace, and its appearance can vary slightly across Windows, Linux, and Mac. If a command is not where you expect, try Find everything before assuming it is unavailable.
Think in panels, not just menus
Some tasks are easier in a dedicated panel. The Document view shows the active document as a hierarchy. From there, you can inspect its structure, show or hide nodes, select items, filter nodes, reorganize them, and access actions from context menus and toolbars. This is useful when selecting a molecule or component directly in the viewport is difficult, or when you need to understand how the document is organized.
The Inspector is for viewing and editing properties of selected nodes. A practical distinction is: use Document view to find and organize nodes; use the Inspector to examine or edit their properties. The Inspector applies changes to all selected nodes, so check the selection before editing.
You can open or hide several panels from Interface, including Document view, Inspector, History, Assets, Periodic table, Job manager, Animator, Python Console, and Code editor. Keyboard shortcuts can be quicker once they become familiar: Document view is Ctrl+1 on Windows and Linux or Cmd+1 on Mac; Inspector is Ctrl+2 or Cmd+2; History is Ctrl+3 or Cmd+3.
Check which document is active
SAMSON can have several documents open, but only one is active at a time. Many actions in the menus and panels operate on that active document. If a structure or selection seems to be missing, first check the document list and switch to the intended document. You can switch through the Documents list or Home > Documents; keyboard navigation uses Ctrl/Cmd+Tab and Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Tab.
A simple recovery routine
- Search first if you know the action but not its location.
- Check the active document before assuming your structure or selection has disappeared.
- Open the relevant panel: Document view for hierarchy and organization, Inspector for properties, or History to review undoable operations.
- Use the selection carefully before applying an edit. Some commands act on every selected node.
One caution: not every operation can be undone. The History panel helps you return to states associated with undoable operations, but it is not a guarantee that every intervening action can be reversed. Save important work regularly.
For a full reference to the menus, panels, shortcuts, and viewport controls, see the SAMSON Interface documentation.
Note: SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. Get SAMSON.