For molecular modelers, making adjustments and experimenting with molecular structures can often feel like walking a tightrope. One wrong move can disrupt hours of intricate work. This is where SAMSON’s undo and redo features come into play, helping you explore molecular designs safely and confidently. In today’s post, we’ll delve into the importance of managing document histories for safe trial-and-error editing, ensuring you never lose control of your work.
Why Your Work History Matters
In molecular modeling, especially when assessing and tweaking structures, mistakes are inevitable—and that’s okay! Exploring options, trying unconventional edits, and backtracking when needed are critical to breakthroughs. SAMSON’s document history tools allow you to undo and redo changes precisely, giving you the freedom to experiment without fear of irreversible mistakes.
How Undo and Redo Work
SAMSON keeps track of your document modification history, which acts as a timeline of all changes you make to the molecular structure. You can:
- Undo: Reverse the effects of your most recent actions, going back step by step.
- Redo: Move forward again in your editing timeline to reapply changes you undid earlier.
This system ensures that your progress is non-linear—you’re not confined to simply moving forward. If, for example, you delete a node or change a property and later realize it wasn’t the right decision, you can simply undo it and recover your earlier configuration.
Best Practices for Safe Experimentation
To make the most of this feature:
- Experiment in small steps: Make incremental adjustments and check results, knowing that you can undo or redo each step if needed.
- Keep an eye on performance: Large, multiple edits can sometimes make navigating the document history slower. Minor updates between actions are generally easier to manage.
- Save key states: While undo and redo are invaluable during active sessions, regularly saving your work ensures you maintain progress across sessions.
An Example Workflow
Imagine you’re measuring geometric angles in a molecular structure. While analyzing, you decide to delete a node to simplify the views. Later, you realize that node held crucial information for measurements. Without undo/redo, this could cause frustration.
With SAMSON, simply hit “Undo” to restore the node instantly. Next, if you proceed with additional edits and second-guess them, you can hit “Redo” to reapply the removed changes, ensuring that no path or option is permanently discarded.
Where to Learn More
This post covered one essential aspect of working safely in SAMSON, but there’s more to discover about working with structures. For further details and documentation, visit the official SAMSON guide on working with structures.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.